Watching Her

Chapter 2: Nice to see you

"Celine! Your parents, nine o'clock!" I nearly pushed my drink off the servers plate as I looked for them, Adriana doing the same.

There wasn't much time left to escape my mother's gaze as she walked up to us, paying no attention to my best friend while she quietly left me alone, knowing it was the smartest thing to do. They had never liked her, as Adriana came from new money, the type with luxurious cars and brand logos on their clothes. Even though Adriana wasn't the reckless, unhinged type of new money, they still saw specs of what they seemed to despise, thinking they were better than my best friend. Yet, they could never compare to her kindness, her caring self.

"Selena." My mother acknowledged me with her thick russian accent, while my father just nodded. They didn't even make an attempt to smile or greet me properly, like a mother and father should greet their child.

"Mama. Nice to see you here." I looked more at the floor than I could look at them, not wanting to do anything wrong. No mistakes were allowed.

"We weren't expecting you to make an appearance here. If we would've known, we would've gotten here together, but I see you already found your plus one." Suddenly, my mother's accent was gone, as she only took a glance behind me where I knew Adriana was sitting, her back turned towards us as she ordered another drink.

I knew she had only wanted us to appear as three to add to the perfect family picture, not wanting any sign of this being able to be destroyed, broken down. My mother continued to eye my outfit while my father began to talk.

"We haven't heard from you in a while. Your headmaster has informed us more about your life than our own daughter has in the past few weeks." He said bluntly in my mother language, not wanting another guest to understand. I nodded, a sign of apology towards him. If only I could've said why, but being able to keep my mouth shut had saved me from at least a few more experiences I wasn't willing to relive in my mind.

I still felt her eyes on me. The way she judged my white dress pants and matching loose crew neck cashmere cardigan with bat sleeves. She didn't fully approve, she would never, but the outfit was modest, hid what was necessary and did it's job.

"I am aware, this will change." A server passed us, my father handing a flute of champagne to me and his wife, a minute of silence passing us as we all took a sip.

"I'll call Maria soon, to make sure your wardrobe has something more fitting for a wedding next time." Her commenting on the way I looked had never been something new, but tonight it did frustrate me a little more than it should've. I had spent hours picking out something that fit my body shape, hiding it in all the right places, but not making me look bad and lazy as well. Adriana had complained weeks before that I wasn't willing to buy a dress, but if I would have, my mother would've never stopped picking me apart as soon as she would put her eyes on me or the dress. It would always remain a dream for the little girl inside of me, to wear a fluffy gown with a bright tiara, its details so shining it would blind the people around me. The only thing I could satisfy her with was wearing heels and designer bags, but a dress would never be possible for me.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but why not something more ... showing?" Those words coming out of my fathers mouth surprised me. He had always been a strict catholic father figure, but even his wife was wearing a dress with a hint of cleavage this evening, following the dress code.

Formal dinner attire

I was about to remind him of why I couldn't reveal more of my body, but it was too late, the groom had already started a speech.

Felling my breathing hitch, I tried to focus on exhaling and inhaling while he spoke about the usual nonsense of weddings. The speech of how happy he was that every person in his family was here, his friends, that his business partners were here as well. I had heard of his name one or two times, but it was mostly my parents fault that I was now standing here.