TORTURED SOUL | abby littman

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆.

   
    
    
    

chapter twenty

{ unedited }

   
    
    
    

COME WEDNESDAY MORNING, ROWAN AND CAMERON WERE IN MATCHING STRAWBERRY DRESSES. They ended at the knees with short sleeves and were of a light pink colour with small red strawberries decorating them. It was Cameron's favourite of the ones he had chosen and one of three Rowan had matched with him so these were the ones they were wearing today. Cameron had butterfly clips in his curls that Abby had given him, keeping them pressed back.

Marcus, as promised, was wearing a dress too but was more dressed up than the two. He was in a tight black dress―Rowan wasn't sure if that was the way it was designed or if Marcus messed up and got a size too small―with it barely ending at his knees and a leather jacket, borrowed from Rowan, on top so that he wasn't too cold. It was like he said, he would make sure the attention was on him instead of Cameron so the little boy wouldn't get embarrassed.

Cameron was already nervous while he and Rowan stood outside the car, Marcus still in there. Austin, his only friend, was suspended so he would be all alone and, now that he was here, his excitement was slowly wearing off.

"Hey." Rowan placed her hand on Cameron's shoulder as she leaned down in front of him. "What did I say? Hm?" She urged, waiting for an answer as Cameron tugged on the hem of his dress, pulling it down. She held onto his hands, pulling them away from his dress and smiled at him kindly. "I said..."

"T-that as long as I'm happy..." Rowan nodded, waiting for him to carry on. "To not let anyone's words get to me."

"And?"

"And I look good," Cameron finished hesitantly. "I look good and don't let anyone tell me otherwise." Rowan smiled as she leaned forward, kissing the top of his head softly.

"Exactly. You have your phone on you, it's on silent so it won't be taken but if it gets too much, message me and I'll come to pick you up straight away. I promise." Rowan gave his hands a gentle squeeze before letting go. "Now, you go in there with your head held high knowing you look cuter than any one of them ever could. You like this dress, don't you?" Cameron nodded. "Then don't let anyone make you hate it."

"I'll try." Cameron seemed to be pondering in his thoughts before he nodded, repeating more firmly this time, "I won't let them." Cameron hugged Rowan quickly and, before she knew it, she was watching him walk to the school building. Heads were turning his way but he kept on walking and that was something Rowan was proud of.

Rowan got back into her car, tapping her fingers against the wheel as she watched Cameron walk into the school. "He'll be okay," Marcus said but he didn't sound very convinced. "We should be worrying about ourselves, you ready for this?"

"Not really," Rowan answered honestly as she stared at the school doors even though Cameron was long gone.

"Well, get ready. We're gonna blow everyone away." Rowan couldn't stop her laugh at his optimism and, soon enough, she was driving in the direction of the high school.

The first two classes went by fairly quickly. No one was looking at Rowan, as usual, and she was thankful for that considering how much she hated wearing a dress. Marcus was getting a lot of attention and he was showing off because of it, not letting anyone's words get to him. It was mostly Max and her friends who had things to say about him, especially Press, but Marcus didn't seem to care. Everyone else was fine with it, even complimenting him.