here is part 4, hope you enjoy enough to share it with others.
Friday Night
Mia found herself sitting on the toilet’s seat cover with the heels of her palms pressed into her eyes. Water from her wet hair dripped down her back and her body felt hot in the foggy washroom. She didn’t know what to do and only had forty five minutes until she had to leave for Maddie’s birthday. Having forgotten her underwear and bra in her dresser, she knew she would have to walk out and face her roommate and reveal to her the various marks on her arms, legs and neck. Maybe I can put my dress on and just slip everything under, she thought, knowing it wouldn’t be an option since she had stockings and a garter belt as part of her undergarments. Feeling defeated, she stood up from the toilet cover and wrapped her torso in a large towel before gathering up her dress, stockings and belt in her hand – planning on changing in the small space on the side of the combined bedroom. The cold air rushed against her skin as she opened the washroom door and padded through the small seating and study space to the bedroom area. Usually, one of the two girls had something playing since they had a similar music taste (the only thing Mia and Zoe could agree on), which prevented Mia from hearing the light chatter she wouldn’t have missed in silence. Her blue eyes popped from their sockets when she saw Zoe already had company over without having told her.
“Hi, Mia!” Barbie’s chipper voice rang through the room over the music, freezing the petite brunette in place, outfit awkwardly held on her free wrist and hair dripping on the cold wooden floor. “Love the dress! Is that for tonight?”
She was wearing sweatpants and had a messy bun on her head, but Mia wouldn’t have noticed Barbara’s casual attire from the speed at which she spun around to dig into her dresser. Head down to avoid her reflection from being seen in the mirror, she pulled out the undergarments and almost ran back to the bathroom, muttering a hello along the way so she wasn’t being completely rude. She could hear “what’s gotten into her” just as she was about to shut the door and Mia sighed in defeat. She would be nice and social when she had her makeup on and her bruises where covered.
Closing herself off in the space, Mia set down her clothing, and slowly pulled on her underwear, the garter belt and rolled the black stockings on, clipping them into place. The bruise on her lower back was still very present from having been pinned to a lamppost a few nights before. Since then, she had been avoiding her boyfriend, but she knew eventually she was going to have to face him and be his subject once more. She pushed the negative thoughts aside and slipped into her tight long-sleeved black dress, leaving the back unzipped.
Next, she pulled open the drawer to the sink’s vanity, looking at the heap of makeup that had accumulated there. Mia sighed heavily, hating how much she had spent on products since her relationship with Conor had begun. He liked girls all made up and pretty looking, she liked stripped down and natural. Pulling out all the products she would need, she quickly came to the realization that she had forgotten a very important one. Her concealer palette: the one that allowed her to walk around and not be questioned on why she was bruised everywhere. Mia looked up at her reflection, contemplating whether it was worth risking the adventure outside the small washroom to get it. On her right cheek was the unmistakable contouring of a fresh, almost black eye. The majority of her impact had been to her cheekbone, but speckles of purple dotted around her bottom lashes. There was no way she could get away with not covering her face with a dollop of concealer.
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Zoe was genuinely surprised when she heard her name called by her roommate. Brushing it off as a moment of insanity, she continued her conversation, changing the song on her iPod. “Zoe, come here please,” there it was again, Mia’s light voice beckoning her over. Zoe excused herself from her friend, trudging over to the washroom at the request of her roommate.
