Demons Don't Smile

Chapter Seven

Your competition is not other people but the time you kill, the ill will you create, the knowledge you neglect to learn, the connections you fail to build, the health you sacrifice along the path, your inability to generate ideas, the people around you who don't support and love your efforts, and whatever god you curse for your bad luck.

-James Altucher

Cara

"All this wedding planning is making me break out...look at my face, ma!" I shouted as I pointed to the massive pimple that was resting on the lower half of my chin; it was huge, gross, and noticeable I didn't want to step out knowing that I had that huge thing on my face.

My mother waved her hands idle at me and continued looking at the different fabrics for the table decorations for my upcoming Chinese wedding.

"I have the perfect tea to cure all your problems!" She said once her eyes tore away from the wedding book.

Valeria who was sitting beside her chuckled and Daphne arched her eyebrow in curiosity.

"Does it cure everything?" Daph asked my mother.

She turned to look at her, "Absolutely! Number one in Chinese medicine. Do you ever see the Chinese sick?" She asked the both of them.

Valeria shrugged and Daphne, probably intimated by my mother's loud personality shook her head back and forth quickly.

"Never!" My mother answered for us all before she cackled and headed to the kitchen to fix us all up a cup of her famously disgusting Chinese tea.

"Here, C...I have some rescue pimple cream." Val said as she dug into her Givenchy purse and pulled out a tube of crème so I could put on my face.

"Oh thank the heavens! You're a lifesaver, Val." I sighed as I unscrewed the top and pushed out a dime size amount of product and placed it on my chin.

I could feel the crème sooth my irritated skin and bring the pimple down a little bit, but we would know for sure once we left the house.

"Not a problem." She said after she took the tube from me once I was done and tossed it back into her bag.

"So are you excited about the wedding, Cara?" Daphne asked me curiously as she rested her chin on her hands that were propped up against the glass table we were all sitting on; her beautiful blue eyes sparkled as she gazed at me with mock inquisition.

I gave her a half smile as one of my hands laid against my waist, "I'm silently freaking out...this is the first time I'm actually okay with my mother taking control of my life." I sighed deeply, I wasn't afraid to marry Victor, in fact I had been waiting years since we got back together again for him to pop the question, I was almost afraid he wasn't going to do it so much I threw it to the back of my mind.

But here it was, I was planning the first of my two weddings and I was a mess.

"I've been breaking out all week, thanks to this." I shoving one of the wedding books away, I was getting a bit tired of looking at endless swatches and silverware to choose form.

I'll just make mom do it.

"You'll be fine. Remember when we had to plan for my wedding? I was a mess, but once it was over and through I forgot about all the mess earlier." Val said trying to encourage me from all the stress I had been accumulating since Victor proposed to me.

I sighed, "Val you're always level-headed for the most part unless you're being dick downed by―" She cut me off.

She rolled her eyes, "And that's the last time I'll ever try to be supportive..." She said sarcastically.