Melody's Muse ✓

24. Tchaikovsky - Swan Lake Op. 20

Onto the dress.

I'm definitely not getting that safety deposit back.

I don't even have a chance to say anything before the girls are whisking me away to the washroom. I briefly make eye contact with Cole on my way out. He just stares in disbelief while Jake is laughing.

-----

There's a little sitting area in the washroom, a room separated from the sinks and stalls. I'm pretty sure mom has one of these rooms in her bathroom too. It's warmly lit with a small chandelier and the furniture is all velvet. The walls are lined with vanities and various beauty products. I assume this is where people touch up their hair and makeup.

I can hear the faint background music being played over some speakers. What kind of place plays music in the bathroom? I try not to roll my eyes when I recognize the song. Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. How horribly ironic. 

The girls plop me down onto the light pink sofa and inspect the damage. I feel a bit embarrassed, having so much attention on me. "It's really no big deal, I'm-"

Sarah kneels down and her eyes widen as she examines the dress. "Oh my god, this is a Carolina Herrera dress!"

How does everyone seem to know? Is there some sort of biological dress gene I'm missing?

She looks devastated, bringing her palms to her cheeks. "The wine ruined it! Laura is going to pay, literally!"

"Calm down Sarah." Ophelia digs through her purse, taking out a small spray bottle. "This stain remover has been a godsend for me, I'm sure it'll work."

One of the other girls, Mei, grabs a small hand towel from the little basket next to the sink. She begins dabbing at the stains after Ophelia sprays.

I watch in awe as the two of them get to work on the dress, while the three other girls dig through the flowy material to find any hidden stains. "Y-you guys really don't have to do this," I stammer. Besides people who were paid to take care of me, I don't think I've ever had anyone care about me this much. I feel my eyes begin to well up with tears.

Since when do I get so emotional? I've probably felt more emotions in the past month than I have in my entire life. What a ridiculous rollercoaster of emotions I've been on.

"Aww Melody." Ayumi smiles and pulls me into a hug. She uses some tissue paper to carefully blot my tears away without ruining my makeup. "I know we've only known you for like, half an hour, but I can tell you're super sweet!"

They all nod in agreement. "Thank you," I say softly.

Susanna uses a warm, damp towel to wipe away the dried blood on my arm. She takes out a mini first aid kit from her purse and helps me disinfect the area before putting some bandages over the scratch. I recall her mentioning that she's a nursing student.

"So like we were saying before we were so rudely interrupted," Sarah says with a twinkle in her eye, "what's up with you and Cole?"

I feel myself blush as I recall our past month together. I've never met anyone who makes me as happy and comfortable as Cole has. On top of that, I can't believe some of the things I've done because of him. It's been an absolutely unforgettable month here.

Despite it all, we're just friends. I've still been too afraid to talk about it with him. What if I say the wrong thing and make things uncomfortable between us, ruining our friendship? It's almost physically painful. He's just so close, so tantalizingly close, yet so far at the same time.

And what are we supposed to do? We both know that this isn't my permanent home. It hurts my heart a little, but I know I'm not worth it. I pretended not to notice, but most of the girls who approached him earlier were blatantly flirting with him. He has all of these attractive sorority girls right here in Toronto who would be thrilled to date him. Why would he ever want to date someone about to leave? Let alone someone like me.