The Protection

Forty - Two

I turned in the mirror of the fancy department store yanking up the top of the strapless red dress as Beth worked on the zipper. The endless nights of drinking and eating like crap after classes had really begun to make their mark.

"Maybe it's time we did another one of our three day fat loss detoxes," Beth hinted as she continued to struggle with the zipper. I felt my cheeks flame the same shade as the red dress, mortified. Finally I felt the zipper give way and pinch directly into my skin making me yelp. "Sorry," Beth whispered, laughing a tick too long. I tried not to grimace. She had been so strange since that day when Kyler's mother, Helen, visited me at our apartment. I knew I was overanalyzing, but I could feel her resentment in waves. Buying me extra tequila shots to make me throw up when we went out, cutting me off on our Tuesday morning runs, and now zipping my spine into my dress. I looked in the mirror at the angry red mark already swelling on my spine. I knew I had been distant and she felt neglected, but this was getting to be a little much. Sensing my mood she turned, her lace A-line number flaring out around her petite blonde frame. "Extra curves or not, you look spectacular in that dress," she said, admiring the way the dress framed my now full bust and cut in at my waist. A white flag of sorts in compliment form.

"Thanks, so do you," I said, honestly. The fit and flare dress made her look innocent, but in an alluring way. The white lace went well past her knees but the slit on the cleavage was entirely too low, held up only by two tiny straps. The whiteness of the dress reminded me of the rabbit. The dead rabbit on my bed. Its lifeless beady black eyes flitted through my mind along with something else. Something I hadn't noticed that night. Something about the bow on the box. I could have sworn I had seen that material before...

"Earth to Perry," Beth groaned, snapping her perfectly manicured fingernails in front of my face. "Red or black?" she pouted, and I was at a loss for a moment until I glanced down at two ridiculously high pointy heels I would have easily broken my neck in. Growing up with a strong petite frame had made Beth a pro at wearing the highest heels possible, and her unlimited cash flow allowed her to afford the most expensive of brands. In every color.

"Definitely red," I said, looping an arm through hers as she motioned to her personal sales associate, and we moved to the accessory counter. I eyed a beautiful diamond pendant necklace that I knew was way outside of my budget. The red dress would already be a stretch. I had been living on top ramen for months to afford it. "I can't believe we're graduating in a few days," I said as I returned the expensive necklace to the rack. Beth signaled for the associate again and he plucked the necklace from the holder, giving me a wink before he wrapped it. "You didn't have to do that." I muttered. "I have other stuff I could wear with the dress..."

"That costume stuff?!" Beth rolled her sapphire eyes. "Count it as one last gift before I am shipped off to God knows where with the Peace Corps." She laughed flippantly, holding an ostentatious pair of emerald earrings up to her ears. I felt tears well in my eyes despite her tone, and the way she dismissed everything I owned. She had told me a few months back after the national tournament that she had been accepted to a short list of political hopefuls that would be touring the world providing aid to foreign countries. She would be shipping off to an undisclosed location a few short days after graduation. She felt the Peace Corps would look better on her resume during her presidential run than going to law school at the University of Texas would. Beth always marched to the beat of her own drum in life, and despite us going through a lot over the years, I felt like someone was dying. After everything that had happened with The Protection, Beth has been the one to bring me back to reality. She was my best friend, and more than that, my sister.

"Stop looking at me like that," she groaned as she rolled her eyes. I tried to not let her flippant remark bother me. "You'll be in medical school in Portland, meeting all sorts of gorgeous residents, and you'll forget all about little 'ol me." I tried to swallow, but it was more difficult these days. Not only was I pending another meeting with an elite member of The Protection, but my grades had been slipping, and my life was in major limbo. I hadn't focused on school work very well this semester due to Kyler, the near rapes and murders, and the threat from an unknown enemy. I tried not to think again about how I hadn't seen or felt him in nearly two weeks, since the meeting with his mother. I could tell someone was watching me, but not Kyler. A stand in? Possibly Alana? Had they sent him away again? Canada again? Or further this time?

"I still don't even know if I got into OHSU," I offered, trying not to let my frustration show. Beth's smoothe petite hand found its way onto my arm.

"Hey," she soothed, her voice soft and her eyes softer. "You are a shoo-in. They would be crazy not to accept you. You're the smartest person I know, and your MCAT scores were off the charts. Stop worrying so much. You'll get wrinkles, and I know you won't want to pay for botox." I nudged her but smiled at the friend I had grown to know so well, the one I also hadn't seen in a couple of weeks. She smiled back at me, her broad white teeth glinting like fangs. Her eyes suddenly turned chilly, losing their past warmth. "Let's pay for our dresses and get out of here. I'm bored," she said, faking a yawn and easily unzipping her dress. She smirked in the mirror as I struggled with my zipper. As she turned, her hair glinted off the fluorescent dressing room lighting like a million golden feathers. Something stirred inside me. Something I had seen before, but I couldn't put a finger on. Something just felt off. I flashed a smile and she flashed one back, neither smile reaching our eyes.