We Were Strangers| Completed

part 13

The following morning, I awoke late to a nearly empty house. It wasn't until 2:30 in the evening that I heard a noise downstairs and the loud closing of the front door. I went downstairs after hearing a faint voice. I walked down the stairs to find Wendy with a freshly manicured hand and a slight trim to her usual long hair.

"Where's Alex?" I asked Wendy, wondering why he wasn't home.

"Oh, he's with my mom, spending the weekend there."

I nodded and uttered a quiet "oh."

I walked over to the sink and finished washing my bowl from earlier, then went upstairs. I started taking a shower by squeezing some coconut-scented shampoo into my hair and massaging it in, followed by some hair conditioner. As I took the time to shave my legs, I spent longer in the bathroom than usual. When I was finished, I hopped out of the shower and dressed in some random clothes in the meantime. I grabbed the hair dryer and dried my hair, then walked to my room when it was mostly dry.

When I looked at the time, it was 3:25. I started applying my makeup, which took longer than usual because I was going for a full coverage look. I finished my foundation and concealer, applied some blush, and started on my eye makeup, which included curling my lashes, applying mascara, and applying a bit of eyeshadow. I was almost finished with the look and continued with the finishing touches, such as my brows and some lipstick.

I sealed the look with a setting spray and began to do the next part, which was my hair. Although my hair was wavy and a bit curly, I wanted to enhance it more by curling it and creating beach waves. I grabbed the hot curling wand and grabbed a section of my hair and wrapped it around the wand.

By the time 5:00 came, I was halfway done curling my hair. I looked down at my phone, which played music, and heard the faint notification come through. It was Nico. I began to freak out, knowing he'd want to hurry me up.

"Are you ready?" He texted.

I sent a quick message, "Almost."

I grabbed more sections of my hair and tried to speed up the curing process. After ten minutes, he was urging me to hurry up.

I ignored his message and kept doing my hair. When I was finished, an incoming call from Nico came in.

"Are you ready, for the love of God?" He screamed over the phone.

"Relax, I'm ready."

"I'm in my car; meet me at my house." When I nodded, I realized he couldn't see me.

"Coming down," I told him, and I hung up on him. I reapplied a bit of lipstick and gloss on my lips and raked my hand through my hair, making the curls loose.

I went to get the box and started taking the dress out. I unzipped the dress and jumped inside, pulling it up and sticking my hands through the thin straps. Because they were so thin, I decided on a strapless bra. I adjusted the straps and hem of my dress, then walked over to grab the heels and place them on the floor before putting them on my feet. I sat up from my chair to put them on and adjusted to the new height. I examined myself in the mirror and gave myself a once-over. I grabbed my phone and walked out of my room with a small smile on my face.

I hurried down the stairs, making sure to be as quiet as possible to avoid having to explain where I was going, let alone with whom. I opened the front door and continued walking, this time avoiding the grass for fear of ruining my heels. I walked down the driveway and then down the sidewalk until I reached Nico's driveway.

I noticed the empty driveway with only Nico's car present. Through the darkly tinted windows, I could see his figure seated in the driver's seat. I noticed his loosely buttoned white collar dress shirt and black blazer as I opened the car door.