Page 10 of The Book of Legends
“Stop it,” I whisper to myself. “You can do this, Selene. You know they will call you a nerd. Talk shit behind your back. You’re pretty.”
I repeat the last words like it’s a mantra, but I don’t believe it.
I let out an exasperated breath. “I look like an owl.”
My pupils—two dark brown marbles—stare back at me through magnifying lenses.
Then my aunt’s voice echoes in my head.“Someone will see how beautiful you are underneath.”I smile.“And sizes two and zero? Overrated.”
If only it were that easy. I mutter, “I’m a size six on a good day.”
“Selene?” Diana calls
out.I glance at myself one last time in the mirror, rising onto my toes to check if the dress hides my ass. I grab a jacket.
“Wish me luck,” I mutter to no one.
When I open the door, Diana is standing by the front door, scowling.
Her frown vanishes the second she sees me. “Well, well.” Her eyes sweep over me. “There she is.”
I roll my eyes and push my glasses up my nose. “I look like I could start a fire with these glasses,” I grumble. “And don’t even get me started on the dress.”
She shakes her head. “No, you don’t. You look hot.” She smirks. “Better than those leggings and oversized shirts you always wear.”
“It’s comfortable,” I argue.
“It’s lax, and lax is boring.” She arches a brow. “If you wore a crop top with those leggings, then it would look fun.”
Pfft. “That’s because you don’t have fat boobs spilling out from the top and bottom.”
Diana deadpans. “I would kill for your rack.”
I snort. “Yeah, until you go bra shopping and realize you’re buying parachutes.”
She laughs and opens the door. “Come on, I’ll meet you there. The guys are going to drool when they see you in that dress.”
More like laugh at me for trying, but I don’t say that out loud.
It takes me forty-five minutes to get to my aunt’s house. By the time I pull up, the sun is setting. The small white house with its brown wooden door looks abandoned, and there’s a black, unmarked car parked in the driveway.
I frown. A man I don’t recognize is closing the front door. Something feels wrong.
I climb the steps. “Excuse me?”
He turns, brown eyes sweeping over me like he’s trying to place me. “Are you Selene?”
I hesitate. “Yes. And you are?”
“I’m Officer Henley,” he says, clearing his throat. “I—I knew your aunt from the food drive at the church.”
A cop? I’ve never seen him before, and my aunt never mentioned him.
“I don’t know how to say this, but…” He exhales. “She’s gone.”
Everything stops.
My stomach drops.
