Temporary Bliss

I slowly felt myself waking up as I started to become more aware of my surroundings. I felt the soft cloth of the pillowcase against my cheek, the flowery perfume smell, and the quiet mumble of the TV. Confusion washed over me, that perfume didn’t belong to me, and I didn’t have the TV on.

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking a few times. I stretched my jaw as a yawn escaped my mouth. Feeling warm and a light sweat on my legs, I kicked the soft blanket off of me, the cool air feeling nice as it hit the skin on my legs. A light chill swept across my body and I let myself shiver.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, finally acknowledging the body lying next to me.

“You never returned my call.” Caroline shrugged, uncrossing her ankles as she sat up a bit straighter, her back resting against the cherry wood headboard of my bed. “Have a nice nap?”

I shrugged, flipping over to lie on my stomach, laying my hands under the pillow that my head was resting on. “I still feel tired.”

She nodded, her eyes searched over my face before she stared at the TV. I glanced at it to see an episode of The OC playing. A light sigh escaped Caroline’s lips, “What happened back at my house, Scar?” she asked without even looking at me.

“I freaked out. I just had to get out of there and away from Cameron.”

“You know he thought it was something he did, right?” She paused, opening her mouth to continue before quickly shutting it to gather her thoughts. “I ran downstairs after you, to see if I could talk to you, just so I could know what was going on. Cameron was sitting on the bottom stair with his head in his hands mumbling something, I don’t know what, I couldn’t understand him.” Her eyes squinted a little in confusion, she glanced at me once again, “He thinks its him that’s making you act weird around him. I just, I feel bad for him.” She took a deep breath in, releasing it out in a big sigh, “He…Charlotte…he asked me if you still loved him.”

I felt my heart being squeezed, and stomped on repeatedly. I silently begged the pain to stop, though I know I deserved it. Tears welled up in my eyes and I blinked furiously, trying to stop them from falling. I was a terrible person. .

“You need to do something. It’s tearing both you and Cameron up on the inside.”

“I have no idea what I can do to make this better and go away. I’m in too deep. It’s been too long. It’s impossible to fix this mistake I made. I’ve fucked everything up beyond repair. It’s killing me; I hate myself for what I’ve done. It’s impossible to ignore, it’s always on my mind, I would do whatever for something that could make it go away for even a second. I want out of my mind, out of my body. I want to be someone else.”

“You need a break from life, from everything. You need to go and forget about this and pretend to be someone else.” I looked at Caroline; the gears were turning in her head as she concocted some sort of plan. “We’re going out. Get up right now and go shower.”

I gave her a blank stare as she shot up out of my bed and headed for my closet. Oh lord. Though I didn’t feel like leaving my bed, let alone moving, I managed to get myself on my feet and proceed to my bathroom. I shut the door behind me and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked terrible. I shuffled over to the shower and turned on the water, adjusting the water to the right temperature. I pulled up on the small knob and water began shooting out of the showerhead above me. I hung a brown fluffy towel on the shower rack and stripped down, leaving my clothes in a sloppy pile by the sink. I stepped in and let the warm water hit my back. My muscles relaxed and my body felt soothed. I took my time, not in any rush for whatever Caroline had planned.

After nearly fifteen minutes I shut off the water and rung the water out of my hair before grabbing the towel off of the rack. I dried my damp body off and stepped out of the tub, wrapping the towel around my body. I stepped off of the plush rug and onto the cold tile floor. I took light, quick steps across the floor until I got to the door, opening it and stepping onto the warm carpet. I walked to my dresser as Caroline stood by my bed, looking at an arrangement of outfits laid out on my bed. Her manicured index finger tapped against her thin, red lips, her other hand resting on her hip.

I grabbed a bra and underwear from my drawer before returning to the bathroom to change into it. After I was changed, I bent over, wrapped my hair up in the towel, and then stood back up. I pulled open a drawer on my vanity and grabbed moisturizer, putting it on my face. Though Caroline hadn’t told me what she had planned, I had an idea. Knowing this, I went ahead and applied makeup the way I normally do.

I finished up and put everything back in the drawer before I plugged in my blow dryer, setting it on the countertop. I unwrapped the towel from my head and tossed it on the floor. I quickly ran a brush through my hair, cringing a little whenever the brush caught a knot. I quickly blow dried my hair and straightened it where needed. I exited my bathroom and found a lone strapless red dress lying on my bed. There was a piece of notebook paper lying on top of it with a few words scribbled on it in Caroline’s bubbly handwriting.

“Scar, went back to my house to grab some stuff, be back soon. PUT THIS ON!” The last three words were bolded and underlined multiple times.

I crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trashcan beside my bed. I grabbed the dress off of my bed and unzipped the back of it. I stepped into the dress and pulled it up, struggling to zip it up for a few moments. I ran my hands down my sides, adjusting the dress slightly. I stepped over to the full length mirror hanging on my wall and admired the dress. It was a little short for my liking; it was a few inches above my fingers when I rested my palms against my thighs. There wasn’t much too it, it was free of design, as plain as it could get. I couldn’t even remember when, where or why I got it.

I slipped into the black pumps she left out for me; they had a peek-a-boo toe with a small bow on the side. Just then my bedroom door opened and in stepped Caroline in a tight black halter-top dress covered in black sequence.

“Well Charlotte, don’t you look sexy.” She smiled as her eyes scanned over me. “I should really be a stylist for people, I do such a good job.” She let out a conceited sigh.

“Where did I even get this dress?” I asked as I pulled down on my dress a little.

“Oh, you wore it to my sweet 16.” She shrugged. “Okay, so you need a break from life, and that’s what we’re doing! We’re going out dancing!” she smiled big and clapped her hands a few times. She dug into her purse and handed me a rectangular piece of plastic, “Here’s your fake ID.” I gave her a confused look, “Yeah, I had it made for you when I got mine made, I knew you’d need it one day, and today is the day!”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my phone off of my nightstand and grabbed Caroline’s small hand, dragging her out of my room. “Let’s just go before I change my mind.”