We Were Strangers| Completed

part 12

Tory dragged me to the mall on a Friday evening. I quickly said yes after having no plans.

"Why didn't you attend the game?" "I thought you photographed all of their games." As we walked past a few shops, I asked. I was curious as to why she didn't join the boys at their away game today.

"Not all of them, just the big ones." "Which is their first and final game, and I'm super busy preparing for my gig tomorrow."

"Really? What-" Tory cut me off with a loud shriek.

"Oh, let's come in here!" She pointed to a store with mannequins dressed in a variety of nice dresses. I simply nodded and followed her lead.

"Every year, all of these wealthy people attend this dinner event."

"I'd rather be somewhere else than there," she grumbled, "but I have to go because it will help me build my portfolio and the pay isn't bad." As we walked over to a rack with a bunch of short dresses, I let out a few "ohs."

"Enzo and Nico are going."

"To help you?" I asked.

"No, they're guests." She explained.

"OH." It was the first time I heard of this.

"Did Nico not mention it?" I shook my head, "no." only if she knew we fought more than we talked.

"That's weird."

"You should join me and be my assistant!" I laughed as she grinned widely.

"As you said, I also don't want to spend my time with snobby rich people."

"Understandable," she laughed, and she began quickly searching the racks. I continued searching the rack until my gaze fell on this short bodycon dress, which I grabbed off the rack to get a better look at. The dress was made of red silk, had thin straps, and had an open side slit. It was stunning.

"Omg! That dress is gorgeous!" Tory exclaimed. I turned to face her and nodded in agreement.

When I found the price tag, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. The dress cost $250.

"Wow, but that's expensive." I began to say as I quickly returned it to the rack. It wasn't that beautiful. I tried convincing myself.

I went to look at another dress on the rack and noticed that all of them were more than $150.

"Where is the clearance rack?" I said, looking around for a sign that would lead me to all the cheap dresses.

"Girl, I wish they had cheap dresses, but to work the event, I have to look presentable."

"Wow."

"Trust me, this isn't even in my budget, but I'm picking up a few shifts at work next week."

''You work?

"Yes, at this cafe."

"You should apply." "It would be a lot of fun!" I needed money, especially if I wanted to spend it on things I wanted here and there.

"I'll definitely think about it."

"Ok"

"I think I found it," Tory exclaimed excitedly as she pulled out a black V-neck dress. It was also gorgeous; hers was a little longer and appeared more sophisticated, which was the look she was going for.

"It looks good."

"I think I'm going to get it."

"All right, I'm going to pay."

I nodded. "OK, I'll keep looking." I watched as she walked to the front counter to pay, and as she did, I pulled out the mesmerizing ruby dress from the rack and admired it one last time.

***

I had just returned home and had finished my dinner. "Can you help me with my homework?" Alex questioned himself as he sat alone at the dining table, surrounded by colored pencils. I nodded and approached him, looking at his addition homework.

"All right, so what you're going to do is..." As I explained the homework to him, he began to nod as I explained what to do.

"I knew that." He began to speak as he became more comfortable with his homework. His homework was completed by the end, and the small drawing with math problems was colored in.

"It's getting late." "I'm going to head upstairs."

"Ok, thanks, Mila." "You're the best sister." When he said that, my heart sank.

"No problem."

I cracked a small smile—he was the only good thing about this place, aside from my few new friends.

I walked up the stairs, opened the door to my room, grabbed some clean clothes and a towel, and walked out the hall to the bathroom, where I took a quick shower. After I finished showering, I dried myself off with a towel before putting on a fresh pair of clothes. I quickly tossed my clothes in the closet hamper in the laundry room upstairs and walked back to my room.

When I walked into my room, I noticed a cold draft. I turned to face my window, where the cold air seemed to be entering, and watched as a dark shadow entered my room. As my heart began to race, I turned on the lights to reveal Nico dressed entirely in black. He entered my room with a black box in his hands.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, crossing my arms because of how cold it was.

"Here." He handed the box to me. I took it in my hands and felt how heavy it was.

I was about to open it when he stopped me.

"I need you to go with me tomorrow to the town's charity event." He began to say

"Why?

"Because it's a great way to make our relationship even more official, you could be my plus one."

"I don't know." The way Tory had described it made me not want to go, especially knowing only snobby rich people were going to be there.

"I don't even have anything to wear, and if it's a big event, I want to look good." I made an excuse.

"You have a dress." He countered, and I raised an eyebrow. The two dresses in my closet were not charity event material.

"No, I don't."

He nodded and pointed to the box.

"Open it." I focused my attention on the box and removed the lid. The box was lined with white tissue paper. I walked over to my bed and placed the box there, then proceeded to lift the tissue paper to reveal a pair of red heels.

"Heels?

I gave him a strange look. I took them out and took a quick look at them, but what caught my attention was what was at the bottom of the box.

I set my heels on my bed and lifted the remainder of the tissue paper, revealing silk from the box. It was the thin-strapped red dress I had seen earlier. The dress that cost $250

My jaw dropped open as I unfolded the dress and saw the smooth fabric in front of me.

"How? " "I was literally just looking at this dress." I told him. His face was still. This couldn't have been a coincidence.

"I know." "Tory wouldn't stop blowing up my phone."

Thank you, Tory!

"This dress is expensive." "I can't keep it." I told him.

"You won't." "That's why I need you to be careful tomorrow and not remove the tags."

"Oh..." I trailed off.

I grabbed the matching heels and began to stuff everything back inside the box.

"Be ready at 5 p.m. tomorrow." As he approached the window, he said

"Ok."

He looked at me once more and closed the window on his way out. I waved at him and closed the curtains. As I did, I looked at the box I had set on my vanity desk. I guess I was going to this charity event after all.