Currents

Seventeen ~ Interruption

Seventeen ~ Interruption

"It's nice to dress up for a change," Mia said as she applied another coat of mascara. "Heels on the beach are a nightmare."

From where I sat on my bed, still trying to sort out the evening's playlist, I glanced across at Mia's attire again. Whether it actually was an excuse to dress up or for Austin's benefit remained to be seen, but she looked amazing. 

A strapless dress clung to her lean body, poker straight chestnut hair falling over her shoulders. Her tanned legs extended down to feet encased in impressively high stilettos, bright red toenails peeking out.

"Why are you staring at me?"

With her mascara brush poised near her right eye, she stared at me in the mirror's reflection.

"I was just admiring you," I told her, turning my attention back to the playlist.

"Admiring or judging?"

I scowled, keeping my eyes on my phone screen. "Admiring. If I thought you looked bad, I'd tell you. There's no way I'd let you make a fool of yourself in front of Austin."

Finally satisfied with my music selection, I closed down Spotify and opened WhatsApp. Earlier on, I'd messaged Alastair to remind him about the party, hoping he'd offer some words of support. That was two hours ago, and the two ticks stayed grey.

It seemed silly to worry about the time to answer a message, but Alastair's phone served as an extra limb, constantly attached to him in case any important emails came through—even on the weekends.

I offered Mia my full attention, reaching to swat her hand away as she attempted to adjust the length of her dress by tugging it down.

"Honestly, you look hot."

She perched on the edge of the bed, crossing one leg over the other as she gazed across at me. "So, what are you gonna do?"

"About what?"

"Your developing feelings for Brent."

I scoffed. "I'm just attracted to him. Which is totally normal, right? I've not seen my boyfriend in nearly two months... I've spent a lot of time around Brent... He's attractive, and I think a subconscious part of me only likes him because I want to get back at Alastair for Daisy."

Mia rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Never mind all this subconscious bullshit. You want to fuck him, and that's the gist of it."

"Mia." I raised my eyebrows. "No. I'd never do that to Alastair."

"I know. But that's exactly why you should do it. You said yourself you hate pity. Alastair's always the one in charge, and you're always the one everyone feels sorry for because he takes advantage of the fact you'll never be able to break up with him."

Silence fell between us, but not an awkward one. It was an unusual display of straight-talking from Mia, who typically chose her words with sensitivity—especially when it concerned Alastair or our relationship.

Perhaps she'd wanted to say something for a while, but she'd only recently felt comfortable enough to admit it. She was right, though. Everyone did pity me because they knew I'd never hurt Alastair, yet he was willing to put me through pain and shame.

"Normally," Mia said, her tone gentler. "I would never encourage cheating. I still think it's wrong and an unfair thing to do in a relationship, but your relationship isn't normal, Rose. You know that. The reason Alastair gets—or got—away with it is because he could. Why doesn't that same principle apply to you? If you're stuck together forever, this summer might be your only chance to level the playing field and get a taste of something different."