𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐑 |

chapter twenty-nine

Vera

"Thank you."

After securing the top on my latte, I handed the barista a few bills for a tip before waving goodbye. I took a sip and met with Maia just outside the door. She looped her arm with mine and smiled my way.

For once, I stopped being so avoidant with everyone and called Maia up to hang out today. Locking myself in Katherine's house just dissipates my social skills and makes it harder to deal with the real world. Plus, fresh air tends to prevent my continuous mental breakdowns.

Even though I asked her to hangout, I had no clue what I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to get out of the house and spend some time with Maia. I should've at least put a teensy bit of thought into this.

But luckily, Maia suggested that instead of driving around, we take a walk around the city. Instead of trying to find something to do, there are things to do all around us. Right at our fingertips.

Our first stop was the coffee shop. Maia ordered a peppermint mocha whereas I ordered a caramel latte. Can never go wrong with some caramel.

"You look a bit better since last time we talked," Maia said, going through the rack of tees. "Some life improvements?"

Looking over at her, my eyebrows raised slightly before I averted my gaze back to the clothes in front of me. Maia could read people like a book. It was almost scary.

"Tiny improvement, but yes." I gave her a thumbs up to a shirt she showed me. "I'm back with Katherine due to stupid technical difficulties but she's been leaving me alone since I've been back."

"Bet she's just itching to mess with you—yes, to that top— and get under your skin." She threw more clothes across her arm.

"I will not disagree with that statement," I chuckled.

There's no doubt in my mind that Katherine wants to watch me squirm like a worm on the hook knowing she has me back under her roof. Especially since she's forced me to be her errand girl until the wedding. Deep breaths and good thoughts.

And shopping.

"Well, congrats on not completely losing your mind after all of that shit," Maia laughed. "No psych ward visit just yet."

"Exactly. Yet."

Laughing her off, I went off to the dressing rooms, slipping through the first one that had the door open. It wasn't until now that I realized just how much clothes I had. Not too little, but not too much either. Am I still going to try everything on? Absolutely.

My try-ons consisted of three tees, two cropped shirts, and two skirts to go with the cropped shirts. The long flowy ones that make a girl feel like a fairy. I saved the tees for last since I only want these for the comfortable aspect of it and they're really oversized.

Just how I like them.

The skirts were the first two things I tried on and I did a test spin in each one. Flowy was definitely an understatement. One was beige and the other was black with a gray second layer underneath. The beige was definitely my favorite one out of the two and I am wearing it the first chance I get.

After styling the cropped shirts with the skirts, I tried on the tee shirts just to confirm lingering thoughts. I hung them on my arms while I walked out then sat on a nearby bench to wait for Maia. Her faint humming confirmed that she was still trying on clothes, so I occupied myself with my phone for a few minutes.

About ten minutes later, Maia walked out with less clothes than she walked in with.

"Alright, let's go pay for these before I go over my budget," she murmured, heading towards the checkout. I shook my head and followed with a short laugh.