Never be the same

Chapter three: The betrayal

In front of her big mirror Zoe does some final touch ups to her dress. The pinkish highlighter on her cheeks shines when the light coming from the hallway hits her face. She's putting a nude shiny lip gloss and sprays herself with a chanel parfume. The expensive smell scatters all around her room and makes her skin sweeter than it already is. Suddenly her phone starts ringing.

"Hey Sarah, are you coming? I'm almost ready."

"Yes, Zoe. I'll be there in 10 minutes. Just called to make sure that you're ready."

The tight black dress is hugging her body perfectly making her curves stand out even more. The red lipstick combined with her deep black eyes make her look hotter and even more desirable. No men could ever resist to her beauty.

"Okay, honey. Btw where did you vanish the last period? You didn't tell me anything."

"Oh, uhm... an old friend of mine called. So I went to meet with him. Not a big deal."

Sarah feels bad about lying to her best friend but that is the best for now. She couldn't risk to get Zoe in trouble since the last precious friend that she has is her, that's why she keeps her out of this situation.

"Okay then. See you later!"

Pretending to believe her, Zoe hangs up the phone. A feeling in her just knows that Sarah is lying to her. She decides to not get in Sarah's business and wait because she's sure that there's something fishy about this.

"Zoeee, sweetieee, Sarah's here, hurry up! Don't make her wait!"

Letting Sarah in, Nicole shouts at her daughter from downstairs. She side hugs her and kisses her cheek. The rattle from Zoe's heels make them both look at the stairs. They see the shy, quiet girl turned into a flawless young lady. As she goes down the stairs Nicole begins her "proud mom" speech.

"You both look so gorgeous. I can't believe how fast you grew up. I remember you going to third grade with your winx backpacks."

"Don't be sentimental, mom. It's just a party."

"I know, I know... but seeing you like this makes me feel so proud of my girls."

"Mom, stop this. We must go now otherwise we'll be late."

"Okay, have fun! And don't get drunk!"

"Sarah, you better hear my mom."

"Shut up, Zoe. Goodbye, Mrs. Nicole"

Nicole keeps looking at their shadows in the dark and as soon as they get in the car she goes inside.

"Streets" by Doja Cat starts playing on the radio while driving to the boy's house. The calm and clear air makes the stars show up on the sky which makes the road look like it's lighted by them. A couple of minutes later Zoe notices a purple mark on Sarah's neck.

"Is that a hickey?"

She asks with a low voice while looking at the road. She starts playing nervously with her bag's zipper trying to not look at Sarah again.

"What?"

"The purple mark on your neck!"

"Oh, no, it's nothing!"

Sarah runs her hand to her neck trying to hide the bruise even though it's too late to be hidden. Millions of questions enter Zoe's mind. She gets worried about her friend even more. Those weird phone calls, her disappearing in certain moments and now this bruise...

"Are you sure that everything is all right?"

"Yes, Zoe. Don't worry."

"Then how did this happen?"