Bears Know Best

Chapter 35: Morning Darkness

THE NEXT THING I knew I was confused, as I felt my body moving under someone else's power. I was being carried, upstairs and wondered why I was being carried quietly like this.

"Huh?" I grumbled.

"You're awake?" I heard Rachel say, "You're supposed to stay asleep," it seemed like she almost muttered.

"Why are you carrying me upstairs?" I asked sleepily. I realized we were already at my room.

"I just wanted to get you up and have you with me to go get some groceries without waking up the other girls," she said quickly. Oddly.

"Oh," I said. I thought about asking for her to let me down, but I decided that she was willing to carry me, so I'd make her carry me. 'She woke me up so early,' I complained to myself.

When we got to my room she said, "Umm... you said you'd be interested in seeing some of my other dress designs?"

I looked at her like she was speaking another language, but nodded.

"Okay then, let's try this on," she said as she pulled out another dress. I got just a brief look at it before she said, "Pajamas off, you'll have to put Julie down for a moment," she said in an ordering voice that sounded odd. I had to put down Julie, whom I hadn't even realized I was still cuddling from the night before, onto my bed. Julie's hair and my hair looked surprisingly still intact.

'I must not have moved much last night,' I sleepily thought to myself. I was too tired to be embarrassed about being naked in front of her again, and just did as she asked. She didn't hesitate to tell me, "Arms up," and I was soon in another dress with a built-in tulle lining. 'Thankfully this one doesn't look as thick as last night's...' I thought as she zipped the back of the dress up and tied a bow with the ribbon that defined a high bodice that came just below my breasts. I felt like the dress was again trying to hide my assets instead of showing them... it just seemed weird for someone who was in the fashion industry to dress me that way.

I caught a quick glance in the mirror and saw the dress was white at the base of its fabric, but the print was full of large bright, blue, pink, yellow, and green flowers. The flowers were something I would expect on a toddler or preschooler's dress. Maybe an eight-year-old would be happy with the dress, but I didn't like it for me. It was embarrassing.

"I don't think this one suits me as much," I started to say.

"Come on Taylor, let's go, don't worry about your purse or anything," she said.

"May I at least go to the bathroom first?" I asked. 'Geeze, what's her hurry?'

"You can go at the store; I want to get out of here before anyone wakes up from our noise." She told me.

That seemed odd, and I noticed that my iPhone was sitting next to Julie. I made a split-second decision, "Can I take Julie with me?"

I watched her face widen, her eyes ponder for a moment, and she said, "Yes, but hurry up!"

I grabbed Julie and simultaneously slipped my iPhone under her pajama shirt before hugging her close to me. 'Something's not right...' I thought to myself, 'I want to be able to call Dad to come get me if she gets crazy...'

I cuddled Julie close to me, and kept the phone side away from Rachel as we went downstairs to the car. I expected her to go for the convertible, but instead she opened the backdoor to the '5' again. "Get in," she told me.

I looked in and took a double take, "I thought we talked about this," I told her. "I don't need to be in a booster seat."

"That was before you lost weight in the hospital Taylor." She tried to argue back.