Another Lifetime

Chapter 29

DeAnna Kastell

I walked out of the dressing room and I felt like a white pumpkin. "You look like an albino squash," Harry said bluntly and we both laughed. The point was to just put me in a random dress to give Roberta something to work from. This was so not me, more like something my grandmas would have worn at their wedding.

"I love you, my only daughter, but you look like a chiffon blimp," Dad said and I wasn't arguing. That was exactly what I looked like but I would have added 80's to that, I looked like an 80's chiffon blimp.

"Send a photo to Mom," I said with a smirk, "she'll lose her shit if she thinks this is what I'm wearing when to my wedding, which is probably doesn't even want to come to," I said and Dad had snapped a photo mid-monologue.

"So?" Roberta asked me. "Analyse this thoroughly, you don't like it but why don't you like it," she said and I looked at my reflection.

"White represents purity, and I'm far from pure, but getting married to him, it's going to give us a fresh start, so maybe white is right, plus it really works with my skin tone," I decided, "this is too much fuss though, something simpler is more me, and no sleeves, I earned these scars and tattoos, I want to be able to show my journey on my wedding day," I told her and ran my hands over my midriff, "maybe some small detail like a belt or a sash but nothing this full on," I thought out loud, tilting my head to the side.

"And the budget?" She asked, mainly looking at my dad whilst I designed a dress in my head now I knew what I didn't want.

"Money's no object when it comes to giving her the perfect wedding," Dad said then continued to eat the tiny sandwiches they'd provided us, and so were some of the security after Harry bullied them into it. Dad had also told them to relax a little since we were in a bridal boutique, one of Aron's lieutenants or soldiers would stand out pretty damn quickly.

"Well then, I will be back in a few, DeAnna, let's get you out of this," she said and helped me off the podium. I could have rolled back to the dressing room in that dress but I just sort of waddled back there.

I was helped out of the dress and given a robe for modesty. I was left alone in the dressing room. I had put the robe on but hadn't tied it up and I was just looking at myself in the mirror. All my tattoos and the scars, all the stories that they told about my life. My phone rang and I picked up, not checking the ID.

"Hey," I said, still looking at all my tattoos, remembering the reasoning and the trips to the parlour for all of them.

"You okay?" Frank asked me.

"I'm in my underwear in a bridal boutique, looking at all my scars and my tattoos," I answered him, no point lying to the detective.

"And?" He asked me, expecting a divine revelation from me.

"I'm so lucky," I told him, "I mean, lucky not privileged," I clarified, "not that I'm not privileged, there's no denying that I was, growing up as the daughter of a billionaire CEO but getting you as brother, Jessie and Harry as friends, and Xavier to love me as the messed up weirdo that I am, that makes me so lucky," I said to him.

"I was lucky to get you as a sister, DeAnna," Frank said and he wasn't. He deserved a sister better than me.

"I'm an ex-junkie, Frank, you deserved much better than me," I said and ran my fingers over a shiv scar I'd gotten it in holding. I'd been so high when it happened I hadn't even felt it, just bled all over the floor and passed out.

"You're brilliant, DeAnna, you struggled but that's made you so much stronger, and I'm honoured you let me be on that journey with you," Frank said and I really didn't deserve my brother.