"This is what she had become."
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Cleopatra Banks' last week in the small town of New Chelsea is nothing like she would have imagined it, but nothing could have prepared her for the stinging betrayal she's faced with and suddenly the prospect of...
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You're not like the others. You're always there for me when I need you. You understand me. I love you.
Please don't leave me.
"Cleo honey, can you please stop staring at the tub of ice cream like it's about to propose marriage?" Mom asks me from where she's standing by her vanity, applying one final coat of lipstick with Ruby watching on closely.
As usual, she looks radiant and absolutely stunning.
"There's only one spoonful left and you forgot to buy more," I continue frowning into the ice cream tub, hoping the remaining ice cream somehow multiplies itself because I will be needing as much emotional support as I can possibly get for tonight.
We're having dinner with the Rhodes' at their restaurant.
Dad won a very tough case and got some new clients from some of the biggest companies in Victoria Springs as a result of that and to celebrate, mom thought it would be a great idea to go out and make a spectacle out of everything, as usual.
"Good, you need to leave some space for dinner," she turns around and comes to stand in front of me.
"Also I won't be buying any more. I was thinking that maybe you and I could go on a cleanse," she places her hands on her hips and beams at me excitedly.
"Cleansing? Like a diet?" I ask her with a raised eyebrow.
"It's not a diet honey, it's a cleanse," she makes an attempt at explaining "and it'll only be for seven days. We could do it during the March holidays."
"But why do we need to cleanse? We're not dying or anything are we?" I ask because cleansing is not something she's ever done...ever!
"Why do you have to be so morbid? You're seventeen, nobody's dying. I read an article about how it can be good for your liver and keeps you healthy, gets rid of toxins and other harmful stuff. And you won't be doing it alone I also need some cleansing," she says before turning to Ruby who's got ice cream covering her entire mouth and cheeks.
Ruby, the little bugger that she is, runs out of the room giggling when she catches me looking and I can only watch on in despair. She's just had the last spoonful.
"You don't have to do the cleanse if you don't want to but I think it would actually be very good for the both of us," she now folds her hands and cocks her head to the side.
Good intentions.
I have to remind myself that mom always has good intentions and this is just her own way of showing me that she loves me. A cleanse won't hurt right? And maybe it won't necessarily hurt trying something new. Plus it's only during the March holidays, I still have a few weeks left until then.
"Okay, let's cleanse then," I concede much to her excitement.
"Great, now tell me how I look. Should I wear this dress with the strappy heels or the peep toe ones?" she asks, picking up two different pairs of shoes from near the foot of her bed.
