The ghost of him

Chapter 6

I turn the radio all the way up to drown out my thoughts. Even though it's night and everyone can probably hear my music, I don't care. My thoughts are too heavy right now, too loud. Maybe by tonight, I won't even be able to think.

I pull into Abby's driveway and park my car. I get out and walk to the front door, passing her mom's beautiful flower garden and the neatly cut grass. I don't even get a chance to knock on the door, Abby opens it for me and drags me inside, up to her room.

It's a mess, with clothes and shoes on the floor, and dresses sprawled out on her bed. Her vanity is filled with makeup and dirty makeup sponges and cotton pads.

Ava is sitting at the vanity, putting on eyeshadow in a light pink cocktail dress.

"Ava? You're coming too?" Ava is the most anti-social person I know. She really only talks to us and has trust issues. She doesn't dance either, and at the party, they'll probably only be playing rap music, which she hates.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" She says it a little weird, and she's acting out of character.

I look over at Abby.

"She might have had a few drinks already. Shhh." Abby puts her finger over her mouth and we both laugh.

"Is Mason coming?" I ask.

"Yeah, he's gonna meet us there," Abby says.

I nod my head.

Abby looks at me up and down and gives me a look. "What are you wearing? You can't wear a hoodie and jeans to a party!" She runs into her walk-in closet and starts looking through all the hangers and piles of clothes on the floor.

She gasps. "This red dress would be perfect for you!" She takes it off the hanger and throws it to me. It's a cocktail dress.

I look at it for a few seconds, then back at her. "Um...First of all, do you know me? Second of all, we're not the same size. You're much skinnier." I'm a 7 in dress size and she's only a 5.

"That's a 6. it will fit you, trust me." She says as she comes out of the closet. "And, it's time to step out of your comfort zone. Ava did."

Ava gives us a smile and a thumbs up.

I change into it, and it fits perfectly. It's the perfect length so it's not too short, but not too long either. It brings out my hips and cinches my waist. I'm surprised. I stare at myself in the body mirror. It doesn't feel like me, but I do look fire in it. Maybe I'll wear it just this once.

"Here are shoes." She hands me red high heels and I put them on. Mom would faint if she saw me right now. Oh my god. I almost forgot.

I gasp. "Oh crap. I forgot to call my mom." I call her up real fast and tell her I'm here and I'm safe, and that we'll just be watching a movie. She says goodnight to me and that she loves me, I say it back and then I hang up.

***

About an hour later when everyone is dressed and our makeup and hair are all done, we're finally ready to leave.

Ava curled my hair and did my makeup, though she didn't do a good job because she's tipsy. Abby had to fix it. When I stare at myself in the mirror again I look like a completely different person. I never knew I could look this good.

We all hop in Abby's car and we're on our way to the party.

***

The music is blasting when we get there. I open the door and am bombarded by the smell of weed and throw up. I have a bad feeling about this. There's a group of people smoking, everyone's drinking, and some are making out. If Aaron were here he would make things 10x better. But he's not so I suck it up and go in.