Between Friends by D. L. Sparks

pounds in order for the dress to fit me the way I wanted it to. I smiled at the thought of running into Trip at the gym. Couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing and if I was gonna see him again before he left.
    â€œYou need help zipping that up?”
    I swung around. My sister and Dionne were standing in the doorway. They looked amazing in their short A-line strapless black dresses. The gathered ruffled skirt stopped just above their knees, showing off their legs perfectly. I was so happy they’d listened and brought the black shoes I’d bought them to try on with their bridesmaid dresses. The flash of red from the bottoms of the shoes was the perfect touch. The red accessories I’d picked out were gonna be perfect.
    Seeing how beautiful they looked brought tears to my eyes.
    I smiled. “Wow, India, you look amazing. You do not look fat. Dionne, that dress hits you just right.”
    My twin made her way to me and zipped me into my own gown. I stepped back and admired myself in the mirror.
    The strapless Maggie Sottero gown’s bodice was embroidered with Swarovski crystals, which winked in the room’s track lighting. I forced a smile and began playfully putting my hair up, as if trying to decide to wear it up or down. I felt someone straightening out the bottom of my gown. My sister stood back and looked at me. This time it was her turn to have tears in her eyes.
    â€œOh my goodness Twin, I look beautiful,” she laughed. “I’m just kidding. You look amazing.”
    â€œYou do look beautiful, Idalis,” Dionne added.
    Their voices snapped me out of my self-induced fairy tale and our eyes met briefly. “Then why don’t I feel beautiful?”
    â€œI wish I knew, Twin. I wish I knew,” India whispered. “I do know one thing, though.” She wiped her tears.
    I looked down at my dress, tousled the skirt on my gown, and smoothed it out. “What’s that?”
    She placed her hand under my chin and lifted my face to hers. Her hand went to my makeup-covered bruised cheek. Her fingers touched my face gently before she put her hand down.
    â€œYou’re running out of time to fix this.”
    I turned away from her before the first wave of tears fell.
    I admired my glowing silhouette in the mirror.
    Suddenly the dress I was wearing was so heavy—it might as well have been made of lead.

Chapter Ten
    Idalis
    I sat on the couch, tapping my phone on my leg.
    Lincoln wasn’t home, and truth be told, I was kind of glad.
    After we left the dress shop, the three of us headed to Atlantic Station and during our late lunch they both managed to convince me to call Trip and talk to him about my situation. I fought hard against the idea, mainly because I didn’t need the drama, and there was no telling how many different cans of worms I would be opening if I made that phone call. But one point that they did make was that Trip was the only person, other than India, who knew me better than I knew myself.
    I remembered when we were in the fifth grade and this fat chick named Althea was bullying me. Trip pulled me to the side in the lunchroom and convinced me that I had the power to kick her ass and get her to leave me alone for good. Well, it didn’t take long to find out, I didn’t. India ended up having to jump in and save my behind; as a result we all got suspended for a week. But there was something about knowing that he believed in me that made that ass whooping worth it.
    I tapped the screen on my phone and flipped through my contacts until I found his number.
    I smiled when his voice came across the line. “Hey, you.”
    He laughed. “I was wondering when you were gonna call.”
    â€œSorry, I been running around,” I lied.
    â€œI understand, I even went by the gym hoping to run into you again.”
    I let that comment hang out there, deciding not to touch it.
    â€œSo what’s up?” he asked.
    â€œYou were on