Chapter 7

Celeste

When Matt entered the boutique, my heart immediately took on an erratic beat.

I retreated to the safety of the dressing room, my chest heaving as I struggled to catch my breath. Why here? Why now? Why did this only happen to me?

I had hoped to go unnoticed, for him to gloss over my presence as he'd always done at school or at Jack's parties. But no, my luck had run its course. This was getting dangerous, and I needed to get out before he or anyone else recognized me.

After quickly changing back into my normal clothes, I tugged my hat down harder over my hair, pulled my hood up, and covered my face with my surgical mask.

“Let's go,” I blurted to Fiona when I re-emerged from the fitting room, keeping my head low, my face shielded by the hood of my coat. The protective layers felt too thin, but I had no choice. This was the only plan I had in mind.

“But, Celeste—” Fiona protested, her voice laden with confusion. But my grip on her arm was tight, insistent, and I shot her a pleading glance that made her close her mouth in understanding.

I kept my head down as we walked up to the register to pay. Sabrina, however, seemed to be in no hurry. With a smirk, she snatched the dress out of my hand and looked over it, her fingers tracing the size tag.

“Sure you want this one?” she cooed, taking her sweet time to remove the security tag and scan the dress. “There’s a section in the back for fat girls, you know. We’ve got plenty of circus tents for you to use.”

“Come on, Sabrina,” Fiona retorted, her voice no more than a hiss. “Don’t be rude.”

Sabrina shrugged. “I’m just trying to help.”

I bit my tongue and held out a wad of cash. Sabrina, rolling her eyes, slowly counted the money and opened the drawer, snapping her gum between her teeth while she painstakingly counted out my change.

Internally, I was screaming. Matt passed behind me once, two times. I could see his reflection in the mirror behind the counter. He seemed to be glancing at me, and I kept my head down, pretending to be absorbed in searching for something in my tote bag.

“Here you go.” Sabrina slapped my change and my bag down on the counter, then began picking at her fingernails in boredom as though I was no longer even there.

Once I had my change and my receipt in my hand, I whipped around and grabbed Fiona again, practically dragging her toward the exit.

We only just barely made it to the door, however, when a familiar voice startled me.

“Hey, aren't you Jack's sister?”

I whipped around, my heart pounding in my chest. There he was; Matt was standing behind a rack near the door, where I hadn’t noticed him. His eyes were fixed on me.

I suddenly came to the horrifying realization… That I was still wearing my glasses. I wasn’t completely unrecognizable after all.

It was an innocent question, laced with casual curiosity. But to me, it was a bombshell. My heart pounded in my chest, my breath hitching.

My eyes darted to Matt's face, reading nothing but genuine interest. “Oh, hey, Matt,” I greeted back, my voice far too high, far too shaky. I cleared my throat, hoping he hadn't noticed my nervousness.

“What are you doing here?” he continued, oblivious to the internal panic he was causing. “Are you going to the ball or something?”

“N-No,” I lied, smiling nervously beneath my mask. “I’m just…”

My mind was a tumult of frantic thoughts. No words would form, no matter how many times I stupidly opened and closed my mouth. My tongue was a slab of dead weight in my mouth.

But Fiona, ever my knight in shining armor, intervened. She deftly took the bag from my clammy hands and responded for me. “Celeste was helping me pick out a dress for the ball,” she explained in a steady and convincing tone as she held the bag up. “I couldn’t decide on which one to get.”

Matt seemed to accept the explanation, a small nod acknowledging her words as he leaned over a bit to peer at the dress poking out of the bag. Before he could get a glimpse, however, Fiona—deft and quick on her feet as always—positioned the bag behind her back where he couldn’t see.

“It’s a surprise,” she said.

Matt shrugged. “Nice. Well, have fun.” He offered a friendly smile, clearly done with this conversation, before he sauntered off to join Enzo and Nina who were standing near the back of the store.

I let out a sigh of relief so heavy it threatened to deflate me entirely.

“Thank you, Fiona,” I murmured. Fiona just shot me a look.

At the back, Nina was stepping out of one of the fitting rooms wearing a pretty black dress. She seemed so comfortable around Enzo and Matt, and did a little twirl that caused both guys to laugh.

At that moment, I hated Nina. I hated her confidence, her beauty. I hated how her actions, however innocent, elicited a laugh from Matt when he normally pretended that I didn’t even exist.

And yet, at the same time… He was so much warmer toward me now, during our brief interaction, when he wasn’t with my brother. He even… Smiled at me.

It seemed, as time wore on, that there were a lot of facets to Matt’s personality that I hadn’t ever seen before. Or perhaps I was still too awestruck by the way that his fingers felt in the bathtub, and I mistook him for someone that he wasn’t.

Just then, something caught my eye and broke me from my reverie; it was Sabrina, smirking at me from behind the counter. She seemed to recognize me now. I saw her lips noiselessly form my name: Celeste.

Shit, I thought to myself. If Sabrina got wind of my secret, I wouldn’t be surprised if she blabbed it to the whole school. This whole situation was turning out to be far messier than I ever anticipated.

“Let's go,” I told Fiona, my voice barely above a whisper. Shooting Sabrina one last look, I pushed open the door and we quickly made our exit.

As soon as we were out on the bustling street, Fiona grabbed my arm and unceremoniously yanked me into a quieter side alley.

Her blue eyes were wide, anxiety and confusion seeping into her gaze as she glared at me. “You have to tell me what's going on now,” she demanded, folding her shapely arms across her chest.

“Nothing’s going on,” I lied, tugging my surgical mask down to my chin. “I just don’t want anyone to know that I’m going. If Jack found out—”

But Fiona was relentless.

“No more secrets, Celeste,” she warned, her gaze hardening. “I know this isn’t just about Jack. Be honest with me; you know you can trust me.”

I sighed, running a hand through my unruly curls. She was right. I couldn't keep Fiona in the dark, not when she had always stood by my side, fighting my battles with me.

“Alright,” I conceded, a weary sigh escaping me as I leaned back against the brick wall of the building behind me. I glanced at her, her face softening in the dim light of the alley. “I’ll tell you the real reason.”