Scars To Your Beautiful : A Modern Beauty and the Beast retelling ✔

56. No longer the same

Callie tugged on the bottom of the dress, her fingers steadying its edge lightly. Callie stared at her reflection, still struggling to believe how lovely she looked in the dress Larkin got her. It took a lot of cutting and trimming to finally fit through her tiny form and it was definitely worth it.

Light shimmered off the floral, beaded prints on the canary yellow dress like bejeweled, precious stones pinned to her body. It hugged her waist a little more tightly, teasing a hint of curves at its nip against her taut, tanned skin. With side-swept chocolate hair that covered a part of her left eye, Callie channeled her inner Veronica Lake, revealing her glamour through its darker highlights. It made her feel momentarily fearless and trailed enough confidence to keep her going for the night.

When Callie left her room, she could see Abe huddled next to Ava, with eyes glued to the tv. Abe gushed when he noticed her striding downstairs. "You look like a princess, darling. Let me take a picture."

"Dad, my friends are waiting outside." Callie whined when he jumped up excitedly, ignoring her protest. 

"Don't rush me. It's your first school dance in over a year, so yeah I'll definitely take a picture. I promise it'll only take a second." Whipping out his dated phone, he wore an excited grin. "Now smile."

Flashing a grin, Callie was able to get a couple of pictures out of it.

"So no date?" Ava pushed her glasses higher, holding a smirk that tweaked the edges of her lips. Once again, she had worn a tee-shirt with a strange, statement print. This time, it said 'Death to the world'. It was hilariously serious, an irony of its own that perfectly suited Ava's personality.

"No date. Just me and Naomi hanging out." She'd have love to have Larkin around but he was thousands of miles away in Bali. Besides, she wanted more time to bond with Naomi. They both needed it.

"Who needs dates when you've got friendships, right?" There was no trace of emotion littered on Abe's face, making it a lot more puzzling for Callie to determine his mood. He was straight faced, staring at her quietly. She knew that his mood swings happened often but it was harder to understand what was running through his mind right now.

Callie folded her arms, brows furrowing together. "I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or sweet."

"Right now I'm on responsible dad mode." He was beaming proudly at his words, wearing one of his many goofy smiles. He was back to his almost childish demeanor. It was sweet, but easier to tap into unexpected mood swings.

Ava gave an unconvinced, loud snort. "He's trying to make us bond by making me watch you guys' lame show."

"It's called the witch's return." Callie said defensively. True, it had many cheesy moments in the series but it was a classic. Also, it helped Callie get closer with Abe which was something she was grateful for.

Ava yawned. "It sounds lame."

"Fine, let's watch what you want." Abe huffed out. Seeing the delivish triumph in his younger daughter's eyes, he decided to question her intentions with eyes narrowed. "What is it you want to watch?"

Ava's caramel eyes twinkled again. "Wrestling." 

"Over my dead body. Is that what Noreena's parents let you watch all the time?" Abe scoffed. He looked appalled by the words she said. He made it seem like it was something much worse, but Callie understood. Abe wasn't a fan of anything violent. He was still obsessed with making sure they carried fake guns around to protect themselves. Knowing Ava so well, it was obvious she said it on purpose. Even though Ava actually liked wrestling, she'd rather use it to tease Abe and get a reaction out of him.