Emma: Freshman Year

Chapter 33: Dresses

Later that day, after she was finished with all her chores, Emma found herself at Nikki's Bridal Shop with her mom and Lizzie, trying on bridesmaid dresses. Because she was still feeling hungover, Emma had begged her mom to let her stay home that afternoon. However, her mom refused to listen to Emma's complaints. She told Emma that if she didn't go, she would take away her daughter's phone for a whole month. So Emma, who was still suffering from fatigue, nausea, and a terrible headache, was forced to try on dress after dress until her mom found the perfect one. 

What made matters worse was that Lizzie was blabbering the entire time. Her loud, high-pitched voice was making Emma's headache worse, but Emma knew she had to keep quiet about it in order not to upset Lizzie. Furthermore, Lizzie insisted on sharing a dressing room with Emma, simply because they were besties. Emma was hoping that her mom would nix the idea, but Emma's mom did the complete opposite and actually encouraged it. Because Lizzie was extremely stubborn and insistent on having her way, Emma didn't even try to talk her out of it. She didn't want Lizzie to throw a fit in public and create an embarrassing scene for Emma. 

Needless to say, Emma had no choice but to strip completely naked in front of Lizzie every time the two of them tried on another dress. Most of the dresses were sleeveless, which meant that Emma's bandaged forearms were on full display to the entire bridal shop. It was embarrassing, to say the least, but Emma couldn't do a thing about it. 

"Eh...I can already tell I don't like that one," Emma's mom stated as Emma and Lizzie emerged from the dressing room, each of them wearing a purple, sleeveless, halter-top dress that reached down to the floor. 

"Yeah, me neither," Lizzie agreed, pulling at the neckline. "It comes up so high, I feel like I'm choking."

"The halter top just doesn't suit you two," Emma's mom commented, folding her arms across her chest. "Why don't you guys try on the strapless one again? I kind of liked that one."

"Me too," Lizzie agreed, heading back into the dressing room. "Come on, sweetie," she beckoned to Emma. "I need to get this thing off."

Emma sighed. At this point, she didn't care what dress her mom chose; she just wanted to be done with this whole ordeal. She reluctantly joined Lizzie in the dressing room and closed the door behind her as Lizzie began to take off her dress, revealing her naked torso and pink, lacy underwear.

Emma followed suit, stripping herself of her dress and hanging it back on its hanger. Except for the bandages on her arms, Emma was completely naked, for she hadn't put on any underwear earlier that day. Grabbing a navy blue strapless dress that was hanging on a hook, she carefully stepped inside, pulling it up around her thin body. 

"Wanna zip me up?" Lizzie asked as she yanked her dress up over her breasts. 

"Sure," Emma replied as Lizzie proceeded to turn around, her back facing Emma. Emma then grabbed the zipper and carefully pulled it up, securing the dress around Lizzie's back. She then took ahold of the long pieces of fabric attached to each side of the dress just above the waistline and proceeded to tie them in an oversized bow.

"Okay, turn around, sweetie," Lizzie told Emma. 

Emma obeyed, and Lizzie proceeded to zip up the back of Emma's dress and tie the bow, just as Emma had done for her. Then, both girls exited the dressing room and stood in front of Emma's mom for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Hmm..." Emma's mom mused, stroking her chin. "I'm really liking that dress. What do you girls think?"

"I love it!" Lizzie exclaimed. "The color is beautiful, it's not constricting, and I like the fact that it's short. That seems more fitting for a summer wedding, rather than a full-length one."

Emma, however, did not care for the dress. She didn't usually wear strapless dresses in the first place. Because her breasts were so small, she would always have problems with strapless dresses slipping down and revealing too much. This dress was no different; she could feel it slipping down with every movement she made, and she knew that one wrong move would expose her breasts to everyone around her. 

"Well, Emma?" her mom pressed. "What do you think of the dress?"

"I don't really care for it," Emma answered quietly, folding her arms across her chest and looking at the floor. It was then that Emma realized that the built-in cups were too big for her, because as soon as Emma crossed her arms, a noticeable gap formed between Emma's breasts and the cups.

"Why not?" Emma's mom demanded. 

"I feel like it's going to slip down," Emma mumbled, embarrassed by her answer.

"Well, too bad," Emma's mom retorted. "Lizzie and I both like it, so it doesn't matter what you think. Besides, if you put some meat on that scrawny little body of yours before the wedding, it shouldn't be an issue."

Emma sighed. One of her biggest fears was being fat, and it affected her to the point where she would purposely starve herself in order not to gain weight. Her constant anxiety was also a big contributing factor; because of it, she had no desire to eat, and even if she tried, nothing would taste good. Sometimes, the texture of certain foods alone was enough to make her want to vomit. 

"All right, girls," Emma's mom announced. "You can go ahead and get changed back into your clothes. I think we've found the dress."

"Yay!" Lizzie cheered, grabbing Emma by the hand excitedly. "I can't wait! I'm finally gonna have a sister, and that sister is my bestie!" Wrapping her hands around Emma, Lizzie proceeded to give her friend a quick peck on the cheek.

Emma managed to force a smile, but in reality, she was absolutely dreading the fact that Lizzie was about to become her step-sister. The double standards, the false accusations, the clinginess, the jealousy, and the constant chattering were about to get so much worse. Just being around Lizzie in school was enough for Emma to need a break from her; she couldn't imagine having to live with Lizzie under the same roof.