�There�s going to be a fucking delay?!�
Ryan grabbed my arm before I could jump from my chair, ready to storm off to� somewhere. I don�t know. I�m not acting rationally. I can�t act rationally right now. Something is really wrong. I can feel it.
�Sit down, man. He said there might be a small delay. It�s raining.�
Taking a deep breath, I slid back into my chair as we hit another bump of turbulence.
�We�re going to die!�
Xander can even sound like a girl at times, and he really doesn�t like to fly.
Reaching across the aisle, I grabbed his hand to get his attention.
�We�re not going to die. It�s just turbulence. A little shaky. We�ll be fine and in Tampa in no time.�
He clutched at my hand, looking over at me with terrified eyes, and it reminded me of how Kara used to be before she started flying around all the time with Ryan for business.
�Man was not meant to fly! Birds fly! We do not!�
Trying to hide my smile, I focused on calming down Xander in hopes of distracting myself from my own worry.
*
Grease paint is a battered girl�s best friend.
I studied my work in the mirror, deciding it was the best I could do in an attempt to hide the bruises. Concealer can only do so much before you have to bust out the black paint and become a goth girl.
In hopes of making the black circles I�d drawn around both my eyes look a little less out of place, I covered my lips with blood red lipstick, coating it on until the normal side of my face looked ghastly pale and the swollen side didn�t look so dark.
Everyone is going to attempt to not stare at me if I looked like this, but� it�ll make it harder to notice. Strange how things can work like that some times.
Slipping on my dark-rimmed glasses took away some of the dramatic effect of the gothic makeup, but it helped disguise the swollen flesh that continued to threaten to close my left eye. I�m not trying to really impress anyone anyway.
Just trying to hide behind a mask for Nick�s sake.
Xander and I had plans to go to a pretty popular freak club he�d found out about from one of his friends. He�d convinced me to pack this costume for the occasion just in case we went. Thankfully it also acted as a good disguise. I�ll have to thank him later.
Throwing the makeup back in the bag, I pulled on the fingerless black gloves up to my elbows, smirking when I remembered the conversation Angie and I had earlier that afternoon. Before everything sort of fell apart. Chains connected to the loops on the shoulders of a different black tank top, I stood back and admired my work.
Now, I�m a Marilyn Manson whore.
And now, I might be able to face Nick without breaking down.
*
Pacing the living room, I fought with myself over whether or not I should go see if she was okay. Heavy footsteps slowly coming down the stairs stopped my movement, and I turned, waiting somewhat impatiently for Kara�s appearance in front of me.
Whoa.
Who the hell is that girl?
Standing in front of me at the foot of the stairs was a girl in a familiar pair of boots, but that was about the only recognizable thing about her besides the seemingly ever-present messenger bag. Fishnet tights led up too much exposed skin before disappearing beneath a entirely too short plaid skirt, chains and black straps hanging down and looping behind her; a short black tank top exposed her midriff and a split that started from her collar and went down too far would have shown an excessive amount of cleavage if not for the safety pins that held it closed. More chains and fingerless gloves. Black makeup� lots of black makeup, dark lips, her hair pulled forward, so it hid half her face�
I think my head is about to explode.
Looking for a moment as I fought to collect my thoughts, my tired brain decided to work on its own accord.
�I don�t know who you are or how you got in here, but I�m waiting for a girl named Kara. Have you seen her?�
I swear she almost smiled a little as I studied her some more. She ran into her room so fast so she could� do this?
�I can understand if you don�t want to go out into public with me like this, so if you tell me how to get to the airport, I can go get the guys myself��
Un uh. Nooooo way.
She glanced up at me, and I held my hand up, getting her to stop with whatever else she was about to say.
�First of all, it�s raining like crazy, so I wouldn�t let you drive anywhere, and second of all� there�s no way in hell I�m letting you leave the house dressed like that without me beside you.�
Kara sucked on her bottom lip, and her eyebrow rose a little.
�Afraid someone�s going to try and pick me up?�
I�m afraid someone is going to try and rape you.
�I�m afraid someone is going to give you an offer and then refuse to take no for an answer.�
Her eyes fell to the carpet again, and she crossed her arms across her chest.
I just said something wrong. If this was my Kara � the one from January � she would have used that to pin me to the wall, turning me on to a point where I couldn�t keep myself from kissing her.
But it�s not January. And she�s not that Kara anymore.
�Shouldn�t we leave?�
I nodded, even though she wasn�t looking at me, before grabbing her phone off the table and walking towards her.
�Yeah, but first, I think this you might want this back, Kara.�
She looked up, but not at my face. Holding out my hand, she reached for her cell phone, jumping when I sat it in her palm, but held onto her.
�And it�s been ringing all afternoon.�
*
I need to keep him distracted. He�s standing too close. I can�t do this when he�s this close, when he�s touching me.
As I pulled my hand away, clutching the phone, his other hand landed on my hip and he pulled me towards him.
Oh god�
�And secondly, why are you dressed like this?�
Because I can�t let you know your best friend hit me this afternoon. Twice.
I stared at his t-shirt, knowing he had a perplexed look on his face by the tone in his voice. Probably wondering why I won�t look at his face.
�Sometimes it�s fun to surprise people.�
And sometimes I might be able to lie to you. Not very often, but maybe sometimes when I really must.
He nodded, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw his free hand reaching toward the left side of my face in an attempt to push my hair out of the way probably. Pulling away without considering what conclusion he might draw from the movement, I suppressed the chills he�d given me and headed towards the door.
�We should leave. Like you said, it�s raining.�