Linger

F O R T Y - S E V E N

Although I had left confidently, I had no idea where I was going as I pushed through the exit. The door led me to a long hallway, where I spotted a sign for the restrooms. As I pushed the door open, I was greeted by a very focused Jade, her gaze intense towards her reflection in the mirror.

"Girl, we've got work to do." She told to herself as she uncapped a tube of lipstick, applying the dark red shade to her lips.

The abrupt slam of the door closing behind me broke her focus causing her to notice me timidly walking in.

"Oh hey girlie!" She smiled warmly at me. "Enjoying yourself out there?"

I chuckled at the irony of her statement. "It's a really nice place." I stated, deciding against discussing the latest drama in my miserable high school life to this older woman who seemingly already had her life all together.

The last thing she needed was to hear about some petty drama from some teenager who was supposedly mature enough to be with her brother-in-law, yet still couldn't stay out of high school drama. I've felt better, to say the least.

"How about you?" I turned to Jade, redirecting the conversation to her. I felt more comfortable hearing about her than discussing my mess of a life right now.

"It's definitely larger of an event I had envisioned it'd be, but regardless it's wonderful!" She beamed as she turned back to the mirror, straightening out her hair. "I didn't see you when Daniel came around. You should come chat with the girls & I. We've been discussing all the dresses here tonight & I want to show them yours!" She turned to me with an excited smile, her blue eyes sparkling in the dim light above us.

I gave her a nod as I turned on the faucet. As a natural instinct, I wanted to splash the cold water on my face to refresh myself & in a way, rid myself of the tense moments that had just occurred in the hall outside, but decided against it once I remembered I had a full face of makeup on that I did not want to ruin.

"How's the gown working for ya? No malfunctions? Are we in the clear so far?" She asked as she took out her compact mirror & began applying powder to her flawless skin.

"So far, so good, Jade." I ran my hands under the water, the coolness against my skin somewhat soothing my anxious nerves. "Thanks again for the gown."

"Oh, it's nothing, sugar." She waved her hand as she placed the mirror back in her clutch, before looking up at me. "You know, they're going to present the awards right now in the theatre."

"I'll meet you out there then." I gave her a small smile as she gracefully walked out with a kind wave.

Upon hearing the door shut, I turned back to my own reflection in the mirror with a sigh. My makeup & hair were still perfectly in tact, thanks to the millions of bobby pins & cans of hairspray Jade had insisted I used, but I couldn't ignore the weary look my brown eyes held.

The live music playing in the hall could be heard softly through the door & I honestly couldn't decide if I would rather be out there with the music playing loud enough where I couldn't hear my own thoughts or in here, where it was quiet, leaving me no choice but to wallow in my self-pity.

Here I was at this lavish banquet, wearing a gorgeous gown & with an amazing man whom I couldn't even be in company of, without the fear of being seen together. For some reason, a part of me thought that all of this drama would be over after things between Tom & I ended. But it seemed to never end, if it wasn't one thing, it was another. The madness never stopped. Of course I knew being with Daniel wouldn't magically solve all my problems & cause the drama to fade away, but what we had was the one thing I wholeheartedly intended to keep between solely myself & him. His family knowing about us was fine, there seemed to be no contradictions there. It was actually my friends I was worried about finding out about us. And Sasha was the last person I would want to find out.