To Be Beautiful

The blood that rushed to my face only managed to fan my fury.

"It's never nice to see you, Brown." I spat, clenching my fists so hard my nails definitely must have left indents on the skin of my palms.

At the use of her last name, she scoffed.

Yes, I went cliche and decided to scorn her with the use of her surname, but what else was I supposed to do? Kimberly Tatum Brown - Her middle name was socially acceptable and her first name was much too good for her.

"Actually, a lot of people call me Kim now, I look just like Grandma, you know." She spouted, grinning cheekily at me.

I couldn't help but glare heatedly at her. She didn't have the right to compare herself to someone so beyond her caliber even if she did resemble Great Aunt Kim an awful lot.

"Yeah, I suppose you might if you didn't cake on the makeup so much." I lied with a well-placed shrug.

An aspiring makeup artist like herself was obviously offended by such a statement as she made quick to retaliate with a remark just as scathing.

"Yeah, well. You should probably think about using a little more makeup - it would probably distract from your hideous wardrobe." Tatum bit back, cocking a brow at my ensemble.

Paranoia at her accusation quickly set in, causing me to double check my outfit.

A navy blue plaid button up shirt, skinny jeans, and black flip-flops. . .what exactly was wrong with that? If you don't compare it to Tatum's adorable pink summer dress and white ballet flats, of course.

"I think you like, need glasses, Tate." I suggested coyly, refusing to allow my confidence to crumble at her criticism.

"And I think you need to go back to where ever the hell it is you came from-" She began, pursing her glossed lips in agitation.

"Eleanor Anne Boggs! Is that you, sweetheart?!" The sudden, ultimately cheerful exclamation, no doubt came from my Aunt Lauren, of course.

"Yeah, it's me." I responded back, equally as cheerful. A busty, middle-aged blond woman came prancing out of the adjacent pale yellow house with a eager smile gracing her aged lips.

Once she had eventually reached my dear sweet cousin and I, she was full of questions.

"How are you? Jennifer said you'd be coming down for a visit, but I didn't think it'd be so early in the Summer! Has anything interesting happened lately dear? How's school? Are you enjoying Summer so far. . .?" She gushed, capturing me in an unwanted embrace.

Not in the mood to answer each and every question, I simply sighed.

"Grandpa Kevin died." I mumbled into her suffocation inducing chest.

Without further ado, I found myself released from her hold.

"Oh - really?" She cried, as if she didn't already know.

"When was the funeral? How's your father holding up? The kids and I would've came up to pay our respects but-" She rambled on, hurriedly attempting to come up with an excuse that would save her own skin.

Thankfully, her darling daughter came to the rescue.

"But why would we bother? It's not like you bothered to pay your respects to Granny Kim." Tatum growled, sending me a murderous glance.

As she walked off in a huff towards her humble abode, she left an awkward, unbearable silence in her wake.

"Pft. And mom still thinks that people here don't hate us. . ." I hissed, turning to head back to my own home.

Aunt Lauren remained silent at that, opting to simply watch her two female kinfolk leave.

"Goodness, they used to be such good friends, too. . ." She stated finally, and although her disappointment fell on deaf ears she was sure that her next plan of action would not.