Darkly Devoted (Book 1, 2, 3)

LOMD Chapter 15 - It's Armani, You Poors

Chapter 15

ON THE night of the dance, Vivienne awkwardly stared at herself in the mirror. She had done a clumsy job braiding and putting her dark hair up in a bun. Her hair was decorated with a single red rose. Standing there in her cheap, store-bought dress that had already begun show loose threads at the hem, she felt as far from Manna City as could be. Her gown at the masquerade had a collar of exotic feathers carefully selected and applied by artisans by hand. She had been almost literally sewn into the gown. Not a single seam was out of place. The gown was made with real night-blooming flowers embroidered into it.

This raspberry monstrosity she wore now was baggy in all the wrong places. Vivienne wasn't sure if there even was lining. She just hoped the shoulder straps stayed together long enough to keep her breasts from popping out. As much as she always dreamed of going to the prom with Blake, she never really thought out the logistics of it. She remembered Lady Thorne and her wardrobe of fantastic and otherworldly gowns, some of which were just for lounging. Vivienne found herself becoming terribly worried he would be horribly disappointed by her sad excuse for a prom dress.

When Vivienne came down the stairs, she momentarily if Blake was going to come to their front door. If he did, how was her father going to react? Was her father even going to recognize him? Would her father forbid her from going?

As Vivienne glazed into the darkness of the living room she immediately saw that her worries were unfounded. Her father was passed out on the couch and snoring.

"Dad?" Vivienne asked. "Hey, I'm heading out now."

There was no response. Standing there, in the best finery that Remin could produce, Vivienne couldn't help but feel sad. She wasn't sure what she wanted from him. Maybe she was simply too caught up in the fantasy of going to a high school dance. What was she expecting? That he was going to show up to the front door and grill Blake about when he was planning to bring his little girl home? It almost made Vivienne laugh to think that could possibly happen. Her father would probably sell her off to pay off his gambling debts.

Then again, maybe that was exactly what had happened. The debtors had stopped calling. Her family had miraculously shown up in Remin, exactly where Blake wanted her. Her mother and father hadn't had a single fight over paying the bills in weeks. Maybe, Blake was behind her family's sudden ability to make ends meet. If that was so, Blake probably took extra precautions to conceal his identity from her father as well.

Stepping outside the front door, Vivienne immediately wished she had taken the back way out. Standing on the sidewalk just a couple of houses down was Janun and Julian, who were locking lips.

"Ugh, YUCK!" Vivienne squealed and covered her eyes. "Really? You two have to do that here?"

"Where are we supposed to go?" Janun asked accusingly. "We were thinking about following you guys to your dance. I heard they decorated the meadow with Christmas lights for it."

Vivienne stood there and glared at her sister until Janun laughed and tugged at Julian's arm. "Who wants to go to a kiddie party anyway? Let's go to the mall."

"Cute dress," Julian said with a wink at Janun. "I heard Farm-Girl Chic is all the rage this season."

Janun burst out giggling and punched Julian in the chest. "You're hilarious, Namura. My sister dresses herself like a color-blind nun. You wouldn't believe what she was trying to put on the other day."

"God, you're such a jerk, Janun!" Vivienne snapped and stamped her foot, nearly getting her cheap heels caught in a crevasse in the sidewalk. "And you too, Julian! Argh! I'm going to tell mom and dad on the two of you!"