Redefining Beautiful

Chapter Twenty-Two: A Long, Overdue Talk

It wasn’t Halloween yet, but we were going to a Halloween party. Halloween fell on a Sunday, the day after Homecoming. Casey and I figured we would go to a Halloween party the weekend before Halloween instead of going trick-or-treating since we had school the next day.

Desiree, Maria, and Danielle were going to meet us at the party which was going to be at a small venue downtown. I had the idea that Casey and I should be fairies because it meant sparkly dresses and fun makeup. When I arrived at Casey’s house with a box filled with tutus and hair pieces, it was Jason, Casey’s older brother, who welcomed me into the house.

He said, “I’m Jason,” with a grin.

I was so mesmerized by his good looks and million kilowatt smile that it took me a couple seconds to remember how to say my name. “I’m Charlie.” I tried not to turn red.

“Casey’s in her bedroom.” He flicked his hand at the dark hallway before running upstairs.

I entered Casey’s bedroom. She was in the bathroom, curling her hair in tight curls. I shut the door, which gave me the right to say “Your brother is hot!” without feeling as if he may have heard.

“Please don’t turn into a Desiree and Maria.” She set down the iron on the countertop and walked into the bedroom. I laid down on her bed as she rummaged through the box I brought.

“I was just stating a fact.” I tried acting like I didn’t really care that much that her brother was hot, but I couldn’t resist. “How old is he?”

“Charlie!” She shot me an annoyed look.

“I was just asking a question.” I rolled my eyes.

“He’s seventeen.”

“Damn, two years,” I muttered. “Wait. Only two years!”

Casey narrowed her eyes at me, grabbed a purple and pink sequined tutu, and started to change. “What about you and Trevor?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” I frowned, and that was the truth. “He doesn’t talk much to me anymore in geometry.”

“I noticed.”

“The only other time I see him is at football practice, but he hasn’t been going lately.”

“I don’t blame him, really.” Casey tucked her white, long sleeve shirt into her tutu. I started digging into the box for my tutu, head piece, and shirt. “I mean, sports, in general, must have meant a lot to him and getting injured that badly to where you can’t play anymore must be hard to take in.”

“I wanna help him, but I don’t know how.” I checked my reflection in the mirror after I finished putting on my fairy costume.

“I say give him some space for right now.” Casey stepped in front of the mirror next to me. “Look how cute we look.”

I adjusted the sparkly headband on my head. Casey handed me a stick she painted with silver nail polish and glitter. This cheap project was my wand.

“Let’s go.”

I followed Casey out of her bedroom. After she fought with her brother in his bedroom while I awkwardly waited by the front door for twenty minutes, the two finally came down. I was happy he was coming along even though I really wanted him to be Trevor. I figured Casey was right about the giving Trevor space thing. I just didn’t know how much space he could possibly need. I worried about him constantly. We were almost into November, and he was still bummed about his injury. Plus, I felt horrible that I didn’t know how to make him happy as if I was the only person who could.