Miserably Delightful

chapter 6

Music resounded through my rather large house, a house that most would probably refer to as mansion, but I wasn't an expert in that kind of shit so I just called it a house. I gritted my teeth and gripped the marble counter top of the sink to the bathroom that was connected to my bedroom. The party had started about an hour ago, but I had been finishing getting ready for most that time, considering I hadn't actually had the time to earlier.

After school, I swung by my father's work to drop off a file for him. Then I had stopped by the diner, just to check in on the boys who were working there, only to be shocked by the fact that they were attending a party that night: my brothers' party. When I finally arrived at the house, Knox and Micah dragged me into helping them prep. Then, an hour and a half before the party was to begin, Marie stomped in and demanded that she take me so she could get me ready. I didn't protest, knowing there was no use, and neither did the boys.

Marie had finished with me a good twenty minutes earlier, but I had needed time to mentally prepare myself. My phone sat beside the sink, vibrating nonstop. All of the messages were from my siblings, the boys, and prep school acquaintances. Most of the messages consisted of "where are you" or "are you okay". I stared at the annoying object for a long moment before turning it over, hiding the screen from sight, and forcing my eyes up to the mirror.

I looked pretty, at least, according to Marie I did. My blonde hair was straightened to perfection, falling over my shoulders in a silky waterfall. My makeup was heavier than what it usually was, consisting of a smokey eye that incorporated pink and a winged eyeliner. I had insisted on wearing my own strawberry pink lip gloss, and Marie had reluctantly obliged.

Seeing as I no longer felt like myself, it was fitting that the clothes I wore didn't belong to me either. Marie had found me clothes from her closet, and when I squinted my eyes and asked if they even belonged to her, she only shrugged and told me she couldn't remember. I didn't question her further on the matter, deciding it better to just remain silent for the entire tortuous process.

The outfit was nice enough, though. The top was a pale pink and covered in lace, and only the portion that covered my bust was solid cloth, beyond that was all lace. The top covered to past my belly button, and had been paired with a white flowey skirt. Marie had suggested I wear heels with the ensemble, but having to wear heels often enough for dinner parties, I turned her down and went with a simple pair of black ballet flats.

I narrowed my eyes at my reflection. "Dumbass," I hissed. "Your pride really thought this was the best way to show Zain that he was wrong? Dumb. Ass."

A knock at my door startled me, and I straightened up, tearing my eyes away from my mirror. The door was locked, preventing anyone from coming in unless they picked the lock. And if they dare picked the lock, they were going to have a fist waiting for them on the other side. My eyebrows furrowed together at the fact that anyone was on the other side of the door at all; the boys had deemed the upstairs as off limits to the party guests and had threatened bodily harm if anybody even tried to venture upstairs.

"Sang," Micah's voice carried through the door, and I relaxed considerably. "Are you okay in there?"

I reached over and unlocked the door, then yanked it open. Micah stood on the other side, his hands shoved into his pockets. He seemed to be both sheepish and worried at the same time, and my heart softened, hating that I was constantly a pain in his ass. He was only seventeen, and yet he shouldered more responsibility than he should have to, and part of that was because of me.

"Hey, Micah," I said, forcing my lips to spread into a convincing smile. It was harder to use the Trust Fund Baby smile on my siblings because they had their own version of the smile, but I had learned to do it convincingly enough that they no longer questioned it. "Sorry for hiding out in here. I'm ready now, though."