Winter's Kiss (Summer Rain #2)

II ~ Mirrored Image

{Apartment - Young The Giant}

...After leaving my apartment, I feel this cold inside me, it howls away all through the market, it calls your name...

----

15th October

    "Have either of you two seen my earrings?" Cady hollered through to me from her bedroom as I coated my eyelashes with a sweep of mascara, making funny faces in the bathroom mirror so as not to smudge my handiwork.

    Her light, airy voice floated throughout the apartment where all of its inhabitants were busy in our own respective areas of its walls. An inner sanctum of haste and emptied closets searching for the right attire filled this sacred haven we called home.

    I had rushed to get ready after my awkward encounter with Benjamin after work. With all of the tension building in my muscles, I didn't feel fancy enough or excited enough, to be headed anywhere, especially not my Mother's engagement party.

    I was so used to devoting hours to the art of preparing for a night out or a huge party, locked away behind my bedroom door until I was dressed to perfection, but life didn't permit that anymore. The world would continue without me if I tried to take my time, and I was constantly falling behind. Still, I knew I had to go. I hadn't seen Mom properly in weeks what with both of our schedules being so hectic. There were texts and phone calls whenever we had a free five minutes, but I missed just hanging out the way we used to when I first moved to the city.

  "Can't you look yourself? I'm trying to do this bow-tie!" Bodhi shouted back, his frustration evident in the low key of his voice.

    I was used to their constant back and forth, having lived with the two of them my whole life. Ignoring them was usually the best option, but sometimes I was the mediator, forced to step in so as not to witness a murder.

    "I'm trying to look my best, Bo. This is one of the most important nights of our lives. Memories will be made. This is a big deal, would it kill you to be a little more supportive?" Cady's drama-filled voice filtrated my ears, and even I felt the sting of her frustration.

  "More important than my art exhibition? Or Ava's showcases? You Judas," His rebuttal cracked like a whip, and I felt my instincts kicking in to break up their little spat, but I was already stressed out enough about going to this engagement party to deal with them.

  "Do you have to be such an ass?" She whined.

    Gathering my heels, I walked out into the living area where I saw Bodhi standing, curly-haired and handsome as always, still slender and gangly, checking himself out in the mirror, posing at different angles with his signature smoulder present as he preened himself doing final checks.

  "I see you finished your painting," I said, gesturing to the easel near the large window looking out to the street. Bodhi devoted days, hours, even weeks to standing by that window and painting, drawing, sketching anything and everything he could.

  "This morning," he sighed heavily, nodding. "I'm exhausted, but that sucker's going straight to the gallery tomorrow morning." He stood stretching his broad shoulders, before going back to preening himself in the mirror. "You look fancy."

  "I have to make some effort, I can't turn up in sweat pants and a hoodie," I smiled, pulling on my heels and attempting not to fall over.

  "Is Killian coming with you?" He mocked, singing his name like a school-girl for which I slapped him on the back of the head, both of us now standing in the light of the mirror. I adjusted my dress, a little black number I only ever wore once before as it sat a little lower on the bust than usual and a little tight on the hips.

  "Yes, he should be here by now, he's our ride," I informed him, walking over to the window to look out on to the street but his car was nowhere in sight.

  "Cady," I shouted through to her on my way back over to Bodhi's side. "Hurry up, Killian will be here soon!"

  "Hey, did Michaelangelo have people telling him to hurry up?" She asked with a casual tone.

  "No, but you're not painting angels on a fucking ceiling, you're putting on a dress and some lipstick, now step on it!" Bodhi laughed.

    I could barely keep up with Cady sometimes. Still, she was young, beautiful, and freer than I had been of late, constantly working. Constantly finding the next project.

  "Jack-ass!" she shouted back after a short pause before her voice came again. "Found them! I found the earrings!" Bodhi rolled his eyes half-heartedly, and I giggled behind my hand before the door buzzer rang. 

    I answered, allowing the door to open downstairs so that Killian could make his way up to the apartment. He always pressed the buzzer three times, like some ritualistic habit. It was a cute quirk, so I always knew it was him.

  "How do I look?" I said to Bodhi quickly, looking into the mirror.

  "You look great, calm down," he rolled his eyes before smiling genuinely at me.

    Killian's knuckles tapped the wood of the door, and Bodhi let him in. From my place standing in front of the mirror, I saw him walk in, suit and tie and hair tidy for once away from his eyes. He looked like Bond. A handsome Bond.

  "You look nice," I smiled, turning to look at him properly, wrapping my arms around his neck casually, happy to see him for the first time properly in what has felt like so long.

  "I could say the same about you, you look like a million dollars," he said, his eyes appraising every inch of me.

    Bodhi, standing by the door, gave a loud cough signalling his discomfort at the sight of his little sister and her boyfriend being gushy and nice to each other.

  "Okay, okay, give the guy a break, he doesn't have to watch," Killian laughed, his voice calm and collected if not a little playful.

  "Then he can leave," I said, kissing Killian's cheek.

  "Speaking of leaving, shall we get going?" Bodhi said, signalling to the landing and descending staircase steps.

  "Cady!" I shouted once more, hearing a shuffling from her bedroom before watching Cady walk out to meet us in the hallway looking like something straight out of a prom photo album.

  "I'll inform the press of your arrival at the Oscars," Bodhi nodded at her, trying not to compliment her. It just wasn't their thing, but I could see that he wanted to tell her she looked lovely because she did. Our baby sister, dressed in a long red gown, looked like the Belle of the Ball already and we hadn't even left the apartment.

  "What is it with you tonight? Why are you being Mr Grouch?" Cady teased him as she grabbed her shoes and coat from by the door.

  "Oh shut up, you know I'm only kidding," he dismissed her jokingly.

  "Let's go already, Mom said she'd kill me if I were late again," I demanded, tugging at Killian's arm as I grabbed my keys from the counter before locking the door and making our way down the stairs and out into the cold night air to Killian's car.

  "Come on. Smile!" Killian urged me as we all got into the car. "You look as if you've seen a ghost."

    I laughed off his comments, but it hit a little too close to the bone, but I wasn't going to bring up Benjamin. Not when we were on our way to the party. It could wait. It would have to wait.

   Plus, Killian didn't know anything about Benjamin. Or anything to do with that Summer. It sat like old photographs in a drawer that I only took out late at night to look at, to remember, to prove to myself that it was real. That it wasn't all just a dream.

    Right now, I had to plant my feet firmly in reality.

----