The Beautiful and the Psychotic

Chapter Five

Bella chose a nice dress, and though I protested its shortness, she made me wear it anyway. It was red and stopped just below my butt, with long sleeves and a high neck, backless. Black ankle boots completed the outfit.

Bella walked with me down to dinner. It was late at this point, about 8pm after the resturaunt had closed to the public. There were many circular tables, and around each sat four or six people, all of them pretty or handsome. Everyone here was pretty or handsome, I realised. I guess that would mean they thought I was pretty, and at that realisation I was honoured.

Bella led me to the lead table, which was longer and square, at one end a throne-type chair, golden and red. On it sat Jamey.

Bella told me to sit down next to him, so I did. I counted nine other seats at the table, none of which were filled yet.

"Hello, J-"

"It's 16!" he hissed. "Nobody can know my name."

"Um, well, hello 16."

He grinned maliciously. "That's better. Good evening Lexi."

In 11 years, Jamey had changed. I had known a rough, loud, funny, honest boy. But now, at the age of 27, Jamey had formed a slave trade and had most likely raped and murdered. This couldn't be my cousin. Jamey was my cousin. 16 was not.

The awkward silence was intervened by a girl coming to sit on his right, as I was on his left. Jamey smiled at her and slipped his hand through hers as they sat at the table. "Evening, Ava."

Ava fluttered her eyelashes furiously. "Hello, 16," she grinned in a low, sexy voice.

Ava was dressed in the shortest black, strapless croptop ever and a short, tight miniskirt. Needless to say, she was one of the sluttiest people I had ever seen. Worse, she looked about 14.

I imagined vomiting into my plate at how loveydovey they were. "I'm sorry, are you two together?"

Ava glared at me like I was an idiot. "Um, every girl here is 'together' with the lovely 16," she spat. I think she missed the memo and thought I was competition.

"Excuse me, but this is my cousin," I said, motioning to Jamey.

Ava took about a millisecond to go from complete bitch to pretending she liked me, but I could see that she really was jealous that I might be getting special treatment. "I'm Ava," she said, a look of pained kindness on her face.

"I'm Alexis," I said through gritted teeth. "I let my friends call me Lexi."

Ava flicked her long black silky hair behind her shoulders and said nothing.

Over the next few minutes the table filled up, everyone introducing themselves. David got a spot next to me as my trainer. Isaac the head trainer sat next to him, and next to him was Sienna. Next to Ava sat Oliver, and next to him was Sophie. Bella was already seated next to Sophie. The spot across from Jamey took ages to be filled. And I gasped at who I saw come to sit there.