Page 57 of House of Bass

By the tone of the short word, I call him out. “You don’t agree, do you? I’m going to tell her you said that.”

“Finish your list,” he nudges me along.

“Harley as her namesake, Harley Quinn.” I kind of already bought her outfit too, there’s still time to convince her.

“You think you can get your sister into all that makeup?”

“I can be very persuasive.”

“I believe that you believe that.”

“You don’t think I’m persuasive?” I glare at the empty room.

I can see his smirk in head right now, then the thought of Harley has me thinking back to our conversation earlier. I tell him what she said, “She called me her sister earlier. She actually said it out loud.”

“How did it make you feel?”

“Mostly glad… but also a little sad. All I’ve ever wanted was for her to acknowledge what we are but it terrifies me. Her saying one measly word made me realise this is another person to disappoint when they realise I’m not good enough. That I’m not the girl the world sees me as.”

“You’re not disappointing anyone, Saint. The pressure you place on your shoulders will break you if you let yourself think like that.”

Then I bring up the other elephant in our life, the reason I’ve refused to give him a solid answer. “What about MJ? If I give in to you like you ask, to let myself succumb to you. What do you think that will do?”

“It just means you love me enough to think what we have with each other can overcome everything else.”

“What is it we have, Arden? It’s been years. You’re trying to make a home out of a maybe. How do we even know we’ll work?”

“There’s one thing I believe, and have known for years. We were meant to exist as one. Maybe we forgot it once, but never again.”

I pinch my eyes closed, wanting to believe his words. To soak them in and embrace it as a God given fact but I can’t. “Good night, Richard.” I cut the call, not waiting to hear him say anything else. Rubbing my chest to soothe its ache, I tuck myself in between my sheets putting the list back in the drawer. Soon after, a message pops up. It’s Arden.

RAT

Remember, Saint. A sore loser is a person who knows

what they want. I want you and I won’t give up.

22

ST. ANNABEL

“Harl people are going to start getting here!” I call out to her from the living room. I smooth down my sparkly orange skirt and fix the wings on my back, staring at myself in the mirror. I am going as one of the winx club girls. Stella to be precise. It’s kinda lazy but this is my next option after MJ stole my catwoman idea (she’s never even opened a comic book in her life!). I had the cutest leather outfit planned too.

I practice my smile in the mirror then close my eyes to breathe in and out, chanting to myself. Tonight I will be happy. Tonight I will breathe and have fun. Tonight the world will not end because I don't get my way. And more importantly, tonight, I’ll stop resenting my best friend because of a man.

My eyes snap open when I hear the clicking of heels behind, I do a double take instantly when I see Harley in her costume. She is in a metallic two piece that consists of a cropped silver top and a mini skirt with a fringe at the bottom. There is also glitter trailing down her left leg. She looks phenomenal, I can’t help but wonder if I can coax her into dressing this way all the time.

“My God, you look so different.” Is the first thing that leaves my mouth after I get over the shock.

She scowls instinctively and rolls her eyes in usual fashion “Different good or different bad?”

“Don’t be daft, obviously different good. It’s just I don't think I’ve ever seen you so dolled up.” Her eyes flicker all around for a brief moment and the scowl deepens. She is terrible at taking compliments so I know this is making her uncomfortable.

“I went out a couple weeks ago and you said I looked good then too,” she says.

“True and you did but this is wow. What does this mean for the dresses that I bought you? Because honestly, you’re letting perfectly good Chanel go to waste,” I jokingly tell her and she glares.

“Don’t push it, Bel.”