Substitute Child (Ross Lynch)

Chapter 6

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I stared at myself in the mirror, my eyes wide and my face scrunched up in distaste. On the hanger it looked good, but on my body it did not. The top half of the dress was too tight, and the lower half of the dress was too puffy. I looked ridiculous.

"This one's no good." I stuck my head out of the dressing room, shielding my body with the door.

Rydel, Stormie, and Lauren frowned. The moment I met Lauren, Riker's girlfriend, I knew she was the one for him. They fit each other so perfectly, and he definitely needed her in his life. I liked her the moment I met her, and we had gotten close in the few months I had known her.

"Can we see it?" Rydel asked. "This is the fourth dress you've tried on and you haven't let us see any of them. Sky, it can't be that bad."

To prove her wrong, I stepped out of the small cubicle, revealing the hideous dress. The moment her eyes widened, I knew I succeeded.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." I shut the door and stripped off the dress, placing it back on the hanger. There was one more dress to try on, and I had fallen in love with it the moment I saw it. But there was a part of me that doubted it would look good.

Although Olivia was born almost nine months ago, I was still self-conscious of my body. It took me a while to get rid of the baby fat I had gained throughout my pregnancy, but I managed to do it.

Letting out the tiniest of sighs, I slowly slipped on the dress, already feeling a difference compared to the other dresses. With a tiny bit of struggle, I zipped up the back before looking at myself in the mirror. A gasp escaped my mouth and my eyes filled with tears.

The dress was strapless ruched satin bodice with ultra-feminine sweetheart neckline and dropped waist. I slowly dragged my hands down my sides, loving how the dress hugged my body in the right way.

"Sky? How does it look?"

Since I was pretty much speechless, I wordlessly walked out of the dressing room, my eyes still glistening with tears. Almost simultaneously, gasps were heard and they all covered their mouths with their hands.

"Honey, you look beautiful." Stormie murmured, flashing me a watery smile. All I could do was smile back.

"This is the dress, Sky." Rydel confessed.

Lauren nodded. "Definitely."

I stepped on a platform that had different angled mirrors right in front. Although I didn't have heels on, and my hair and makeup weren't done, I just knew that this was the dress. The feeling I got when wearing this dress was one I never got with the others.

This was the dress I would marry Ross in.

~*~

I waved goodbye as Rydel, Stormie, and Lauren drove away from my apartment complex. I caught a glimpse of my dress in the backseat before the car completely disappeared. Since I couldn't have the dress in the apartment, Rydel would be keeping it at her house. There was no way in hell Ross was going to see the dress before the wedding.

Entering the apartment, I quietly closed the door and tiptoed into bedroom. Ross had been sick with the flu that past few days, and he was most likely sleeping. And since he was sick, Olivia was spending the night at Stormie and Marks. We didn't want her getting sick, and I knew Ross' parents didn't mind looking after her. They completely loved and adored our daughter.

I frowned as I caught a glimpse of Ross, his sick form splayed across the bed. He was in nothing but boxers, and I could practically see the sweat coming off his body. He definitely had a fever.