Deadly Secrets

Chapter 38: In the Club (Part 1)

"Zara, where do you keep your makeup?" Aurora yelled. She combed her fingers through her hair, testing it for knots. When she came across a few, she pulled a brush out of her beauty bag and sat down in front of a cracked mirror, dragging it through her hair and detangling it. Her face felt bare and sallow without any makeup, and the dark circles under her eyes looked even darker under the weak light. The light brushing on her cheek was slowly healing, but it contrasted greatly against her pale skin. She hadn't had a wink of sleep for two nights straight, so hopefully if she got drunk enough tonight she wouldn't have to resort to taking the sleeping pills she had packed.

In the bathroom, Zara was twisted into an uncomfortable position in the shower in the attempt to shave the back of her thigh. She had stripped and jumped in the moment she got home from work; the lukewarm water had immediately woken up her senses, which before had threatened to shutdown from exhaustion.

As she finished one leg and started to shave the other, she couldn't help but think about Max. Although she tried to think of the upcoming party, the thought of him kept coming back. His eyes, his smile, his laughter; they were all branded against her mind. A part of her hoped that he would be there, at the party, but the other hoped he wouldn't. Drama always seemed to follow him like a dark cloud—her nerves were already pulled taut, so one more incident and they would snap. All she wanted to do was have some fun with Aurora, without any guys, and without their problems. She wanted to get smashed—and for a couple of hours forget about how fucked up her life was—but tonight she would have to take care of not only herself, but also of Aurora, who was hopeless when she was drunk.

Zara scampered into her bedroom, her hair leaving a wet trail behind her. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you, what did you say?" She sifted through the drawers for her intimates, an arm across her bust to keep the towel in place.

"Your makeup. Where do you keep it?" Aurora must've had her shower while Zara was away, because she was sitting in front of the mirror, straightening her hair. She wore a black body con dress with matching platform heels. They had silver studs, which comforted Zara—in a weird, twisted way—as if the need ever arose for her to kick someone in the nuts then they would cause twice the physical damage.

While her friend's back was turned, let the towel drop and quickly slipped on her bra and panties. "It's in that box you gave me for my birthday. The pink one on the dresser right in front of you."

"Oh— I hadn't even seen it, but still good that you have it," Aurora said absentmindedly, and spun around on the stool, straightener halfway down a strand of her hair, "Because, you know, mine wouldn't work on you."

Zara pulled out a pair of jeans and momentarily froze at the last phrase. "What—"

"You're, like, my complete opposite. You're skin tone is darker than mine. It's like covering your face with baby powder, you'd look like a clown! That's why I bought you all that stuff in the first place," She giggled, then turned her head from side to side to check herself out. "Have you picked something yet?"

"Uhm...yes?" Zara had a pair of jeans and a decent-looking shirt laid out on her bed. She had already first-handedly experienced the frigid night air, and wasn't planning to reach the place looking like a human popsicle.

Aurora made gagging sounds, earning herself the look from Zara. "Are you serious? We're going to a party not to...to...I don't even know where anyone would go looking like that!" She stood up and went through her own luggage to pull out an emerald green dress almost identical to her own. "There! I thought of you when I brought this with me, it would look perfect on you. You can keep it by the way."

She was being a little too cheery for Zara's taste, but after only ten minutes of arguing—a new record—Zara reluctantly slipped the dress on. It was a little too tight around the butt, but it would have to do for the time being, unless she wanted another scolding. Aurora also graced her with a pair of heels.