The elevator dinged as we arrived home.

“Ugh,” groaned Tory as she made her way over to the couch and flopped down. “I think I’m gonna have a little relaxation time.” She looked up at me, seeing that I followed her. She patted the open spot to her left. “Wanna grab a blanket and watch a movie?”

I shrugged.

“Sure. Why not?” My mind was still buzzing after seeing Hazel and knowing that she didn’t actually hate me. I threw the other end of the blanket towards her while sitting down. “Where’s Chels?” I asked. She caught it and started to get under while glancing around.

Her eyebrows knitted. “I’m not sure. I kinda thought she’d be home still.” She checked her phone to see the time. “Yeah, weird. It’s like 4. Usually, she has stuff done by now. But she’s probably got some clan stuff she needed to tend to.”

She picked up the remote and started flicking through the apps. “What do you wanna watch? I’m in the mood for something sappy. You?” She looked at me expectantly.

“I could go for sappy. Ooh! You ever seen Portrait of a Lady on Fire? It’s in French, but it's good!”

She started laughing. “Of course you’d suggest that,” she managed to get it out in between her giggles.

“What do you mean?!”

“That’s like the most sapphic movie ever.” She said as she started searching in the apps for it. I grabbed the pillow I was laying on and threw it at her. It hit her and her hair flew everywhere. She laughed more as she fixed it then leaned over to grab the discarded pillow. At breakneck speed, she threw it right back at me. I blinked rapidly as the pillow peeled off my face.

“Ok…ow,” I said as the pillow dramatically fell from my face. I tried to frown, but couldn’t stop the grin from enveloping my face. “Unfair. You laughed at me.” I threw my hands down on the pillow that had nestled into my lap.

She giggled. “Don’t be a stereotype then.” She leaned up on the couch to sit better.

“We’re still gonna watch it though right? It was Hazel and I’s favorite movie before she left.”

She shook her head still smiling. “Of course it was. Gonna try and not learn about your ‘tragic backstory’ tonight. Let’s watch!” She hit play and set the remote down.

I guess I was starting to understand why Tory never wanted to talk about the past and was focused on the present. Whatever blood bond she had with Chelsea seemed to be way stronger than mine. She made that clear after training today.

I leant back into the arm rest and got ready to watch.

***

We were both in tears when the elevator announced Chelsea’s arrival.

Marianne was staring at the portrait of Héloïse. The music was swelling as the camera cut to the open book, set to page 28. Both Tory and I were ugly crying, when Chelsea made her way through the kitchen towards us.

“Well, I see you two have had a productive day.”

Sobs echoed around as both Tory and I could barely look at her. She made her way over to the arm chair and sat down gracefully. Her boots pulled at the rug causing it to bunch up slightly and slide her back.

“Damn rug!” She kicked it flat then scooted back to the chair’s original spot. Setting down the black bag with gold lettering she was carrying, she looked over to us then back to the TV.

“You know, this movie actually does a good job of showing what gay pining was like back then. I had a friend who wouldn’t shut up about this noble in Germany that she eventually became a maid just to be near her.”

I stared slack jawed at her, glancing to see that the credits were rolling. My sniffles were coming out slower now. I wiped my eyes then spoke gruffly, “I-I forget you were alive during times like this. Di-Did your friend get a happy ending?”

She frowned and looked down, suddenly much sadder. “Unfortunately, no. The woman she was after didn’t ever return her feelings and started to use them against her. It got worse once she found out that Margo was a vampire.”

“What do you mean?” I was suddenly enraptured by her story after just sitting through 2 hours of beautiful art. She was giving me a little more of a true window into the past. I sat up more to listen.

“Well, the noble wanted to be turned and tried to abuse Margo’s love to persuade her to do it. Margo was intent on doing it, but had to figure out a plan for them to leave. You see, Margo was Turned and was thousands of links away from her Pure meaning that the woman would end up looking almost exactly like herself. I only heard pieces of the story from another friend, but I assume Margo wasn’t incredibly forthcoming with what it was like to be a vampire. The idiot noble decided to talk with her husband about how much power the two would have over the local area once she was turned and then she subsequently turned him. Apparently, the two also discussed how to kill Margo once she was no longer necessary.” She paused dramatically and looked towards me then glanced at Tory.

I assume she wanted to make sure we understood the implications of danger then continued.

“Margo happened to overhear the whole discussion. Rightfully, she was furious and calculated revenge. At the same time though, she’d finally realized that this woman she’d been pining after for years felt nothing for her. She was so ripped up about it. She actually sent me a cryptic letter with just three words. ‘You were right.’ I found out from another friend that she brutally murdered the woman in the village square when the couple had decided to visit the town. She then immediately staked herself in the heart once the deed was done.

Chelsea just stared at the ground. It seemed like she was crying. “Margo was like a sister to me. I begged her not to go back to Germany, so receiving that news years later was awful.” She sniffled. “Sorry to make you both more sad,” she wiped her eyes and pushed her hair back, “it’s just been a long day.”

I could feel Chelsea’s pain. It was deep and cold. This was something that had clearly destroyed her and the sudden shut down of her visual emotions felt like she was used to burying everything below a false face.

Tory inched up from the couch and wrapped Chelsea up in a hug. I could see Chelsea relax her head into Tory’s shoulder. The room was silent except for the still rolling credits and soft symphonies from the movie. Chelsea suddenly started to sob. I stared and the scene with shock for a moment, before I decided to get up and comfort her too.

With both of us hugging her, the cries were muffled, but the pain was loud. I could feel it in my soul. It was like someone had ripped out my heart. I hugged her tighter. All three of us stayed that way until Chelsea’s cries of anguish into our shoulders turned into soft, muffled hiccups of pain.

I couldn’t say how long it was, but it felt like an eternity of grief had washed over the room. Eventually, the two of us pulled back and let her free.

She frantically wiped her face. Mascara was plastered to my shoulder and chaotically situated all around Chelsea’s cheeks.

“On a lighter note, your eyeliner is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen. It didn’t even budge!” Tory proudly announced, clearly trying to shift the somber tone the living room had taken on.

Chelsea chuckled slightly as she wiped her cheek with her thumb. She stared at the black mascara for a second, then gave a soft smile.

“I’m ok, I’m ok, don’t worry,” she sniffled. It was clear she was trying to say it to us, but I wasn’t sure if it was really more for herself.

“Ok, you two,” she continued to wipe her cheeks as she spoke, “let’s get into what I actually meant to talk to you about when I got home.” She smiled through her pain.

I was situated back on the couch at this point, fiddling with the blanket, while Tory sat right next to Chelsea on the floor.

Chelsea reached over to the bag and picked it up. The name on it said ‘Givenchy.’ My eyes went wide. That brand was expensive as heck and this wasn’t a small bag. She smiled seeing my recognition.

“I took the liberty of buying you a dress Belle. I figured we could all go out for a nice dinner to relax after the chaos we’ve had in the past few days. How about it?”

“Ooooh, Givenchy? When did you order that Chels? No way they had anything nice ready already there.” Tory spoke up, with a shark-eating grin and winked at Chelsea. It was very apparent these two had planned this a while ago. Well at least the dress part.

I just stared at the bag. I knew that I’d have to get used to the expensive things eventually, but all this money just thrown around was still absurd to me.

“Booo, don’t spoil the fun Tory. I was going to explain it after I pulled the dress out,” she said as she literally pulled the gorgeous dress out of the bag.

My eyes couldn’t fathom the beauty. It looked simple yet elegant. It was long, yet the end was cut at an angle so that one side rose significantly higher. The end sat in soft, thin layers that would clearly show off some of the legs while mysteriously covering the other. On the longer side, the fabric had interlinked weaving of satin gold lace. It was sewn in patterns that seemed too intricate to wear. Beautiful flowers covered the design of lace, making the whole side that seemed covered, actually slightly see through.

It cinched in at the waist, clearly meant to accentuate the figure of the wearer. The deep black that made up fabric was split away in an angular layering at the breasts. The same gold lace made up the top fabric then softly fluttered away at the thin strips meant to hold the whole thing on the shoulders.

“Oh my god,” I barely audibly said the words as I felt myself float over to them just to feel it. “It’s gorgeous.”

“Told you she’d like it,” Tory reached over and softly punched Chelsea’s shoulder.

“Ow, alright you win. You have good taste…sometimes.” She laughed. Tory’s face had fake shock on it.

“So rude,” she shook her head in mock disappointment. She turned to watch me, still locked in trance with the gorgeous dress. “Wanna get ready together? I can do your makeup!”

My face lit up at the offer and I started to feel excited. “Really?! That would be great!!” A dopey smile coated my face.

“Yeah! Come on!” Tory got up quickly, uncrossing her legs and grabbing my hand. She quickly led me to her room upstairs. We were about halfway up the stairs, when Chelsea shouted at us from below.

“Reservations are at 9! Don’t take forever!!!”

“Yeah whatever, mom!” Tory shouted back, adding sarcastic emphasis on the last word and sprinting up the stairs with me in tow.

Even if today was wild, and yesterday was wild…and the day before that was wild, and—whatever. Regardless, this has been an incredible week, but I almost can't wait for the rest of my life to continue! I thought as we finally made it to Tory’s room and started to get ready.

sketchyqueen

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It's a little shorter than usual, but I think that's because this is more of a transitionary period as we start to approach the crux of the story ;) Please keep the comments coming!! They really do help me find encouragement to write especially after a sad and hectic week/weekend! If you haven't seen Portrait of a Lady on Fire, absolutely amazing movie and would recommend. Last thing, what are your opinions on Tory?