The Cover-Up

Chapter Four

Rae stood at the base of the large staircase in the front of Jada's house, staring up in awe. It's not like she'd never seen a big house before; the houses along the beach in Brevard were massive and modern, similar to the one she was looking at now.

Rae's family was well-enough off. They were middle class, with a comfortable two-story house and just enough money to get both Rae and her brother through college. Their dad had bailed when Rae was in middle school, but their mom was a successful breast cancer surgeon who was able to provide for her family without the help of her dirtbag husband.

Living near the beach, Rae had known plenty of wealthy people who had boats, memberships to beach clubs, and other things of the sort. But she'd never known any of the people who owned the beach houses. Now, looking up at Jada's gigantic house, she couldn't believe there were people in the world who had enough money for such a big house and could still provide for three children and put them through college.

Rae slowly ascended the large staircase, running her hand in wonder along the banister, when the front door opened and Mckenna and Jada burst through.

"What's taking you so long?!" Mckenna shouted gleefully. "C'mon, we've got to get ready!"

——

If Rae had been amazed at the outside of Jada's house, she would have been stunned to silence at the size of Jada's bedroom.

The room must have been equal to the size of Rae's kitchen, dining room, and living room combined. There was a massive wardrobe filled with glittery and expensive dresses, shoes, and purses. A dresser had shirts, shorts, and pajamas, and a vanity table was covered in makeup. The bathroom had a bathtub and a shower, and the walk-in closet had even more of those shiny dresses. A flat-screen TV sat atop the dresser and faced Jada's bed, which was also massive and covered in a fluffy white bedspread and lots of pillows. The long windows in the room looked out onto the groomed lawn, which in turn looked out onto a golf course.

In the bedroom, a speaker blasted music as the girls danced happily around, drinking wine from the bottle and applying makeup with tipsy hands. Rae sat on a couch underneath a long window, feeling too insecure to dance but laughing as she watched the girls jump around.

Rae went into the bathroom to change and felt the boom of the bass vibrate through the closed door. She couldn't help but look around in wonder at the bathroom- it was probably as big as her bedroom. She wouldn't have guessed at Jada's family's wealth. She had only ever seen the girl wear sweatpants and t-shirts- granted, she'd only known her for a week, but she just hadn't seemed like the type of girl that Rae had come to associate with wealth: snobby, with name-brand bags and shoes along with a superiority complex.

Rae dug through her bag and settled on an outfit that she hoped wouldn't make her stand out too much- ripped black jeans and a yellow flowery crop top. She exited the bathroom and Mckenna's eyes settled on her. The other girl's jaw dropped and then she smiled, exclaiming, "Ohmygosh, Rae, I absolutely love that shirt! Although-"

"No," Jada cut in, who had just turned around to see Rae exiting the bathroom. "Absolutely not. Please tell me you brought another outfit."

Rae's face grew red. "No, this is all I brought..."

"Come on, Jada," Mckenna said angrily. "You don't have to be so rude about it."

Jada rolled her eyes and exhaled a breath in annoyance. "Okay, sorry. Listen, Rae, the outfit is cute, but not really appropriate for this party. The guy who's throwing the party, his name is Evan Fields. He's arguably the most popular person in school, maybe even the most popular teenager in the entire town. He's notorious for his parties. He only invites the best of the best, and if you are able to score an invite, then it is imperative that you dress to impress. Sparkly cocktail dresses, frilly skirts, that sort of thing."

Rae stood shocked. "Who is this Evan guy?"

Mckenna cut in, her face red. "He's the hottest guy in school," she said, swooning. "He plays football, and he's even richer than Jada." Jada cut her a sharp look, and Mckenna said quietly, "Sorry, but it's true."

"His family comes from a long line of money. They're super rich. They live in an old mansion along the river, and he throws these parties every weekend. It's considered an honor to be invited to one. He hardly invites Central Windham kids; mainly just the rich kids from the private school."

"Does he go to Central Windham?" Rae asked.

"Yeah. His parents think private school is stupid. They don't want to waste their money there, so he goes to Central Windham just like the regular kids."

"Well," Rae said awkwardly, "these are the only clothes I brought. I don't think I have anything appropriate enough for this party..."

"We can swing over to your house and grab something, if you want," Jada said, jumping down off her bed and slipping on her shoes.

"No," Rae cut in quickly, "I mean I don't have anything. At all. I don't really own any fancy clothes."

Jada hesitated for a second, then threw off her shoes and headed towards the wardrobe with a smile.

"Well, you're welcome to borrow any of my dresses. Feel free to look through them." She swung the wardrobe door open and Rae sucked in a breath. All of the expensive and sparkly dresses were shining in the light, waiting to be taken out.

"I don't know..." Rae said, aching to run the material of the dresses through her hands but not wanting to intrude. "I wouldn't want to mess any of them up."

"Oh, come on," Jada said with a laugh. "If you mess one up, I'll just get another one!" She ran back over to the bed and jumped up and down to the beat of the music.

----

After a long time of examining each dress carefully, Rae finally decided upon a light pink, satin, cowl-neck mini dress. It brought out her tan, her blonde highlights, and her blue eyes perfectly. Jada lent her a pair of black heels and shiny gold earrings and tried to give her a gold handbag to go with it, but Rae refused.

"I can't even believe you're letting me wear all this stuff," Rae said in amazement as she examined herself in the mirror. "Is there some way I can repay you?"

"Don't worry about it," Jada said, studying Rae's reflection. "What are friends for?"

For the first time since Andrew's disappearance, Rae didn't feel completely hopeless. She felt the tingle of friendship that she hadn't felt in months, and let herself admit that maybe, just maybe, moving to a different town would be good for her.