It all started with a game

Chapter 13.1

Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.
~George R.R. Martin

A/N
I had to put a Disney song in the book, and what better choice for the story than 'I won't say I'm in love' right?

Chapter 13.1
Beatrice's POV
"What do you think about this one?" Alexia posed, resting the simple black dress against her body. "Too basic?"

"I like it." She would have looked good in anything, I couldn't say the same.

Ryder had gone off to try on a suit, figuring that it wouldn't take too long. Alexia, however, promised our dress shopping would take much, much longer, so the plan was for him to just meet us after he finished, dressed in the suit of course because Alexia insisted on letting us see it.

"Hm, I'll add it to the pile." The pile which was quickly growing.

She pulled out another dress. "Ooo, what about this one for you?"

I stared at the strapless dress. It was gorgeous to say the least, and a year ago I probably would have looked stunning in it, but now, all that dress would do is show off my grotesque skin which I worked so hard to keep hidden from the world. "I don't think it's really my style."

She nodded, putting the dress back on the rack. "I don't know why she even bothers throwing this thing, everyone knows it's just another chance for publicity to her," Alexia rambled like the information was nothing but loose change.

The difference between her and Ryder was astronomical.

"I take it by 'her' you mean your mother?"

"Yep, dear old mommy," she scoffed.

"You guys aren't close?" I asked despite the fact that I was fairly certain I already knew the answer by the way the two of them speak of her.

"We used to be."

Not the answer I was expecting. "What changed?"

Alexia continued prowling through the racks, acting as if what she was telling me was merely common knowledge, like she was telling me the difference between a solid and a liquid. "I love my mother but I will never forgive her for what she did."

I remained silent, letting her elaborate if she so chose to.

Her jaw clenched. "I will never forgive her for the way she told us. It was like she didn't even care. We were her children and she didn't care. She walked into the room, looked her eight year old children in the eyes, who had just lost their favorite person in the entire world, and said 'your father is dead' and then walked away. That was it: 'your father is dead' nothing more." A tear slid down her cheek but her voice kept its laid back manner.

I didn't say anything because anything I could have said would have meant nothing. So I sat in a comfortable silence with her.

How could someone do that to a child? A child. An eight year old.

She wiped her tear away. "Anyway, enough about me, do you have any family trauma?"

Plenty. "I can't say that I do. I have two very loving brothers." I lied to the only person who's ever been that openly honest with me.

"That must be nice, being close to your siblings. You guys seem close from the way you speak of them."

I wondered for a brief moment what she meant by that. Were she and Ryder not close? They seemed close, well as close as one can get to Ryder. She spoke the sentence as if she had no idea what that felt like. "We are very close." That was an understatement. The three of us were inseparable.