Today was finally the day. After all the waiting and the many discussions, the charity ball has finally arrived. It's done every year but I guess i'm only excited because I know my mom played a part in the planning, but also it's an excuse to dress up really nice. The dress code is very elegant, I don't think that there's such thing as over dressing on this occasion because I've seen many outfits over the years.
"You look so good mom"
"Don't I", She flaunts in the mirror
"Your bump makes it even cuter" I was sat on her bed with clips in my hair and my makeup done, besides my sisters.
"We're not friends right now"
"Why?"
"Cause you didn't tell me you're not a virgin"
I roll my eyes
"How'd she find out", Neveah says amused
"You two knew and didn't tell me?"
"Uhhh were we supposed to?", Trinity replies confused
"Of course you were"
"No"
"Mom I'm not supposed to tell you these things for another two years"
She screws me "Yes you are, we keep secrets from your dad together"
"You don't keep secrets from him", Neveah comments
She waves her off "Shut up, when it comes to this I do"
I roll my eyes, "Mother what would you like to know because after this we're not speaking about it again"
I know she's not gonna rest until she gets her questions out of the way.
Mom rests a hand on her hip, "Protection?"
"Obviously"
"I don't know what type of shit you teens be on nowadays"
"After all your lectures I think it'd be stupid not to have used it"
"Was he gentle"
"Ewwww", Trinity fake gags
"That's too in depth-
"Nothings too in depth"
"Yes, he was" I answer
"Did it hurt?"
"A couple seconds"
"Where was it"
"Which time?"
My mother gapes whereas my sisters snicker, they know absolutely everything.
"How many times?", She quizzes
"Are we counting the rounds or-
"Absolutely"
"Two rounds both times"
"Oh so ya'll been fucking around"
My mom is one of those moms, she is all up in my business and this is not surprising to me at all because aside from all her annoyingness we're very close.
"You can't give me a speech about how the first part of a relationship is getting to know each other cause I've had sixteen years to do that-
"Yeah yeah yeah whatever, answer my question though. Where was the first time" She demands
I don't reply for a moment and Neveah purses her lips with amusement.
"His car", I eventually reply
"Cheese on bread!-
"You asked!", I defend
She holds her heart with shock, "Car?? Oh my God my daughter is a freak"
"Indeed she is", Trinity agrees
Mom holds both of their chins pleadingly, "My babies, please don't copy your sister and stay innocent until you're eighteen"
"Ok", They reply amused
"Are you done?", I question
"Yes I'm done. But you two aren't sleeping together in my house anymore"
"That's fine, I prefer the car anyway-
She fake hits me with her heel and I snicker, "Kidding"
"You're not and that scares me"
Dad comes upstairs momentarily, already in his tux. He's carrying Aidan who is also dressed in a tux, my little brother looks so adorable I can't even.
"Awww Aidy you look so cute"
He tilts his head with a smile, "Handsome"
"Yes you're right, you are handsome aren't you" Mom coos
"Uhuh"
"Come let mommy take a picture"
"Why aren't you dressed", Dad says to us expectantly
"Cause mom thinks we're gonna f up our clothes"
"Nah you can change now", She replies
"Alright"
*
My outfit was top tier. The dress I have on drops all the way down to my feet, it's gold and glittery and includes a nice hood. It also comes with gloves which makes me question why I got my nails done in the first place, anyway I've then finished off the look with some heels. But I will be stealing my dad's sliders and wearing them when my feet get tired.
I'll be matching with Indiah however hers is in silver
"You wanna come out on your own?"
My brother nods
"Ok step slowly"
He reaches out his hand and I take it as he steps out of the limo, "Good job baby"
"Grandma", He points towards the entrance
"Yeah we're gonna go up in a sec"
Our grandma was currently walking up the stairs whilst linking arms with grandad. I saw so many people and parked cars, I'm talking Bentley's, limos, Ferraris, Mercedes and so on.
"You take your pills?", Dad asks me
"Mhm"
"I'm proud of you", He let's me know
I smile a little, "Thanks"
He replies a you're welcome before helping mom out of the limo, I saw one of my friends from cheer so I waved and she waved back before walking into the building with her dad. She looked stunning.
"Alright I'm gonna go in and make sure everything's good, swing me a text if you need me" Mom says
"Kk"
My sisters go with her
"Aidy you wanna walk with me or with dad?", I ask
"Daddy", He replies as he takes his hand
"Loser"
He sticks his tongue at me
I hear the sound of heels approaching so I turn around, Indiah was making her way over and she looked so beautiful. Malik and Xavier were on either side of her, she had her arms linked to Malik's. And then behind them was Zion, all the boys were in tuxes of course.
Us being girls, we immediately start to get excited
"Oh my God the gold-
"The silver"
"You look so good", We say at the same time
"Why am I not surprised that you guys are matching", My dad comments
"Don't be a hater uncle T"
Aunt Latoya and Uncle Darnel soon come over
"I see you two got to match in the end. Ree you look beautiful" Aunt Toya smiles
"Thank you", I reply as she gives me a cheek kiss
"Why's everyone stealing my nickname all of a sudden", Xavier fusses
"Here he go", Indiah rolls her eyes and I can't help but smile
"Chill, she's all yours" Malik replies
As they all talk amongst themselves Xavier leaves his arm out for me, "Now I see why you wouldn't tell me what you were wearing"
His hair looked so good, I would know after all I did it.
"You had to be surprised" I reply innocently
"Gold is really your colour"
"You like?"
"Yeah you look so sexy"
"And you don't look so bad yourself"
He grins whilst giving me a cheek kiss
"Ay, none of that" Dad interrupts
He should know that that was just Xavier being polite, if it weren't for the company my lips would be on his.
"K we're going inside now before you embarrass me", I reply
"So adorable", Zion teases
"Fu-... shut up" Xavier corrects himself
"Hurry up, I want appetisers" Indiah tugs on Malik's arm and they walk ahead
The two of us follow along behind them
"By the way my mom was pestering me earlier so she knows we've had sex, congrats you can't sleep in my bed anymore"
Zay looks alarmed, "Was she mad?"
"Nah, but she did call me a freak. I don't know if that was a compliment or an insult"
"I mean you always like when I-
"Behave"
He smirks "No promises"
There were so many people inside already, a few locals, people from my school here with their parents and others. Can I just say that my mom did a fantastic job with the decorating, she should consider adding interior design to her resume.
"FYI, you're still short in heels" My boyfriend informs me
"Shut up"
"Your ass looks good though"
"Enjoy watching it from behind. Indiah let's do a swap"
Xavier frowns at me as I take Malik's place and walk with my best friend.
"Ultimate betrayal"
"Love you too"
I just feel like I'm with him all the time which don't get me wrong there's nothing wrong with that, but I also miss being with Indiah.
"You spoken to A?", I ask her as we walk
"No. But hes been calling and texting me"
I nudge her, "I told you he'd realise what an amazing girl he lost"
She smiles appreciatively, "Thank you"
"Anytime"
The tables and name cards were set out so that everyone was sat with their families, I'm still gonna sit with the Campbell's for the time being. I was keeping an eye on my sisters too, they're chatting with their friends. I miss being a kid sometimes.
"Look, Blair"
When she sees us she smiles and waves, I could tell her parents were telling her to keep up from the way that she was rolling her eyes at them. "See you in a bit", Indiah mouths to her
She nods before walking with her mom
"You hungry?"
"Starving"
"I think starters are gonna come out soon"
I went to go and find my grandparents (from dad's side) and say hi to them, GG and aunt Zuri are most likely going to be late since they usually are no matter the occasion. Anyway after exchanging hugs and hi's Indiah and I went to the bathroom to take pictures, also I wanted to fix my lip liner.
"I know we're behaving now but I need to go for a smoke"
I focus on applying liner to my bottom lip, "I agree"
"Really?"
"Yeah I mean drinking not so much. But I definitely wanna smoke"
My mom got me this aromatherapy diffuser thing, it's kind of like a 'healthier' version of vaping and supposedly helps you relax. I don't even vape but she's just tryna get me to stop smoking weed.
"Ugh thank goodness, thought it was just me"
I put my stuff back into my purse, "Figured out what you wanna do for your birthday yet?"
"I don't know, possibly a party? I don't really care to be fair, I just want another puppy" She says as we leave the bathroom
Indiah really loves dogs
"Fair enough"
When we got back to the table there were starters being passed around, I'm not even surprised that the boys have started eating. "Where's daddy", Indiah asks
"Uncle T's table-...ay put it down" Malik fusses as she steals one of his prawns
"Sharing is caring"
I sit besides Xavier, tugging my gloves off with my teeth. "You ain't think to tell me food was coming out?"
"I texted you", He defends
"Should've spammed my phone", I eat from his plate
I'm not a fan of most of the appetisers, only the calamari and the prawn cocktail. As we're eating I see three people walking across the room, I couldn't identify the man and woman at first but I recognised the third person. It was Dominic. Which would mean that the other two were his mother and father, and behind them......Weston.
The sheriff was in a suit and his wife was in a sequin dress that dropped to the floor, she looked fairly young and had this smile on her face as she was walking with her arm linked to his. Knowing what I know, that smile just looks fake.
West and I made eye contact for a split second but it didn't last any longer than that because I looked away immediately.
I take a sip from Xavier's glass before getting up, "I'll be back"
"Where you going?"
"My feet are killing me I'm gonna go change into some slides"
"You want me to come?"
"It's ok I'll be a sec", I went to get the keys from my dad before leaving
As I'm heading out I bump into my mom,
"Mama you did such a good job, the place looks amazing" I praise
She smiles, "Thanks sweetie, where you off too?"
"I'm just gonna change out of these heels real quick-
"Well hurry cause the speech is soon and I don't want you to miss it"
"Wouldn't dare to, don't worry I'll be quick"
"Alright-
"Dakota", Someone gestures from nearby
"Yeah I'm coming-....see you in a bit"
I don't think I know one person that likes public speaking apart from my parents.... I mean my dad already does it in the courtroom and mom will happily do it, crowds do not faze her.
But anyways I went outside to the car park and did a quick swap, feeling so relieved to finally change out of these heels. No one's gonna notice anyway since my feet are hidden behind my dress, but my pedicure looks amazing.
Once I've changed I shut the door before starting to head back inside the venue
"You're avoiding me"
I turn around with a frown, "What the-...did you follow me outside?"
"How else was I supposed to get you to talk to me", West replies with his hand in his trouser pocket
"Leave me alone-
"Why are you still ignoring me? I've apologised"
"I'm not ignoring you, I just don't need to speak to you all the time"
"Pretty weird coming from someone who made it her mission to get me to talk-
I scoff, "What do you want me to say West?"
"How about the truth"
"It doesn't matter"
"Maybe not to you-
"Why do you care so much that I'm not talking to you-
"I don't know", He snaps back
I did not like that tone.
"Right....well I'm going back-
"Amariah"
I don't wanna talk to him anymore but I figured I should put this ridiculous rumour to bed.
"Xavier thinks that you have feelings for me", I finally say
He doesn't reply so I keep going, "Clearly he's seeing something that I'm not because I think that's crazy. Whilst I'm here you might as well just confirm that you don't-
"Why would that be crazy?"
I pause, "I-...what?"
West is just looking at me. I can't even believe what he just said, how do I respond to that? I'm speechless.
"But I-... I mean, how? When?"
"I wasn't sure, but since seven minutes in heaven-
"That was a three second kiss"
"You think I don't know that?"
I sigh with closed eyes, "You can't have feelings for me West"
I didn't mean to sound disappointed but I can't believe how blind I've been, am I leading? Am I too kind? What is it? What have I done.
"I know, because you're with Xavier"
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"I was obviously hoping I could get over it"
I just don't know what to say
"I don't know why you're so surprised"
"Because you literally hated me-
"Do you honestly think I actually hated you. I found you annoying at times because you were so caring and nice to me no matter how hurtful I was-
"So you think I led you on-
"No. But I can't tell you the amount of times that I wished I hadn't helped Xavier"
I scoff, "Excuse me?"
He takes note of how annoyed I've just become, "I didn't mean it like that-
"No you know exactly what you meant"
"I just meant that I think you deserve better"
"How can you say that to me?"
"Amariah-
I hold the bottom of my dress as I dismiss him, "I have to go back, excuse me-
I start to walk away but he grabs my wrist pleadingly, "No wait-
I frown, "Stop-
"I'm sorry-
"West", I try to pull away but he's really holding onto my wrist
"I didn't mean to-
"Let go", I say seriously
"Wait just listen, the gun I had-
"I don't care about a gun just let go-
"The guy who gave it to me, he said he needed it to be cleaned to remove the fingerprints of the girl who used it. Is that you?"
I can feel myself getting nauseous, "What do you know about that"
"Nothing, and I'm not gonna ask questions but I bought it with me so that I could give it to you-
"You bought a gun to the charity ball?", I scoff
"Can you just listen", He's trying not to get annoyed
"No I'm done listening, let go of me you freaking psycho!"
He is literally holding onto my wrists so tightly, apologising and apologising, but also trying to get me to listen to him. I've never seen him like this and it's starting to scare me.
"Just tell me what you want me to do with it-
"Let go!-
"Stop being stubborn damn it!-
"West you're literally hurting me", I struggle in pain
It's happening again, oh my God I'm gonna die
"Let go of her!"
I breathe out with relief as my wrists are suddenly released, West snapped out of whatever trance he was in. But that doesn't stop the fact that my wrists are now bleeding.
Who is this guy...