Ayla remembered several times in the past year that Richard had helped her get dressed. Each time they had ended entangled in one another. She blushed at the memory, remembering how it felt to have him pressed against her. She closed her eyes and as she held the wall. Maybe Roxy's suggestion to just let it go and move on wasn't a bad one. As she felt her determination waiver, she remember Mannu's last words to before they were separated.
"When it feels like you should give up, don't. Keep fighting even if we aren't there with you."
She forced a flirtatious giggle as she checked her watch, he could stand to wait longer. "I want to look perfect. Just a little while longer. Please relax, I promise you won't regret it."
Richard shuffled outside her door with a deep sigh. She could imagine him standing on the opposite side rolling his eyes. "Well, you put it that way." She lingered by the door as his foot steps retreated.
Once she was sure he was gone, Ayla flopped down on the bed. She needed to get into the right headspace as Roxy to pull this off. She could not be Ayla talking to Roxy at this party or else he might realize the truth. She stare at her soft hands and immaculately manicured sparkling gold painted nails, they were not the hands of Ayla the child of promise, calloused from a lifetime of harsh training.
Ayla closed her eyes, the construct of Roxy was sitting in the chair with a bright smile. It wasn't real but it didn't matter, she needed to focus on responding quickly rather than talking to herself. If the construct went away, it didn't mean that what was left of Roxy was gone, she was still there with the rest of the knowledge she needed to survive in this world regardless of what she chose to do.
Outside in the living room the tv turned out and flipped to a replay of last night's baseball game. Roxy knew Richard was becoming impatient, she opened her eyes and checked her make-up in the mirror. Bright eyes highlighted by dramatic smoky eyeshadow, heavy winged eyeliner and thick lashes kicked her day look to another level. She added gold, glittery powder as highlighter on her cheeks with the make-up brush. With a flutter of eyelashes, Roxy double checked her deep maroon lipstick, thickly lined and glossy. Her hair was left loose and in thick curves.
She pulled away, with the deep plunge of the thin, tight short black dress she was dressed to kill. It was a bit much but she wanted to make an impression. Roxy emerged from the bedroom, her strappy gold heels clicking against the hardwood floor.
Richard sat on the couch disinterestedly watching the screen. He was dressed in pressed black slacks and a green button down with a black sport coat. His short hair was spiked. He heard her approach and turned his head. "Oh thank god. I was afraid that you..." His mouth opened and shut as he lost his train of thought once he saw her. His eyes scanned the length of her body and he wolfishly grinned. "D*mn." He clicked the remote, turning off the tv and stood up. "You're hot."
Roxy tossed her hair and smiled demurely. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let me grab my jacket and we can go." She walked with long deliberate strides to the closet. She slipped on a sleek red leather jacket and checked her small clutch purse for her keys and wallet. "Ready." When she glanced back up, Richard was next to her. She took a startled step back and smiled brightly at him.
"My lady, your carriage awaits." Richard bowed, gesturing towards the door.
Roxy fought back the urge to scream as she continued to smile and walked with him out of the apartment, locking the door behind her.
-----
Richard's car screamed frat boy bro - a red Chevy Camaro with two black stripes down the hood with a barely legal window tint blacking out the interior. It just needed a large spoiler on the back to complete the look. Roxy commented how nice the car looked which inspired Richard to launch into a long story about how he was planning on racing it. He droned on the rest of the drive about how he was going to build out the car's kit. Roxy watched him as he talked, appearing to hang on every word as she imagined all the different ways she could efficiently kill him in order to stay awake.
Roxy crossed her legs, the hem of her dress slid up showing off a generous amount of thigh and a tease of black lace. She smiled as Richard's peripheral shifted to take a peek, making the car wobble as they drove. "Who is hosting the party?" She finally interjected, wanting a reprieve from the car talk, her preference was motorcycles.
"Oh, my buddy from high school, Callum is putting it on at the Cave. We got lucky and managed to snag one of the big rooms and Delaney is DJing for us. You'll love it." Richard grinned, downshifting as they pulled up to a stoplight. "I've been racking my brain where I know you from."
Roxy fluttered her eyelashes as she slyly smiled. "You've been gone for five years. God, I hope you didn't think we'd all look the same as we did at 15?" She giggled gently as the light changed, and Richard redirected his eyes to the road.
"Well, no kidding. We must've had at least one class together."
Memories of their high school years at Zenith Academy reminded Roxy that she had been in every one of Richard's classes since 6th grade since they were on the same education track. It irritated her that he didn't recognize her name at all from all those years together. It figured that he'd forgotten about her. It only strengthened her resolve for revenge. "Mrs. Pascal's chemistry class freshman year."
"Ah! Of course. I think I slept through most of freshman year," Richard laughed. "D*mn, I missed out on everything didn't I? Homecoming, prom... graduation... all the things that are important, huh?"
"There's still time to be prom king, right? Isn't that why Callum is doing this?" Roxy suggested, lightly placing her hand on his shoulder. She was less repulsed than she would've liked, she missed the feeling of his arms around her. She inwardly cursed, not even 24 hours after she'd been murdered and she was ready to jump his bones. She felt his bicep flex beneath her hand. "Oh! You have such big muscles!"
Roxy wanted to gag but Richard grinned as he parked the car in the lot outside the club. "Well, don't worry, there's still more for you to see." He winked at her and slipped out of the car to open her door for her, offering her his hand to help her up. When did he act like a gentleman? She tried to remember if he'd ever acted this way towards her in the past two years but could not place it. It was always Mannu who extended his hand to help her up.
"I'll look forward to getting the full impact."