WILD FLOWERS ✿ d.malfoy

9.

"Get out of the bathroom, Carina!"

"Ha! Not my fault you didn't wake up early. Now wait!"

A bang and scream. I sigh and set my book aside. Tracy was banging on the bathroom door as Carina refused to come out. I was dressed and ready to go, but decided to wait, for the sake of avoiding any unnecessary feelings. Speaking of feelings, they were the reason I was up so early. I couldn't sleep. They wouldn't let me sleep. I saw their faces, them telling me that it was my fault. All. My. Fault.

I shiver and tilt my head back. Not again.

"You could have saved me you know."

"I tried to." I tell her in my head.

"It wasn't enough," she spits. My heart is boiling lava, burning me. "You broke the promise you made to mummy."

I take a sharp breath in. "There was nothing I could –"

"I thought you loved me." Her voice is an accusation.

"I do love you," I sob. "I tried to save you, I'm sorry."

"You're useless." She's fading away, fast. I try to grip onto her remains, but there's nothing left.

"Don't say that, Rose," I whimper. "Please. Stay."

But she's gone.

"How. Much. Longer?!" Tracy screams. "I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, Celestia. If someone wasn't taking so long, there would be no need for this."

I take a deep breath in and mask myself. "If I didn't know you, I would have thought I was in a room with seven-year olds."

"Well, some people never grow up, do they?" Carina says, emerging from the bathroom.

Tracy smacks her, "you would know, wouldn't you?"

Carina sighs and gets ready. I go back to my book.

Fast forward twenty minutes, "And done!"

"Seriously," Tracy stretches across Carina to get the eyeliner, "it took you twenty minutes to do your hair?"

"Try having hair this long," she retorts.

"Celestia?" Carina calls. I hum in response, not looking up from my book.

"Aren't you getting ready?"

"I am ready." I close my book and put on my shoes: Dr Martens. I mean I have enough money, so why not?

"No, you're not." I'm dragged to the stool in front of the mirror.

"Right," orders Tracy, "close your eyes."

I do as I am told; I don't have enough energy to tell them I don't care how I look.

Tracy works on my face while Carina twists and turns and clips my hair. I never learnt an ounce about make-up before the – well, before.

"Have a look," Carina whispers.

The girl in the reflection looks different. She looks hopeful, bright, alive. She's not me. I feel like breaking; I can't.

They didn't do anything extensive: just winged eyeliner, mascara and a bit of foundation with lip gloss. I look like a typical teenage girl, but I like this mask. Maybe, I can actually go through with this.

My hair is in a French braid; believe it or not, it's as long as it was before I cut it off.

"Looking good," I tell them. I give them a broad smile. "You're going to have to do my makeup every day, I don't know an ounce about nothing."