In Deep Water || JJ Maybank

sixteen

The next morning was a blur. Rose decided that we should pamper ourselves, so she hired people to come to the house and do facials and mani-pedis for the party. A few hours were dedicated to that, and another few hours were dedicated to getting ready. Rose insisted that Wheezie and I let her do our hair, but I made her promise to not do anything too crazy. She ended up curling my hair, pulling a few strands back into a braided half-up-half-down look.

When she was done with my hair, I was looking forward to having a moment alone. In my room, I sat on the bed, scrolling through Instagram. A smile spread across my face as I saw a picture of JJ and Pope on Kie's story, all dressed up to work the event. A small part of me was excited that they would be there, because being close to JJ always made me feel safe. After Ward's revelation last night, I couldn't help but feel a little on edge in the house. I already knew what happened, but hearing how he talked about it scared me. He didn't really sound remorseful; he sounded rehearsed.

The anxiety over tonight started to build. I wanted to smoke to calm my anxiety, but I knew things wouldn't go well if I were high at the event. Settling for the short term anxiety relief of nicotine, I grabbed my Juul from the drawer it was in. After hitting it, I started doing my makeup. I tried to do more makeup than I usually wore because I had a feeling my usual mascara and brow gel wouldn't cut it. 

I would never admit it to anyone, but I wanted to look my best tonight. All the attention on me brought out the worst of my insecurities, and I didn't want to give anyone a reason to pick me apart. I was a confident person, but something about this felt different than usual. Maybe it was because my ex boyfriend would be there or because these people held me to the typical Cameron standard, but I felt this intense need to not just look good, but to look better than everyone else.

As I slipped my dress on, I was glad to see it still fit perfectly. The yellow satin hugged my body, and the skirt made me feel elegant. The slit in the skirt allowed my shoes to peek out, pulling the gold glitter on my eye together with the outfit. I felt beautiful.

A knock on my door startled me, and I went to open it. Wheezie was standing on the other side, dressed and ready as well.

"You look beautiful," she said.

"So do you, Wheezie. You're like a modern day Cinderella," I said, smiling.

"If I'm Cinderella then you're Belle," she said, laughing.

"I'll take it," I said, "What did you need, though?"

"I came to see if you were almost ready. Rose said she had one more surprise for us before we leave," she said.

"Yeah, I just need to find come back and get my things after," I said, following her out the door.

Shutting the door, we headed to Rose and Ward's room. She was sitting on the bed with two gift bags in her hands. Motioning us in, she stood up from the bed.

"These are for you girls! One for you," she said, handing the bag to Wheezie, "And one for you."

We looked at each other, eager to know what was inside. I started pulling at the tissue paper, and gasped when I saw what was inside. Rose had bought us matching necklaces for tonight. Mine was gold, and Wheezie's was silver. I turned the pendant over and saw three sets of initials carved into the back: SMC, SEC, and WGC.

Tears welled in my eyes as I looked at Rose. The initials engraved in the back were mine, Sarah's, and Wheezie's. I ran over to her, bringing her into a tight hug.

"Thank you so much, Rose," I said.

"Of course, honey," she said, "Now that you're part of the family, I thought it would be nice to get something for the Cameron sisters. I even had a third one made that would've been for Sarah."