40 Uneasy

"Who are you?" Nico asked me.

"Uh… I think I already introduced myself to you last night. Did your drunken ass forget?" I said as the girls and I got out of the room.

I didn't mean to be so cranky and Nico was being such an accommodating friend as he had paid for most of what we were having right now. But, now wasn't really a good time to joke around with me.

I was grumpy and I had never felt so ashamed in my entire life except maybe when I had mumbled and pronounced a word so wrong trying to impress Will and a few friends back in downtown Shalem when we were twelve.

And how can I not forget? Most of all, being dragged from my home into town in the middle of the night to be jeered by the townspeople and the father and fiancée of my then lover publicly shaming me for being together with William Bernards.

I wonder who could be Mr. Bernards' and Katarina's reincarnation in this world would be. Were they living a good life or have they been struck by bad karma and sunk in the depths of despair?

I made a mental note to try and find out their whereabouts and see to it that they pay for their past aggressions, together with this reincarnation of William in the name of Sebastian Mikhaelis Davis. I just need to get myself together.

But going back to Nico's playful question, I only scowled at him. My nose scrunched in annoyance and my brows furrowed to make an angry bridge of brunette.

I wasn't in any mood to be interrogated or joked around. I was trying to cover as much as I can with my arms and I wasn't doing that much of a good job at it as I can't stretch them around my entire body.

My back was still exposed and the slits in my skirt showed my long legs every time I put a leg forward when I walked.

The boots were okay though, very comfortable with the levelled heels. It was probably the only piece of this make-over that I was happy about.

"I was just kidding, Lizzie. You just look so, so… so -." Nico stammered as he looked at me from top to bottom.

It was quite a shock that this smooth talker was actually having difficulty saying what he wanted to say. Maybe all of his uppity energy and talks last night was just the effect of alcohol in his blood and when he was a bit sober, Nico was someone a whole lot different.

"You look pretty. But you don't look that confident, why?" Bash said as he combed through his hair. "Seriously girls, what did you make her wear?"

"Excuse me?" I asked a bit perplexed by his words.

Did he just compliment me and ask if I was alright? Bash was really a complex guy to understand. Not only was he bad with communication, he was quite confusing too.

What is he trying to do here?

Is he trying to play me again to make me feel guilty for playing him? Well, damn it. Now I need to fight back and make him equally confused as well.

"Right, pretty Elizabeth, isn't she? Can I get a compliment too for doing the honors of her make-over?" Suzy came from behind and closed the door.

There was a click and she handed a white card over to Nico to which he inserted in his wallet.

"Mmm… very pretty work of art by a very pretty lady too. You girls are looking rad!" Nico interjected.

Suzy and Becky wore matching tank tops with a coat slung low and not worn properly. The sleeves hung well below their arms and were barely held by their elbows.

I had to raise a brow at it. Coats are meant to cover you, not worn only for your forearm and let the ends drag on the ground.

Becky's bottom was a leather skirt that had straps crisscrossing the slit at the right side. She had some knee-high boots and she wore her highlighted hair loose. She had an earthy tone make-up on and a nude lipstick and some bit of gloss.

Suzy was every bit of the sexy queen. She had only worn a tiny denim short and a sandal that had straps going as high as her thighs. When she twirled about, I could see that her but had stuck out and I felt so mortified to have been in this era of weird fashion of less coverage.

Ali was wearing a green tube and a loose military print pants paired with black hiking boots. She had chains in her belt and she wore her signature dark make-up like the punk princess that she was.

Becky had directly gone off to Zeke who beamed a wide smile at her. He planted her a quick peck on the cheeks and whispered something to her ear to which Becky giggled and covered her flushed face.

What could he have told her to make her blush like a ripe tomato?

"Alright, I have called Levi and he told me he won't be coming along today. We'll just have to go there via Bash's truck, is everybody alright with that?" Nico asked.

Levi wasn't coming? I turned to see how Suzy's face turned blue. She had put a lot of effort to look good and Levi wouldn't even be with us after all.

Maybe he was busy sorting it out with Marionne or something?

"He didn't say anything else?" Suzy asked Nico with pleading eyes.

Nico only shrugged and walked over to the elevator. "We should let Levi be for now. He's a bit of a private guy when it comes to family matters. You guys already saw what happened at the rooftop buffet."

The elevator dinged and I dreaded another ride in this contraption from hell.

"He'll be fine. Levi will come back after he sorts things out." Bash said as he leaned on the wall of the elevator. "Best to trust him and let him do what he needs to do."

Everybody climbed aboard the elevator and I was the last one to enter. My heart was pounding as I dreaded the queasy feeling that the ride would be giving me.

My hands were sweating non-stop and I had shut my eyes and grabbed tight at the metal handles as the box plunged down to the reception hall.

I didn't think I'd be able to utter new words of profanities, but when that unnerving feeling of falling began to creep into me, I could just not help it.

"Fuck."