?WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL?
?EPISODE 52 ?
“Yeah. I think she’s practicing voodoo. Tell Tania not to
let Hunter near her again. Maybe he’s her next target.”
They all laughed. “Oh no. No amount of love potion can
come between those two. They have a long history together.
Their parents were friends.
They knew each other from
kindergarten. Maybe they’re even arranged to be married to
each other. If Hunter didn’t get into an accident, they
wouldn’t have separated.”
“Tania is convincing Hunter to come back to Jacksonville. He had a perfect life there. He had nothing to stay for here.”
“Hunter’s father asked Tania to talk sense into him. He
refused to see his father, that’s why he’s here. But if there’s anyone who could convince him, it’s Tania.”
I felt like my heart was somewhere on the floor and
those girls were trampling on it over and over.
“Even if he stays, Tania has nothing to worry about. If I
can’t even successfully attract Hunter Vaughn, no one will.”
Chelsea said, and they all laughed.
I figured I’d heard enough. I quietly slipped out of my
seat and walked away without getting noticed.
All afternoon, I recalled their conversation in my head.
Tania was Hunter’s girlfriend in Jacksonville. Funny that I
discovered that, because he told me that I was the best
date he’d ever had and he never mentioned having a
girlfriend when we were dating at the center.
The girls were right. Tania was gorgeous. I wouldn’t hold
a candle to her and seriously, why would Hunter choose me
over her supermodel body and Hollywood starlet face?
The girls echoed many of the insecurities I had with
myself, but they said something I didn’t agree with.
They said nothing about me was noteworthy but my scars, and
my scars did nothing but make me hideous.
Maybe Chaise was right. It was time I showed these
brainless morons what I was really made of.
I went to the girls’ room and dialed Dominic’s number.
“Hey, girl. What’s up?”
“You’re right. Maybe I can play a song or two with you.”
“Atta girl! Let’s practice tonight.”
When I hung up the phone, I stared at my reflection in
the mirror. I turned to the side to study the broken skin on my cheek. It reminded me of what my stepfather did to me.
He tortured me, broke my body and my spirit. But here I
was, standing on the grounds of the most expensive school
in town.
I had been wounded, but nothing was gonna stop me from living. I was moving on. I was moving forward. I touched the rough skin on my cheek.
These are not something I should be ashamed of. These
do not make me look like a mon$ter.
These are my battle
scars. They were meant to remind me that I fought… I
survived. I won.
***
It was the night of the concert. I was nervous but what
the heck! I came here for a battle, and I had every intention to win.
I was tired of people at Leighton High thinking they
were better than me. They were not! So they shouldn’t
really look or think down on me.
When I told Denise and Chaise that I agreed to play a
song with the band, they were over the moon. They went
out of their way to support me.
Denise lent me a checkered skirt that ended a few
inches above my knees and a pair of black boots that she’d
never worn.
She also got me a black long-sleeved cropped top that teased a peek of my flat tummy.
Dominic brought his girlfriend Kaia, who happened to be
a body painter. She took time to paint flowers and swirls on
the side of my cheek where my scars were.
She also braided my hair to reveal her handiwork on my face.
When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was surprised. I couldn’t even tell that I had a scar on the skin she painted on.
“Wow!” Chaise breathed behind me. “You look… beyond
amazing.”
I smiled at him through the mirror. “Kaia did a great job
on my face paint.”
“She did. But you’re pretty without it anyway,” he said.
He spun me around so he could look at me in the eye. “Are
you ready to show them who you really are?”
I nodded. I was nervous but at the same time, I was
excited. I knew I had nothing to worry about.
When I got up the stage, I would have a guitar in my hands, and a microphone in front of my face. I would be in my element.
The rest of the people who would watch me? Well, I only
cared about one of them. And he didn’t give a shit about
me.
So what if I fuck this up? Which I doubt I will.
“I’ll be here at the side,” Chaise told me. “Remember,
I’m your biggest fan.”
I laughed. “Denise will disagree with you.”
“So will I,” Dominic said behind us. “You look gorgeous,
doll.”
“Thank you,”
“We’re ready for you.” He handed me the electric guitar
that I was going to use.
I slung the guitar string over my body, then I took a
deep breath.
Here we go!
As I stepped out of the backstage, I could hear the
crowd going wild for the band.
“We have a guest performer with us,” Dominic said on
the microphone.
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