As Long As You Love Me

4 ~ Differences, Lies, & Nugget

✧ demetria rosewood ✧

There is no difference at all between us. We have the same makeup, same face, same hair. 

The only thing I don't like about her is...

She's prettier than me. 

Even though Mario had sworn that he'd done her makeup exactly as he'd done mine, she looks...better. Her face isn't tired and creased with frown lines. Her hair isn't frayed with over-heating and over-coloring. She looks younger, fresher almost. 

She looks like a better Demetria than I do. 

"They're like twins," Luci gushes, standing us right by each other and admiring us like a proud mother. Mitchie blushes and looks down while I shoot Luci a sour look. There's only one physical difference between us - our height, and the color of our eyes. 

"Marvelous," Mario coos. "Look at yourself, darling." He swivels her around to face a mirror. 

There's a brief moment of silence as Mitchie's jaw proceeds to drop open and she raises a trembling hand to her face. 

I wonder how long she's waited until the day when she could actually be pretty. And the day had come. 

Before I can process what happened, Mitchie whirls around and flings herself at me. She wraps her arms around my neck and crushes me to her. I stagger back a few steps. 

"Thank you so much," she whispers with a big sniffle. I'm so shocked, I don't even know what to do with my hands, so I settle for patting her back. 

"It's...it's a'ight," I stammer, prying her off me. Luci dabs at imaginary tears in her eyes with a tissue paper and Mario is standing there, beaming like a proud father. 

"No, Demetria," she insists. "You don't understand. This is...this is my dream. All my life, my dream has been to be someone important. And now...I am. Thanks to you." 

"It's...Mitchie, it's no party out there," I try to choke out, still overwhelmed by emotion. She'd hugged me. She'd bloody...hugged me. I didn't know what to think. "In the world you're going to? People want blood." 

"I can handle it. I'm pretty strong. I'll do it for you, Demetria. To thank you." 

Why did she have to make me feel so bloody guilty? 

"Baby," Luci jumps in. "I have a question for you." 

"Yeah?" Mitchie grins. She must've had braces or something, because her teeth are perfectly straight. I look at my slightly crooked teeth in the mirror and cringe. 

"We need to be in London by tomorrow evening," Luci says slowly. "You've been invited to the premiere party of Walt Anderson's new romcom 'To The Stars'. Heard of it?"