She's Broken

Chapter 31

Chapter 31 (Not proofread).

               

                I was standing in my room. My own room and fixing my makeup for the first time since they sent Finn down.  My scent of perfume was winding around my bare legs and the mirror was glinting from the light that was coming through the window.

                “How’s everything going?” Mum asked, pushing the door open a crack. I turned and nodded, offering her a small smile. I’d shown her the dress when I’d come back from shopping that day but I hadn’t put it on before, apart from in the changing room.

               

                “It’s going alright, thanks.” She let herself in, looking around. The room still contained that sense of edge, that part of fear. Mum sat down at the desk, on the opposite side of the bed and the looming wardrobe. My photographs of Carter, Jenna and Harley everyone in my life were on the wall. The only person missing from them was Eli.

                “You look beautiful, love,” Mum whispered, getting up. I watched her move in the mirror, her graceful walk slowing as she stopped behind me to place a loose strand back in my bun. Her dark hair was also tied back, matching the dark tones of her dress. She’d been invited along by Lisa and was our ride to the church.

                “Thanks, you look good, too,” I said, looking at us both in the mirror. I hadn’t been able to stand that closely to my mum in a while and having her there, smiling at me like nothing abnormal was going on gave me a surprisingly warm feeling.

                “I’ve invited your dad,” she said quietly. I spun in surprise, nearly knocking her over.

                “You invited Dad?” I asked, absolutely incredulous. She blushed, a light dusting of pink covering her cheeks.

                “I should’ve asked you first, I’m sorry,” she started but I cut her off, wrapping my arms around her in an embrace.

                “I’m not upset, just surprised.  A good surprised,” I assured, pulling away with a smile. Mum wasn’t ready to let me go so pulled me back against her.

                “Good,” she murmured, rubbing my back for a moment before pulling back. She stayed with me and helped me sort out the rest of my makeup until the doorbell went.

                Moving out from my room, I felt the sides of the skater dress skim my legs and I pulled my cardigan around my chest before opening the front door. Eli had put a white shirt on, one that framed his shoulders and went in with his waist. His black tie was hanging from his collar loosely, clearly not done up properly. He smiled, the dimples in his cheeks coming into view as he stepped forwards, his dark jeans mixing with his black vans.

                “You look... wow,” he trailed off, grinning sheepishly when I thanked him and let him into the front room, slipping a little in my tights on the wooden floor. Eli followed me upstairs as we went to get my bags and my shoes.

                “Can I sit anywhere?” Eli asked politely when I let him into my room. I was hesitant about it at first and my suspicions were confirmed when having a male in the room made me uncomfortable. Carter never used to follow me in there, we always spent all our time out in the garden and my dad never went in my room. Finn was the only one and I never really invited him in, he normally invited himself.