"You are such an ass Cole Hartford."
"Well, you're not so great yourself Dylan Matthews, sometimes you can be a real bitch."
They were best friends until.... they weren't.
Dylan doesn't really undertand what happened between her and Cole, all she k...
Friday comes all too soon and I find myself standing in my room and staring at the dress lying on my bed, my mother picked it out, of course. I walk over and slip it on, careful not to mess up my hair and makeup. I move across the room and study my reflection in the mirror.
It's not that I don't like the dress, it's pretty enough, but it's not me. I never would have picked it out and after studying myself for a moment I realize why. With this dress on I look like my mother.
It's startling really, the uncanny resemblance between us. My hair is pinned up into a careful bun with small curls spilling out at the bottom and my makeup is very neutral, barely there. However there's just enough makeup to highlight my angular jaw which I share with my mother.
I stare at myself in the mirror and I honestly hate what I see. All I can see is my mother, further reminding me that I will never be able to live up to her, that I will never be good enough. I decide to do something about it.
I reach up and carefully pull the pins out of the bun, letting my hair cascade down my back in soft curls. I gather them all together into a side ponytail that sweeps over my shoulder and wind one strand of hair around the elastic to give it a more elegant look. I then wipe off the makeup and apply my own, highlighting my eyes and coloring in my lips with a soft pink color instead of the deep red my mother put there.
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Still, something's missing. I open my jewelry box and take out a silver necklace with a small bronze key on the end of it. I fasten it around my neck and then turn and look in the mirror.
I give a small smile, finally seeing me. I tighten the straps of the silver sandals and then head downstairs. My mother's waiting at the bottom of the stairs talking to one of her colleagues. As I appear at the top she looks up at me smiling until she sees what I've done. She forces the smile to stay on her face but her eyes are furious.
I reach the bottom of the stairs and flash a forced smile of greeting at her colleague, thoroughly enjoying my mother's reaction. "If you'll excuse us for a moment, I need to talk to Dylan." She tells the woman who smiles politely and moves on to talk to the next person.
"What do you think you're doing?" She hisses at me, "I spent lots of money for that woman to do your hair and makeup and that is not how I left you." I glare at her, "Well, you never asked me what I wanted my hair to look like or even if I liked the way it looked. So I changed it."
Her eye's narrow at me but before she can say anything some woman from the hospital stops in front of her. "This is a lovely party Cathleen." She says, and as my mother gives her a smile and turns to talk to her I slip away.
I wander through the party, exchanging pleasantries and idle chit chat with my parent's friends. As I'm talking to one of my dad's doctor friends Kyle appears at my side and grabs my arm. "Excuse me," He says politely to the man I'm talking to, "But I'm going to steal my sister if you don't mind." The man nods and waves him off before moving on.
Kyle's grip on my arm tightens and he pulls me into a quiet corner of the room. "What did you do to piss Mom off?" He asks, keeping his voice low. I sigh and fold my arms across my chest, tired of everything being my fault. "Nothing, all I did was change my hair which apparently is a crime in this house." I say, my voice rising.
Kyle shoots me a look, telling me to keep it down. "Look, we just have to give her one night, that's all she asks, one night. Come on Dylan, you can do better." My mouth drops open, "Maybe for you it's one night but for me it's my entire life. Not all of us are the golden boy you know." I snap at him.
He takes a step back and I shake my head, I'm on fire tonight. "Whatever, I'm done with this, I need a break." I push past him and make my way through the house until I reach the sun porch.
I throw open the door and then slam it closed behind me, letting the tears slip out of my eyes as soon as it's closed. I take a step further into the dark porch, welcoming the cool, summer night air.
I reach up and wipe the tears out from under my eyes but they're quickly replaced by new ones. That's when I notice something shift in the corner and I freeze.
