Black Into Gold // Demi Lovato // 3

16. Dinner

"You really didn't have to do that," Demi said, waking me from my dream about cats.

I blinked a few times, wondering who the hell she could be talking to and wondering why there had been cats surrounding me. I shook the thought away and sat up, resting on my elbows, seeing Demi still in her pajamas, phone to her ear.

She didn't seem to notice that I was awake and finished her conversation saying, "Oh, that's true. Well, thank you." She paused and nodded to herself. "Yeah, we'll definitely be there. Thanks."

She hung up leaving me confused.

"Who was that?" I asked, sitting up completely.

"Shit." She jumped, hand over her heart. "That was Sabrina. She was saying she got some clothes and a few other things for Rosie. I tried to tell her I would take care of anything she needs, but she said I can worry about it when Rosie is here."

I opened my mouth, then realized Sabrina was the officer at the desk who was fostering Rosie for us.

"And she invited us for dinner tonight, so... look pretty." She waved her hand at me.

I laughed, pushing the covers off. "Always."

After I was showered and dressed, Demi and I sat downstairs with our breakfast.

"I've been thinking about dying my hair again," I said, buttering my toast.

"Like, touching up the purple? Or something new?" She touched the ends of my hair which were a light shade of purple.

"New. Purple is so last year," I said, mockingly and rolling my eyes.

Demi chuckled. "You should do something like ombré. I don't know what colors though."

I nodded, chewing on my bacon. "That'd be cool, but I feel like I want something simple, you know?" We are in silence for a bit. Then I asked, "Do you know if dreaming about cats has any significance?"

She stared at me, open mouthed before bursting out laughing. "You're so weird, oh my God!" She took our empty plates to the sink, shaking her head. "But I don't know. Ask a professional... dream specialist."

I chuckled, joining her in the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

We joked a little about my dream, I think to not worry about Rosie for a while. We knew she was safe, but I knew Demi still had concerns.

As the day dragged on, Demi's mood dropped. She sighed loudly as we were getting ready for dinner with Sabrina, her husband, and Rosie.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah. Just want this to go well. Tonight and just everything after." She brushed her long, black hair into a sleek ponytail and put in some dangly, diamond and pearl earrings. She wore a black lace dress with a bow around the waist and simple glitter-covered shoes.

I went with a simple red dress with pleats in the skirt and a belt. My shoes were just as simple, black heels and I poked in some champagne colored earrings. I stared at my faded hair in the mirror for a long time, unsure what to do with it.

Demi came up behind me, taking my brush and my hair, working slowly. She pulled the pieces into place, the feeling of my hair being done comforting me.

Finally, after she tied it with clear rubber bands, and secured some loose strands with bobby pins, I saw that she French braided it, starting from the right side of my head and wrapping around to the left side, the tail of the braid hanging over my shoulder.

"Wow," I said, admiring her work. Some days I could barely put it in a regular braid, so I was fairly impressed. After our makeup was done, we grabbed thin jackets, since it was a little chilly out, before heading to Demi's car in the garage.

As she began backing out, she said, "Oh, and maybe don't mention the cats."

I snorted and rolled my eyes.

We listened to the radio for some background noise as Demi drove to Sabrina's house. It felt like it had been forever since Demi and I saw Rosie. Thinking this, I figured Demi must be worried that Rosie will want to stay with Sabrina. I know she would be happy that Rosie would be safe and taken care of, but I also knew she desperately wanted to be the mother Rosie never had.

~//~//~//~//~//~//~

Sabrina greeted us at the door, ushering us inside. The living room, dining room, and kitchen were all connected, so it was easy to spot Rosie on the couch and Sabrina's husband at the stove.

Rosie got up, smiling shyly and sat with Demi and me at the table.

"This is Davis," Sabrina said.

He came over to shake our hands. "So wonderful to meet you two," he said. "You look like excellent mothers."

Demi looked down to her lap, hiding her huge grin.

"Dinner will be ready soon. Go ahead and sit down, honey."

Sabrina sat across from Demi, Rosie across from me, leaving Davis at the head. He brought out some dishes of food, my mouth watering. I hadn't eaten much, anticipating the food I would eat tonight. He got everyone drinks and we dug in, getting pork chops, mashed potatoes, and a choice of green beans or corn.

"Save room for dessert," Sabrina said to me, smiling. "We made cake."

I had a mound of food. "There will be room. Don't worry."

Dinner was filled with idle chit chat at first, but then we got into more important topics, like school for Rosie.

She didn't say much throughout dinner, and when school was brought up, she said she hardly went. She explained briefly that she went to a bad school where kids were selling and using drugs in the bathrooms and fights broke out several times a week.

It was silent for a moment after her revelation, then Demi spoke up. "We'll find you a good school, okay?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, myself included.

I think it was obvious to all of us that even though she was young, she had seen and been through a lot.