I frowned again, nodding. "Hoopla," I whispered.
"Oh yes, it will be a media circus. You have to be prepared for that." Carolyn frowned slightly. As I studied her face, sympathy filled me. If anyone was familiar with a media circus, it was her I imagined.
I nodded again, even more determined now to put off going to the police. Police. As always, just the word alone had fear skittering down my spine. A captive to fear.
"Well anyway," Carolyn said brightly, "we can talk about all that after the party. We'll make a decision together.”
I smiled, but I was still a little concerned. "Okay. So speaking of this party, I thought you said it was a very small intimate group of friends?"
"Oh, it is, just twenty. But my garden parties are infamous, so I have a reputation to uphold." She winked. "Plus, since it will be chilly, there's more to do. Heat lamps, twinkle lights . . . It's going to be beautiful. It will be like making up for all the birthday parties I didn't get to throw for you."
I laughed softly. "Okay." I started to stand and Molly and my mom did, too. "I'm going to go in and take a shower," I said.
"All right. I've laid your outfit out on your bed," my mom said as I turned away. I turned back.
"Outfit?"
"For the party."
I heard Molly groan and my eyes darted to her. She widened them slightly as if to say that Carolyn had really lost her mind. What could it really hurt though? I turned back to my mom and smiled. "Thanks, how nice of you," I said.
Her expression brightened and she smiled, clapping her hands together.
"Eden," Molly called. "It was so nice talking to you." She smiled warmly if not a little sadly.
I gave her a small smile back. "You, too, Molly," I said.
I went back upstairs to my room trying my best not to gasp out in horrified shock when I saw the sheer, light pink, sleeveless dress with the huge flower at the neckline. I held the hanger up, my eyes widening as the flower seemed to grow before my very eyes. Well.
I laid it back down on my bed, a feeling of rebellion coursing through my body. This is not the same, I reminded myself, picturing a white, lace dress. This is not the same. I hung the dress up in my closet and closed the door firmly behind me.
CHAPTER FOUR
Eden
I scrolled through the Internet page in front of me, taking a few notes here and there when something seemed important, but mostly reading the content and pausing when I needed to digest something. The information filled my mind, blocking out everything else and bringing with it a peace I craved, at least for the moment.
A knock sounded at my door, startling me slightly. I snapped my laptop closed. No one would understand this—certainly not my mother. Molly peeked in and smiled at me, closing the door behind her.
"You know what you need?" she asked.
I breathed out a laugh as I sat my laptop aside. "So many things, I don't even know where to begin."
She laughed a soft laugh, too. "No really. You need a night out."
I shook my head, leaning back on the pillows behind me where I sat on my bed. "Oh no, no. I don't do bars. And I don't even have an ID anyway."
"I'm not going to a bar. I'm meeting a couple friends from school and we're going to see this local artist who’s been getting a ton of buzz here."
I picked up my laptop and stood up to put it on my desk under the window. "An artist?" Molly was a junior at The Art Institute and studied Fashion Marketing and she had plans with her classmates often.
She nodded, plopping herself down on my bed. "Yeah. It's his opening night, but my friend Ava got into a sneak peak for students and so she gave me her two tickets for tonight. She said he's hot as sin, too." Her face went serious. "Not that you're up for looking at guys or anything, but, you know."
I laughed a quiet laugh. "It's okay, Molly."
I walked to my mirror where I sighed at what I looked like. My hair was a mess and I hadn't put any makeup on. I picked up a brush and attempted to tame my bangs at least. Molly came up behind me and gathered up my hair and started twisting it into an up-do. I tossed the brush down, grateful for the help.
"I just think this might be a safe thing to do, you know, to practice being social." She looked at me in the mirror a little nervously.
I stared back at her for a minute, thankful to have found a female friend my age. She understood so much more about life than I. "I guess it's obvious I need practice." I looked down.
Molly picked up a pin and stuck it in my hair. She smiled gently at me. "That's only natural, Eden. And after what you've been through . . . well, it's going to be a process, you know? And I completely understand that you need to start out slowly. I've been looking for an opportunity to help you get out and I think this is perfect." She put another pin in my hair.