"It looks great on you, Tessa!" - I complain and snort loudly, looking over my friend as she looks in the mirror to convince herself that the dress fits her.
"Maybe it's a little wide at the hips." - Ashley intervenes after a couple of seconds, but this time
I can't stop myself from giving her a dirty look.
'I hate you .'- I mumble with my mouth to let her know I'm about to freak out for
Tessa's fault and her doubts, but instead of taking offense she just shows me her tongue, like she enjoyed seeing me suffer this way.
I was wrong when I said that Ashley is very different from her brother, because apparently she is
worse.
We walked into this shop two hours ago and at the moment Tessa has chosen to buy
just a pair of black underwear and a pair of shoes suitable for camping, but I don't understand
why she also wants to take a dress like the one she's wearing right now.
"You're right." - I snort when Tessa casually turns to Ashley, but this time
I decide to take a tour of the shop as soon as my friend disappears behind the curtains of the
dressing room to change.
"I love shopping." - Ashley decides to follow me so as not to leave me alone, as I raise my
eyes to the sky at his words:
"I noticed it." - I mumble annoyed, bringing my eyes back to a short black dress,
entirely of lace and with such a pretty neckline that I wouldn't have thought twice about it
before buying it a couple of years ago.
But now I prefer my sports hoodies and be seen as a tomboy rather than
uncover my skin to perverts like Paul.
«I used to do it with my mother.» - she says after a couple of seconds, bringing a hand on the
dress that I was looking at, but her words repeat themselves in my head when I understand that she is talking about the first wife of
William.
«I spent a lot of time with her.» - she whispers after a while, but her expression is so
thoughtful that she almost forgets that I am at her side.
I don't understand why she suddenly talks to me about her mother, barely knowing me, but
I don't even understand why she talks about her as if she were dead.
I don't know much about William's past because I never cared about his exes, but
the way Ashley talks about it makes me so curious that I look at her sideways.
"But she didn't deserve it." - she adds again, making me lower my eyes to the black dress
again.
Even though I've only recently known her, I feel my stomach tighten at her words, as if I
understand what she feels.
I didn't have a mother, not even a father, and they tore me out of my brother's arms when I was under seven, but I regret spending too much time
thinking about them, to.
Only now I understand why William's children have appeared only now, even if I try to
convince myself that Matthew is an asshole by nature and not because of his mother's fault.
"It would suit you perfectly."- she suddenly says in a cheerful voice, forcing me to
raise my head to understand that she refers to the black dress in front of me, but I understand that she wants
only to change the subject and stop thinking about her mother.
"I'll buy it." - the words come out of my mouth before I know it, but I'm
sure I'll never wear this dress.
At most I can lend it to Tessa, though
I am quite small towards her.
"Really?" -she opens her eyes wide in disbelief, forcing a smile that makes me so sorry for
not being able to deny what I said, even if I shouldn't spend more than a hundred
dollars for a dress that will hang in my closet.
I nod slowly, and then clear my throat with the intention of attracting her attention:
"Ashley ..." - I take a deep breath, squeezing the dress between my fingers and trying to
convince myself that I'm making the right decision, however hard it is for me to show myself
gentle:
"You can live in my house ... if you want."
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