Imperfect

Sixteen - Callan

After an amusing conversation between Lys and Ethan, which consisted of Alyssa yelling, Alyssa pouting and then Alyssa hanging up on him, she finally started to look for some clothes. And after a couple of hours of her trying stuff on, deciding she hated it, putting it back, and then realising she hated everything else more so would buy it after all, we left with about one hundred bags.

Elliot was parked right outside and the other two had to come and help me carry all the shit she'd bought, since Lys would never stoop as low as carrying anything herself. Instead, she strutted ahead with her sunglasses down over her eyes like she was the most important person in the world – a look she'd mastered over the years.

The guys dropped us back at the penthouse with the promise of being back early tomorrow morning to pick us up. We needed plenty of time to get out of the city and get to Virginia before sunset. I couldn't wait for Lys to realise we'd be camping. That wasn't going to go down well.

She did her best to avoid me for the rest of the day and, as per usual, barely ate anything in the evening. It wasn't difficult to notice that she barely ate a thing. It never used to be that way but something about everything that happened with Ryan seemed to have affected her appetite. In the past month or so, I'd noticed she was a lot thinner. Her rib bones poked through her thinner dresses and her cheek bones had become much more prominent – hardly surprising since she lived on a diet of fruit and salad.

There would always be an overwhelming desire to strangle Lys whenever I was with her. She was self-centred and degrading of anyone who wasn't as wealthy as her. While shopping, she demanded the sales assistants bring her things, ordered me to carry everything and looked down on the woman in the queue before us when she didn't have the money for all her items. It drove me insane to see the way she treated people. She had no idea what it was like to struggle, either for money or respect or safety. Everything had always come easily to her and she looked down on anyone who had to work for what they had. And yet, despite all her personality traits that had my palms curling into fists, I couldn't help but pity her. Something had dimmed in her eyes over the last couple of months and even though she pretended she wasn't, it was obvious that she was scared and maybe a little bit broken from what she'd been through.

I'd kill Ryan if I ever saw him. That much I knew.

When my alarm went off at 5am, I groaned. It was still dark outside, the sky an inky black, without even the presence of the stars or moon to lighten it. Being so high up meant we were far from the city lights below but I could still hear the sounds of the New York traffic. The city that never sleeps.

I dressed, showered, and shoved a few last minute essentials into the bag at the end of my bed before carrying it downstairs. I met Alyssa on the stairs. As per usual, she wore a dress and heels, this time both in a light pink colour that people would dress their newborn babies in. "Is that really what you're wearing?" I grumbled. I thought I'd explained that she'd need comfortable clothes but apparently my words hadn't sunk in.

"You said we'll be travelling all day," she responded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't you want to be comfortable?"

Her gaze drifted down my front, taking in the t-shirt and joggers that adorned my body. She frowned before lifting her head to meet my eyes again. "I refuse to be spotted in this city, even through the car window, looking like a homeless tramp."

I rose a brow, reassessing my outfit. Is that what I looked like?

I brushed my lower lip with my thumb in an attempt to hide my amusement. It wasn't exactly the look I was going for but I supposed that next to Lys I didn't exactly look like New York's elite. But that's because I wasn't. "Whatever." I shrugged. "Suit yourself. The guys will be here in a minute."