Ready To Run // h.s

thirty six

  To say I was nervous was an incredible understatement. 

  There was only an hour left until I was supposed to make my appearance with Matthew on the red carpet and my blood was already pumping. My hands were clammy, my bony fingers were trembling, and it seemed like I couldn't focus on anything. The people who were working to make me look decent for the cameras even commented on how nervous I looked. 

  "All you have to do is smile for the cameras, it's not a big deal." One of them, a middle aged woman with wispy purple hair, commented. She was the one who was preparing my hair and I kept checking my head in the mirror to make sure she hadn't dyed mine like hers, as well. 

  Rosita had said her goodbyes to me this morning at the house. Matthew had taken a day off of work and had been home, but Rosita and I found a quiet place to talk to each other. It was suddenly becoming more and more surreal that I might never have to sleep under that roof ever again. If my plan worked smoothly, perhaps I would be leaving the gala on an airplane with Harry, taking me far far away from this place. 

  "I want you to know," Rosita had said to me only hours before. "That I hope you find him and I hope everything goes right in the end."

  "Thank you, Rose," I smiled. "That means a lot to me." 

  "Will I ever see you again?" She was clearly starting to become teary eyed as she looked straight into my eyes. The bond that we had created over the last several months was unbreakable and it was breaking my heart that I could possibly be leaving her behind in such an awful place. Seeing her starting to cry made my eyes start to water, too.

  "Of course," I reassured her. "I'll make sure to stay in touch with you... Harry and I will find a way to get you a different job, and a better place for you and your kids to live. I promise you that."

  Those were some of the last words that Rosita and I had spoken to her. And now, here I was, sitting in a trailer only a few blocks away from the gala, getting ready for what could possibly be the best or worst night of my life. The fact that it would easily go to either end of the spectrum was what made me so nervous. If I didn't find Harry tonight and give him the document, my fate would be sealed. 

  "Damn, look at you," Matthew's deep voice interrupted my thoughts. 

  I looked up at him as he entered the trailer, his blonde hair styled up with gel and his body adorned in a black tuxedo. He was so adamant on my dress matching his outfit when he was wearing the most plain and boring suit in the world. However, I couldn't deny the fact that he looked attractive. If only his heart was as attractive as his physical appearance, then maybe I would have been able to fall in love with him. That, and the fact that I was already in love with someone else. 

  "Thank you." I muttered quietly, looking back into the mirror. My face was covered in makeup; my skin perfectly blended and contoured, something that I had no clue how to do, my eyelashes longer than humanly possible with fake eyelashes, my cheeks rosy with blush. The stylists had made me wear a dark looking eye shadow that I would have never chosen in a million years. They had even gone so far with putting makeup on my shoulders, neck, and chest, so that it would match the skin tone of my face. It was ridiculous and so not me. I hoped Harry would recognize me.

  As my hair was being prepared and put back into a low ponytail, Matthew began to tell me of all the things to remember on the red carpet. I nodded and pretended to be intently listening, but really all I could think about was the small piece of paper resting in the cup of the bra that was built into the dress.