[20] Look At Me | Midsummers I | Tease

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I smoothed my hands down the fabric of the restrictive dress I wore. The silky ballerina-pink fabric matching Kie's, hugged my body against my will. It's small, tight nature accentuating my breast, waist, and hips.

  Kiara's mother, Anna, styled my hair half up and half down. I watched quietly as she tossed my long black-brown ringlets over my shoulders. As she placed rose petals in my hair, her fingers soothingly running through it, she mumbled that I looked just like my mother. I felt my heart soar at the compliment.

"This is disgusting," Kiara whined, looking at herself in the mirror. Anna turned from where she was sitting with me, flashing her daughter an annoyed look.

"I know. It's just horrible," Anna replied sarcastically. "I'm asking you to relax and go to a fun party."

I twisted my body and I smiled at Kiara through the reflection of the mirror, gesturing to her whole body. "I think you look lovely."

"I look like a bourgeoisie pig," she grumbled, turning around to face me and her mother.

"Will you please not worry about socioeconomic injustice for one night?" Her mother sighed, placing a necklace around my neck and clasping it in back.

"Mom, people not three miles from here have no power, no running water, and we're going to Midsummers. That's so tone-deaf."

I tuned out the rest of their conversation, taking this time to look at myself. Anna was right. I did look like my mother, almost identical to her as a teenager, although she was taller and more slender than I am. I bit the inside of my cheek, picking up a piece of my hair to twirl around my finger.

My heart rate hasn't slowed and my mind hasn't been at ease since I watched Luke Maybank beat on JJ. My mind constantly thought about him and the blood on that car window. And when I wasn't thinking about that monstrosity, I was thinking about the way he kissed me. I felt like hitting my head against a wall for being so harsh. I should've said anything else. I should've reacted better. I should've kissed him back. I wanted to kiss him back.

Anna stomped out of the room, the clicking of her heels reeling my thoughts back in. I turned to look at Kiara, who was already looking at me.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened today?"

I sighed, wishing she would stop asking me questions I couldn't answer. "I don't know why Pope got arrested, and I don't know why JJ–"

"No, I mean, why JJ wouldn't look at you."

I froze at her question. I wasn't ready to discuss this. I had barely processed the situation myself, therefore I didn't need someone else analyzing it. I shook my head, acting as if she was crazy. "I have no clue what you're talking about. I just didn't feel like getting teased today so I kept my distance."

Kiara narrowed her eyes, the caramel swirls looking into my soul, trying to get me to crack underneath the pressure. But when I didn't budge, she let out a deep breath, slowly taking her eyes away from my own. "Fine."

"Fine."

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Kiara was normally right about a lot of things, and she didn't start being wrong when it came to her predictions on Midsummers. I cringed at all the people wearing extravagant dresses and expensive jewelry, gushing about their lavish homes, and sipping high-priced liquor as I thought about what Kiara said earlier. She was right, people not three miles from here were struggling right now.

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