Page 26 of The Fate Of Us

Chapter ten

Adaline

IwascrossingSaturdayoff my calendar quicker than I’d hoped. So quick that myMonday felt like a past life memory. A thing I’d dreamed up years ago, not lived six days ago.

It was a wonderful day, as expected. The books I’d picked up from JoJowerein fact beyond filthy,andit had started raining when I got home, the thick sideways type of rain that comes with dark grey clouds and a thunderstorm not too far behind it.I didn’t know what I’d done to deserve such glorious reading weather, but I wasn’t aboutto question it.

Reading turned to writing pretty quickly. It always does.

I’ll read a line, or a paragraph of a book, and something about it will inspire me. It mightbe the words, how they’re crafted and so perfectly placed together, or it could be the dialogue between a mother and a daughter, the grump and the personified sunshine that will make a flag ding in my brain, and before I know it, my spine resembles the letter ‘c’ and my manuscript is five-thousand words bigger.

That ache from hunching over and practically head-butting my laptop screen was stillbothering me, but if anything, it provided something else for my thoughts to fawn over, rather than the fact that tonight was Nate’s birthday dinner.

“Are you sure it’s okay that I got ready with you tonight, instead of in my own home? I feel bad that I left Jacob with the cooking, but he told me it was fine because I spent all day baking anyway. But still, I feel awful.” Flo calls from my bedroom, her voice coated with even more panic than when she asked me that ten minutes ago.

“I just told you it’s fine. Even though this dinner is taking place where you live, I’mactually really happy that you're here.” I shouted back with giggles weaving the words, while my eyes scanned what had once been a semi-organised clothes rail, but were now three giant piles of those clothes spread out across the floor of my walk-in closet.

But just as I’m about to mentally stomp my feet and give up, I see it; the dress I’d beensearching for all day.

“Gotcha,” I whisper to myself.

Dress in hand, I leave behind the clothes I'll tell myself I’ll clean later but casually forgetabout until next week, and walk out of the closet that still makes me catch my breath every time I open the door to it. It’s the ocean-blue tiles that line the walls and the chandeliers that dangle from the glacier-white ceilings that have me wanting to spend all my time in there. I think it was how they reminded me of the ocean, the contrast between the waves and the foam they left on the shoreline after they’d crashed.

I’d be back there soon…

My toes begin to curl at the iciness of the floor compared to the carpet I’d just steppedover, before I spot the riddler, Flo, half in her dress, half out, and only her cute sage green lingerie on show.

“Besides, I don’t think Jacob would mind either way if he knew that—” I raise my finger in herdirection, pointing from her chest to her thighs “—is what he’s getting later.”

Her cheeks go round and rosy as she breaks into a laugh. “Oh, behave. I think all thosebooks have gone to your gorgeous orange head.”She may be onto something.“But please help me; I think I’m trapped. And I can feel a S.U.L.A. coming on.”

It’s pointless suppressing my laughs as I toss my dress onto the chair by my vanity, mysteps taking me over to where she was hunched in the corner of the one dressing room that would always be mine. She has one leg and one arm in her dress and the other arm and leg out of it, half squatting in what looks like a type of yoga pose, and her brown locks tangled in the straps.

“I don’t know, it’s kind of… chic. I’ll give Anna Wintour a call, she’ll love this.” I joke,grabbing her trapped arm and eventually pulling it out of the silk fabric, then shuffling the dress up her torso, which frees her leg. I step back to admire her, a smile that feels hazy appearing on my face. “She’s a free woman.”

She shimmies the dress, the glassy silk resting so nicely on her curves, falling effortlesslyto the middle of her thighs that I’m forever jealous of, as she turns to face the mirror behind her. “I don’t know why I chose silk, it just lured me in.” An aching groan leaves her mouth. “It’s a non-stretch fabric for crying out loud. And what is non-stretch fabric?” she asks herself, and me.

“The devil.” We say in unison, barely able to keep the laughter from our voices.

With Florence free, I turn my attention back to my dress, heading for my bedroom and laying itout on the fresh sheets as I smooth out the ivory cotton and puff up the milkmaid sleeves. The sunlight that announced to us that spring was officially on the way cast a subtle glow over the room as I straightened my back, my eyes tracing over every inch of the dress, and the floodgate on the memories I never let myself drown in started to lift. Moments in time that I’d forgotten about trickling in, and my breaths becoming harder to catch.

Luckily, I feel Flo move to my side, her chin resting over my shoulder. “I think Nate’sgonna go all Monica Gellar on you, because that dress is a thunder-stealer.”

He wouldn’t, I think to myself. If anything, he’d be glad the spotlight was on me, onanyone, rather than him. I knew how much he hated these days.

But I shake my head, telling her she’s crazy, a laugh that says ‘yeah, right’ coming out ofmy nose… but in a twisted way, she is right.

And not for the reasons she thinks.

I want to say I have no idea why I’m choosing to wear this dress tonight. I want to say Ifound it in the depths of my wardrobe after I’d abandoned it for years and finding it again has only ignited the love I once had for it. I want to say it holds no significance in my life at all.

But if I did, my pants would burn brighter than my hair.

Thirteen Years Ago

I race up the steps of the porch, the worn-away panels creaking under my feet as theplastic bag holding tonight’s outfit thrashes in my hands. I’m only running because the one person I don’t want to see what’s in here, or know I’ve spent nearly all day searching for it is only next door. And if he sees me, I know he’ll—

“Freeze!”

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