Taken and Misused.

Tabytha and I walked into another store, this time it was one of her choosing. It was a vintage store, not set in the middle of all the high fashion stores like Gucci, or Prada that took up most of the street. After I had had no luck finding a dress in those places Tabytha took over the store picking and here we were. A bell jingled as we entered, mixing with the soft music that was playing throughout the store. You could smell the age of the store’s contents, a faint musky smell mixed with a rosy perfume. Dim lights lit up the space, giving the room a feeling of warmth. My eyes fell on the racks of clothing, from fur coats and scarves and sundresses to old looking suits of almost every color and texture. An old woman sat behind the checkout counter where a flood of vintage jewelry sat, I saw the sparkle of diamonds and the glimmer of gems.

“Wow, this is perfect Tabytha” I breathed, my eyes roaming around the whole store.

“You haven’t even seen the gowns and you’re already drooling, come on, they’re in the back” she said, laughing softly at my awe struck expression. She took hold of my arm and pulled me towards the back, my fingers trailed over each thing we passed, I felt suede, fur, vinyl, sequins, and silk. Each texture held a story in my imagination, every piece of clothing had a past that was good or bad. It reminded me of Vaughn and Stephen. Both of them had stories to tell that I could see hidden behind certain expressions and I knew Vaughn had a past that was a mixture of good and bad, and I had a feeling Stephen did as well.

“Are you daydreaming over there?” Tabytha said straight into my ear, making me jump and in turn making her laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes” she laughed, smiling at me.

“Sorry, it’s just so much to take in” I said, shoving two certain men to the back of my mind.

“Try not to get too overwhelmed” she said with a grin, when we passed a rack of old fashion hats complete with plumes of feathers and pearls, a line of gowns came into sight. I saw more silk and more diamonds and more satin than ever in that one moment. “We only have one hour left to get you the perfect dress so lets get to business” Tabytha said, glancing at her watch. I pulled out an emerald gown with silver detailing going down the skirt and a deep neck.

“Looks Christmas like” Tabytha commented, glancing over at it with a frown. I put it back after noticing she was right. I took out another that was scarlet. “Ooh lala, hearts will be broken in that dress, go try it on” she said, grinning widely and ushering me behind one of the little wooden doors that hid a mirror and a little bench.

“You know, I saw Stephen at the dance studio yesterday” I heard her say, her words were followed by the sounds of shuffling dresses as she searched through the large assortment. “And, being my nosey self I happened to over hear what he asked Mr. Dellmonte” she added, leaving her words hang there as she waited for me to ask her what Stephen had asked him.

“Well, spill it, what did he ask?” I said, grinning to myself. Being in Tabytha’s company was extremely fun, it wasn’t until now that I realized the only two people I had actually spent time with in the months I had been here were Vaughn and Stephen. Wow, if my step-brother had known that he would have deemed me a pitiful hermit. Thank god the little brat was stuck in Paris.

“He wanted more practices with you, and of course Mr. Dellmonte accused him of fancying you” Tabytha said, laughing while she spoke. “I wish I had been able to see his face” she added.

I paused in zipping up the dress. “What did Stephen say?”

“That it was purely to ‘perfect the routine’” Tabytha said and I could tell she was trying to mock Stephen’s deep, Russian voice. “But I think the emotionless Russian is getting a crush on you” she said in a sing-song voice.

“So, does he normally show affection by avoiding any contact with the person he has a so-called crush on?” I questioned, opening the dressing room door and walking out.

“He doesn’t normally show affection, maybe he’s unable to do it” Tabytha said, turning around to see me. “But in that dress he’d probably not just show affection” she said and the way she said it made me blush. “Maybe something less revealing” she said with a small laugh and I nodded in agreement.

As we searched for my dress Tabytha kept a constant stream of conversation going. At one point she let out a loud sigh and turned to face my shocked expression. “Are you alright?” I asked, slightly confused at her sudden action.

“I’m dying to know, and you can tell me to mind my own business at any point you feel necessary, but…” she looked at me as if she were contemplating something. “Do you perhaps, you know, like Stephen?” she said, putting emphasis on the word ‘like’. She bit her lip while I thought. “Nevermind, I’m too nosey for my own good” she rushed, waving the subject off with a gesture of her hand.

“It’s fine” I said, part of me wanted to talk to her about this because I was starting to get feelings for him but nothing like the ones I had for Vaughn . “I do perhaps like him, I mean, he is a jerk at times” I said, frowning, “but sometimes, very rarely, I can see he has this caring side” I said remembering him offering to take me home one night after practice, and then how he wants me to stay out of trouble. Those split seconds made me realize I do like him, and I knew if he left now I would probably miss him. I had stopped shifting through the dresses and I looked over at Tabytha. “It’s just, I can’t really feel that affection for a man I hardly know.”

“Maybe that’s why you like him” Tabytha said, shrugging, “he’s a mystery” she finished in an ominous voice.

“I doubt it” I said with a small laugh, grinning at her expression. My hands went back to examining each dress, I pulled out a few I liked and set them on one of the leather chairs behind us.

“So, I doubt you’re going to this thing with Stephen, who’s the lucky guy?” she asked after a few moments of silence.

I laughed lightly, “you’d make a good reporter.”

“I like getting my answers, maybe I should try it out” she said with a grin.

“I’m going with this guy, Vaughn.”

“Ooooh, sounds like a rebel” she said, raising an eyebrow at me.

“That does describe him well” I said, knowing the question that was coming next.

“Do you like him?” she asked, sounded sheepish.

“You could say that” I said, grinning to myself. This girl-talk stuff was turning out to be quite fun.

“Excuse me?” we both turned to see the old woman who had been sitting behind the front counter come up to us. She held a golden dress in her arms A small smile curved her lips, and it was obvious she was one of those few people that were truly good at heart. “I think I have the perfect dress for you” she spoke, that same smile on her lips as she held out the garment to me. “Go try it on” she urged, sounding just like Tabytha for a moment.

Once I had the dress on I stepped out of the dressing room and looked at myself in the large, antique, three-way mirror. My face was the definition of amazed, so was Tabytha’s. The dress was gold silk, not like the glittery gold that is always used these days, but a deep, rich gold. The skirt was simple, gold silk all the way to the floor and it fluttered away from my legs whenever I moved. The bodice was accented with diamonds, like a dusting of them around the neckline and waist. It had a V-neck line and the back dropped down further than the front so that the majority of my back was bare. The gown looked like it belonged in a fairy tale.

“It’s perfect” I breathed.

“More than perfect” Tabytha commented, grinning ear to ear.

After thanking the woman about a million times we looked for shoes to match the dress and the woman turned out to be very nice and she had a lot of stories to tell. Just like the clothing she sold. Most of them were tales of love and fighting for it.

“I had always loved Robert, ever since we first met, he was always out there doing something, he owned his own business and everything. A real wonderful man” she said, her voice thick with age and wisdom. “But then there was this man” she added, her tone suddenly suggestive and me and Tabytha both laughed softly. “The whole town viewed him as completely heartless. John, was his name. The women gossiped and gossiped of course” she said, rolling her eyes and pointing out a pair of shoes that were nearly a perfect match for the dress. Tabytha and I stopped searching and listened to her story. “Well, I knew he was different, everyone has a heart of course. So I got to know him, spending any time I wasn’t with him in Robert’s company. And I began to see a very caring man laid beneath his though exterior, and well, I fell for him” she said, letting out a heavy sigh as she sat down, her eyes lost in the memory. “I still loved Robert with every ounce of my being, but this small part of me would always crave for John, he was strong and quiet but when he did speak it was always so important or meaningful you couldn’t help but be pulled in.

“Did you end up going with John?” Tabytha asked, her attention wrapped up in the story.

The woman laughed softly, closing her eyes for a moment and sighing. “No, I fell into the arms of Robert in the end. He was the man whom I first fell in love with after all” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“Do you regret it? Not going with John” I asked, suddenly very attentive to her expression. It changed from serene to contemplative.

“Part of me does wonder what would have happened if I had left with John, I think about it quite often actually. But don’t we all second guess our choices? I believe the only thing in our body that can truly decide on matters of love is the heart” she said, raising her hand to where her own heart sat inside her chest.

“Elisabeth, we have to get you ready for tonight” Tabytha said after glancing at her watch.

The old woman smiled and stood up as we did, I continued to think about her story. I couldn’t help but put Stephen and Vaughn’s names in where John and Robert’s were.

I purchased my items along with a pair of diamond chandelier earrings I had noticed, the woman wished us a good night and sat back down in her chair and opened a novel.

“Quite the story huh?” Tabytha commented as we got into her car.

“yeah” I said, smiling slightly to myself.

“Well, we’ve only got a few hours to make you look perfect for Vaughn tonight” she said, grinning at me.

“Good thing I’ve got you” I said, throwing her a compliment. She started the car, still grinning, and took off down the street.

“Yes indeed” she replied.