Page 40 of Girl Like Me

“Welcome ladies...Oh Bristol, it’s nice to see you again.”

“Nice to see you again also.” I say, even though I don’t remember her, but she’s being polite and I don’t want to seem rude. She does a double take and Clarissa doubles over in laughter.

“Mercedes, meet the new and improved Bristol Montgomery. This version is nice.” Clarissa says and I smile. Mercedes seems to visibly exhale. Gosh I wasn’t even nice to anyone.

“Is there anything I can help you girls with today?”

“We need some accessories for our formal,” Clarissa says.

“Okay, show me pictures of your dresses.”

Clarissa and Chloe pull out their phones, flicking to pictures they have of their dresses. I see Chloe’s is a red A line, off the shoulder dress with the most gorgeous layering in the tulle skirt. She will look absolutely stunning in it, especially with her complexion and hair colour. Clarissa’s dress is a lot sexier, a rose gold with a pattern embroidered into it and it looks very tight.

“And what about you Bristol?” Mercedes questions me with a raised brow.

“Um, I don’t have a dress yet,” I tell her honestly. The old me probably had something over the top ordered.

“Yes you do,” Clarissa answers and starts scrolling through her phone. “You had two actually, one you really liked and one your mother wanted. She was lucky enough to get hers from Giselle’s in Briar Bay. Not many people can get in to see her and let alone have two dresses.”

She hands me her phone and the first dress I can tell is my mother’s choice. It's bright pink, a very tight fit like Clarissa’s with a huge split right up the leg. I scroll to the second image and I smile, deep down Bristol had good taste. It has a plunging neckline but with a sequin bodice and a soft falling chiffon skirt in a very pale pink. It's beautiful and exactly what I would want to wear.

“Let’s go with this one.” I say, turning the phone around and showing off the second dress. “There’s no way I’m wearing the other one.” I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

Chloe giggles and must agree with me. Mercedes shows us around the store and by the time we’ve finished shopping, we all have everything from shoes to hair accessories. And as promised Chloe and I haven’t looked at a single price tag.

“Just make sure not to tell these girls how much they’ve spent. Their daddies want them to have the best,” Clarissa says and Mercedes nods as she rings up our haul. I don’t miss the side glances, as if she is waiting for the old me to pounce out and blow up at her. Once she has rung me up I hand her the card my father gave me.

When we have everything bagged up we all head out of the store. Clarissa has been talking non stop about a party at Ambrosia’s house all day and I agree to go as long as Chloe can come. She says it won’t be a problem.

***

Chloe decided to stay at my house and get ready for the party while Clarissa went home. We agreed to meet her there because I didn’t love the idea of having to rely on her for a lift home.

We both manage to find something in my old closet to wear. I opted for a pair of leather pants and a sheer black shirt with a black bra underneath, something out of my comfort zone but it’s super sexy. Chloe opts for a plaid lace up shirt dress and knee high boots. She looks so damn hot dressed that way.

I manage to find a pair of heels that aren’t a million inches tall to finish off my look.

Chloe is confident that she knows where Ambrosia lives as we both pile into her car and head off with “I knew you were trouble,” by Taylor Swift blaring through the speakers.

Apparently Ambrosia only lives a couple of streets away but with how massive the streets are around here there’s no way I could have walked there in these heels.

Chloe pulls into the driveway and we can hear the music pumping over her radio. We both get out of the car and walk up to the front door which is already wide open. Walking into mansions feels so alien to me yet this is how I grew up. I grab Chloe’s hand and lead her through the mass of people until we see Clarissa and Ambrosia sitting out on the back patio underneath an outdoor heater. The entire crew from school is here.

Chloe and I head towards my old friends and find some empty seats.

“Are we still hanging out with the pity project?” Lydia snaps and I glare at her, squeezing Chloe’s hand tighter.

Clarissa turns to Lydia. “Are we still screwing other people’s boyfriends behind their backs?”

“Burn,” Oliver exclaims and the rest of the guys laugh.

“She is welcome to Sebastian all she wants. I’m not interested in him but be warned he still messages me daily.”

Lydia snarls at me and gets up to leave.

“Pretty girls are always welcome here,” Oscar says and winks at Chloe, causing her face to go red.

“Let’s go and get some drinks,” I say to Chloe and she nods. We head back inside the house and go and hunt down the kitchen. She grabs my arm and stops me, pointing to the top of the stairs. I look up and see Carter and Sebastian arguing. We can’t hear what they’re saying but it's obvious they’re fighting about something. Carter grabs him by the throat and Sebastian smirks back at him. My vision starts to go black and I reach out and grab Chloe by the arm before I go down.

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