She was strong and took it all in good faith but it really bothered me that she felt very lonely.
I always thought her mum prioritized her but it must have really been hard seeing her own child that way and maybe the divorce was only an excuse to stay away from Lily.
When I got out of the shower, Alicia was back in my room with a plate of waffles and syrup.
She knew waffles were my favorite thing in the world and she was trying to make me happy, at least for that day.
'Here, there's more in the kitchen. And you might have to stay in your towel until I'm done with your face.' She was smiling.
Alicia was smiling and her eyes appeared closed. This was the realest smile she had and she was giving it to me.
I hugged her. It was weird at first but then I heard the plate of waffles hit the table when she dropped it and I felt her arm around me.
It was very comforting that I had the best sister ever.
'Thank you Al. This means a lot to me.' It was the first time I ever called her Al. I knew she hated it but I did it anyway.
'That's not my name but I'll let it slide, just this once.' She laughed lightly and picked up the plate to hand it over to me.
I could not reject it even though I was not exactly in the mood to eat.
'Thanks.' I sat in front of my mirror. I looked at myself. It had been a while since I last saw what I looked like.
My eyebrows had grown bushy and lashes appeared tangled. I did not like how I looked but what bothered me was that no one had pointed these things out to me.
'My brows have grown a lot.' I did not stop looking at myself. I thought I was beautiful right then.
My skin was flawless and I had the most perfect set of teeth I had ever seen.
A lot of people had complimented me on those qualities and I never really took them too seriously but now that I was paying close attention, they had been right. I was beautiful in my own way.
'I'll take care of everything. Just eat and tell me when you are ready.' Alicia was sitting on my bed, not paying any attention to anything I had said.
She probably only heard my voice and concluded that I made a request. She was probably on another of Nate's victim's Instagram.
It was what she did whenever she was less busy and sometimes she showed me their pictures.
Most of them were people that had reached the zenith of their careers and I could not help but wonder how Nate got them to be friends with him.
I finished the waffles in no time and Alicia began her magic.
I was never a makeup person so I made her make it as light as possible.
When she was done, I looked like an entirely different person. I was satisfied with it and I could not wait to see George because all the effort I put into my appearance was for him.
I packed my hair into a bun with a white scrunchie and put on my dress. I was ready and waiting for George by a little after four.
Mum was back from her shift and she volunteered to be my photographer for the evening.
She kept telling me how proud of me she was and how beautiful I looked. I was very happy and no thought of Nate came to my head.
George was at my house by five o'clock.
Alicia teased him and told him to bring me home before my curfew and he promised to do so.
The way they bonded seemed like a dream to me. It took me years to talk to him but Alicia was already his best friend in minutes.
Mum made us take tons of pictures because we were making important memories according to her.
'We might be late if we don't leave now.' George whispered in my ear.
'There's nothing wrong with being a little late but I'll stop the paparazzi now.' I whispered back to him.
It felt almost unreal that I was talking to George so normally. My heart was not beating fast and I did not stutter even once.
'Mum, we have to leave now.' I said.
'Okay okay. I'll keep the cameras. You both should have fun and don't be late.'
She turned around to return the cameras but just as she was about to leave, I walked up to her and hugged her tight.
I was proud of my mother. I loved the smallish woman I held so much, words would never be able to express it.
'Thanks for everything.' I whispered in her ears.
None of us, Nate, Alicia or me appreciated mum as much as we should have. She made the world go round for us even though hers was on a stand still.
'You are welcome Kassandra.' She said out loud.
'Alright, you need to go with your date now.' Alicia pulled my hand.
She was one to find expressions of emotions weird so I understood why she did what she did.
'Bye guys.' I walked away with George. My distraction.
He looked amazing.
His blue suit was neatly ironed and he smelled like roses and strawberries.
His haircut was as amazing as ever and his cufflinks were the most expensive looking things I had ever set my eyes on.
I had a lot of opportunities to compliment him but I did not. Mostly because I was shy but I also wanted to have something to say when we had the chance to be alone.
I was lucky to be his date. It was every girl's wish. Some boys in our class wished the same too.
I was happy it was my hand he was going to hold when we walked through the doors to the hall.
I was glad it was my body he was going to hold when it was time to dance.
I was glad he was going to care about my whereabouts throughout the night.
On our way to school, I thought about how Lily felt knowing she could not be at the event but then I remembered what she told me,
'...have fun at prom and take a lot of pictures, I want to hear all about it when you get back!'
Even if prom was not like my imagination, I was going to have as much fun as I could just for Lily.