Page 29 of Crash into me
“It was good! I’m all signed up for classes.” She gives me a hopeful smile. “Are you going to be soon?”
I shrug as we walk into a boutique. “Not sure.”
Kate catches on to my indifferences, turning her attention to fashion. “What color is your dress?”
“Not sure. I’ll see it tomorrow.” My fingers skim the rows of shoes. “These will work with anything, right?” I look to price tag: seven hundred dollars. For freaking shoes.
I hold up the pair of matte black stilettos with a delicate ankle strap. “Yes!” She beams. “You’ll just have to let me borrow them.”
A mom and daughter are giggling in front of us in line as we wait to check out; she’s holding a beautiful red sequined gown.
“So,” Kate says, twirling her hair, “did you have fun at bike night?”
Memories come fading back in. “I did.”
“Declined,” the clerk tells the woman.
The mom leans down to her teenage daughter, murmuring, “It’s okay, honey. We’ll come back for it when I get off work tonight.”
The girl looks up, smiling. “It’s okay. I don’t really need it.” She shrugs, but I note the frown she’s trying to hide.
“Could you hold this for us?” she asks the cashier, then she turns to her daughter, talking in a lower voice. “It’s your prom dress, honey. You’ve been staring at it for weeks.”
“It’s just too much, Mom. It’s really fine!” her daughter assures her.
An idea pops into my head. I mean hey, if they’re ruining my life, I may as well put a dent in their credit card. I dig in my wallet, curling a wad of cash into my palm. “Excuse me,” I say nervously, going up to the mom.
“Hello.” She grins, her blushed cheeks full. She’s embarrassed, but she shouldn’t be.
I place the wad of cash into her hand. “You dropped this,” I tell her.
Her eyes widen as she looks. “Oh wow, this isn’t mine.”
I lean in. “It’s mine. Please take it,” I whisper.
She lowers her voice, looking into my eyes. “I couldn’t.”
“You can, please,” I plead. She looks over my outfit, a pink twilled skirt with matching top. A pleated Chanel bag to match, and my Rover keys hanging from the bag. “I don’t need it,” I assure her.
“You have no idea … how much this means.” She chokes up slightly.
The woman thanks me with the widest smile as she turns to proudly hand over the cash, and as they leave, her daughter’s eyes are filled with sparkles as she stares at her bag in disbelief. Her mother turns to me, mouthing ‘thank you’ as they step out.
I pay for my new shoes, hoping I don’t break my neck in them tomorrow. “Food court?” I ask Kate.
“Definitely.” She links her arm through mine. “I saw what you did back there.”
I shrug. “It felt good.”
Kate walks over to the wing place; I decide on pizza. As I’m waiting in line, a sliver of green flashes in my peripheral.
“Listen,” Envy says quietly, her hand nervously resting on her belly. “I don’t want to play games anymore … I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“I …” I look around for Kate to save me, but I don’t see her. “I’m sorry, I don’t know you.”
She nods. “I know.”Then why are you talking to me?“I know about you.” She’s even talking different; her typically high screechy voice is a little calmer. “I know what you’ve been through.” She looks to my arms, and I feel a sting of betrayal.
She reaches out to me, placing her hand on mine.