Eliza's POV;
I stare blankly at aunty Gloria, who is unpacking the bag she has placed on the bed. She looks up at me and finds that I'm still clad in my clothes.
"Eliza! "She snaps, and I inhale deeply in surrender. It's not like I have a say or can do something about this.
I pull off my top and am left in my bra. Then I let my shorts fall to my feet, with aunt Gloria's stern eyes paying close attention to me.
I keep my gaze away from her as I'm standing in my underwear, and she speaks.
"Take off the bra. "
I look up at her in alarm, and she rolls her eyes.
"Oh, please. Stop acting like your body is some national treasure.
If it were so priceless to you, you'd know what to and what not to eat to keep it in shape. "She spits at me, and I gulp.
Her words hit me like a cane, but I bite the inside of my cheek to stop to tears of embarrassment threatening to fall.
I unclasp my bra and let it fall. And, aunt Gloria walks up to me with a piece of black clothing in her hands.
She stoops before me and holds a part of the cloth forward.
"Put your leg in." She orders, and I obey. After putting my second leg in, I find that it's some sort of jumpsuit.
She gets behind me and tries to get my butt into the cloth.
"I know girls your age who grow into beautiful bodies. But despite having such fashionable parents, your body still wants you to look like some fancy panda.
You're meant to be a model yet you're just five feet seven, you act like your profession is a joke to you, and you lack discipline!
I don't even understand. Is this a butt!? It's just flat and out of place. When last did you do the squats I taught you? "She says, and I swallow as she harshly zips past my butt.
"Last week. "I lie,
" Liar! "She scolds, as I put my hands into the sleeves.
"Tell me, what did you eat? I know your parents wouldn't feed you anything to bloat you!
It's that friend of yours. Isn't it. That Athena girl. She's been bringing you forbidden food. Hasn't she? "My aunt says, and I gulp.
"It's either that, or you're pregnant. Tell me, are you pregnant? I don't understand why you'd be getting so ridiculously fat. You're short. We're managing that.
Don't create a bigger problem by getting fat too!" She adds, and I swallow.
"I'm talking to you, won't you answer!? Luckily, you have perky breasts. Your shoot with the perfume industry is next week.
You better pray to God that you lose some fat, if not you'd have to present your big, fat, self to the world.
Box's of the perfume worldwide would have your fat, indisciplined self on it!" She adds, and I gulp.
"Won't you answer me!?" She scolds, and I swallow.
"Yes, aunt.
No, I'm not pregnant. It's just fat. I didn't kill anyone. I didn't make myself short, God did. If you have an issue with my height, face him!
I'm beautiful! Fat, or not! If you don't want to see me, close your eyes! "I yell at her and grab my clothes off the floor.
" Oh, my! Are you talking to me, young lady!?
Do you have any idea how much people prefer your brother to you!? You're a girl and you can't even make an impact in the modeling world.
It's a shame that you think you're beautiful like this. We're helping you! If you want to be prettier, you better obey us.
You have to spend all night in that suit for the next few nights! I designed it, and it should help you look more like a model, and less like a joke! "She retorts as I make to leave, and I shut my eyes before opening the door, storming past my parents, and up to my room.
Everyone sucks! I'm not ugly! I'm not ugly! I'm beautiful!
"I'm beautiful!" I scream into my pillow as bottled-up tears begin to pour.
"I'm beautiful... "
There's a knock on my door, and my brother's voice follows,
"Eliza, may I come in? "
"Go away, Daniel... I don't want to talk to anyone. Just, go..."
*****
I stand before the mirror in my room, and stare at the tight jumpsuit I'm in, as fresh tears begin to pour.
*You poor, ugly duckling. *I hear an unfamiliar voice say, and I look around my room in fright.
" Who said that!? "I question in alarm.
*I mean, look at you. You're meant to be a barbie doll, but you're a teddy bear instead...* I hear the voice say again, and I look around my purple room in alarm.
The voice is loud and clear, but not coming from any specific angle of my room. Almost like the voice is in my head, but it's not mine.
*Wouldn't you love to shock your family? To seal their lips and prove dear aunt Gloria, wrong? *
The voice says, and I fall silent as that indeed is something I would love.
*Look at you...* The voice says, and I look at my reflection in the mirror.
*How perfect you'd be if you were just a little taller, has a smaller waist, and just little touch-ups here and there...
You'd be a goddess. Amber would bow to you, and Damien would worship the ground you walk on.
You'd no longer be in your brother's shadow... *The voice says, and I smile broadly at my reflection as I imagine all these beautiful things.
*But, what a shame. There's no one to help you. No ray of hope.
You're stuck this way, forever! The joke of the Rollins family!* The voice barks, and I gasp as I pull my eyes open.
It was all a dream...
What sort of dream is that? My ears embrace the gentle, silent noise of the night, and I fill my lungs with air. I sit up in my fluffy bed and blink a few times to get a level of sanity into my blurry eyes.
I look at my window and find it's dark outside. I had long fallen asleep.
However, my system which is on the table opposite my bed is on.
When did I touch that?
I sluggishly climb out of my bed to go put it off, and a notification pops up.
*Want to be beautiful? Want to make an impact? We have the answers to your prayers...*
Eliza's POV; I stare curiously at my computer's screen as the cool night's breeze blows into my partly lit room through my window. I inhale in pleasure as it cools off my skin. I do want to be beautiful. I want to make an impact. I want to prove everybody wrong, and storm the world. I want to make fame at a rate that will shock my family. However, is this pop-up legit? Will it answer all my questions and grant my wishes? What's the harm in trying though? It's not like I have anything to lose. I put on my glasses, and take my seat. I click on the link, and all I find is a phone number displayed on a red background. I raise a brow and keep scrolling till I get to the bottom of the page. But that's it. Just... A phone number. I scroll through again, just to be sure I didn't miss anything. But I find nothing but this number. Is this some sort of prank? I walk back to my bed and grab my phone, and after not more than a few seconds of hesitation, I find myself dialing the number. I si
Eliza's POV; I'm in my bedroom with Athena. She's surfing through the internet, and I'm going through my emails to be sure I haven't missed anything concerning work. Athena mostly always spends her weekends with me. Which explains why she was here when I woke up earlier today. We are a pair that's been inseparable for a very long time. "Sweet, Jesus! "Athena suddenly yells, and I jump off my bed and land on the floor in fear, with a loud thud. "Athena! "I yell while rubbing my rump when I realize she screamed like that all because of something she saw online. "Oh my God, babe. I'm so sorry. "She says as she comes to the side of my high bed and offers me a hand which I reluctantly take. "What happened? "I question when I finally take back my position on the bed. "You will not believe it, Eliza. "She replies, and I give her a look. "Ok, ok. Anthony's birthday is next week. "She replies, and I give her a look. Anthony has been her crush for quite some time now. She's been stuck b
. Eliza's POV; It's finally the day of the party, and Athena and I get down from my Mercedes in front of the club, booming with music. I walk into the building, with eyes trailing Athena and me, and I smirk inwardly at all the attention. I chose a cute, pink dress, and Athena on the other hand chose to go all black. Which makes her look like an extremely cute, sexy, goth girl. I look around the room in search of Damien. To be honest, he's the reason behind my whole outfit I dressed for his reaction. If I by any chance found out that he won't be at this party, heaven knows I won't come. Even though Athena would have destroyed my life with pleas. I finally spot him and his teammates in a circle in a corner, and I do not miss the flawless jaw drop expression that takes up his face when he sees me. Although he quickly recovers from it... I blush heavily at the fact that I was able to draw such a reaction from him. Now I have seen him and he has seen me, but the issue is having the b
. Eliza's POV; I stare at Amber with wide eyes as her words reach my ears. Kiss me! This little devil knows full well that Athena has a crush on Anthony. There's no way in hell she doesn't know that. And asking him to kiss me in front of Athena and Damien is just some stupid move of hers to throw Athena and me off the edge. “What? “I question in alarm, and she raises a brow at me. “What? Everyone has been doing their dares. Why can't you do yours? “She questions, and my jaw drops. “I don't want to kiss her. How much am I paying?” Anthony speaks, and I'm grateful for the fact that he doesn't want to kiss me. “You're not paying anything, Anthony. You have to kiss her. “Amber says, and I look over at Athena in alarm. “How is that fair? Everyone else got to pay when they didn't want to do their dare. Why can't he pay? “Athena speaks, and Amber faces her. “ Because I'm the one giving the dare, so I'm the one making the rules concerning it. Kiss her, Anthony. “She replies. The last
Eliza's POV; I can not believe Damien chose to kiss Amber over me! He chose that rotten bag of attitude over me! At first, I was glad, Anthony didn't want to kiss me, but now that I think back on it, I feel… Insulted. If I were some hot chick, won't he jump at the offer of kissing me? Two boys turned me down in public. One of which has been my crush since forever. “Ma'am, we're in Allen Avenue. Which house are we heading to? “My driver questions. Pulling me back to earth, and I unlock my phone and stare at the address. “Number six. “I reply, and he nods. Not long after, he pulls up before a simple, green house. I stare sternly at it and swallow. This… Doesn't seem like a good idea. Heading to a stranger's house to get 'answers to my prayers. ' Either way, I'm still willing to take this risk. No guts, no glory. This just might be the breakthrough I need. Something tells me that the answer to my prayers does lie behind that door. Whoever is in there, can't hurt me. My driver is o
In my car, I keep thinking about the things I saw and what that man told me. Many things are wired about that place, but I still want what I want. What's the worst that could happen? He'd give me drugs to start using? Or… What? I have no idea what to expect, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to stop trying! I want to be perfect! I need to be! I want to put that Amber brat in her place, I want my parents to value me, I want aunt Gloria to eat her words about me back, I want Damien to love me as I love him, and more… I want to be a worldwide icon. I want to be perfect in every way. To make history. I must be acknowledged. I'm done living like this! I love my job. I'm a model, and I love what I do. But with a family like mine, especially with aunty Gloria around, you end up feeling like crap, and then you're not so sure if you even enjoy what you do anymore. Each time I'm walking the runway, her horrid words keep coming back to me, and I have to shield my pains with fake smiles and
Eliza's POV; Athena and I are in my room, working on our Spanish assignment together. “Eliza, I need a drink. This Spanish is draining the life out of me. “Athena exclaims dramatically, and I laugh at her exaggeration. Between the both of us, Athena speaks Spanish best. She speaks it like it's her mother tongue, while I speak it like a stammering child. “Oh, come on. I need a drink. How about that astonishing red grape drink you always get us? “She begs, and I roll my eyes. I have served her the same drink a hundred times, yet she has never bothered to take note of its name. Even though she loves it like it's the only drink in the world. “Fine. I'd go get it. But soon enough, you're going to have to pay a fine for not knowing the name of your best drink. “I reply, and she giggles. “Whatever. “She replies, as I exit the room, and I shake my head at her. I head to the kitchen, get a massive jug of red grape juice from the fridge, two cups, and set them on a tray alongside a box
Eliza's POV; Athena tried relentlessly to make me feel better, but it was of no use. I'm done with all the lies, all the hypocrisy, and fake love. I'm fed up with everyone and with everything. I had to lie to her and fake a smile that I was okay, but deep down I knew that a massive bomb of desperation had exploded inside me. She left a few hours ago, and now I'm on my way to Allen Avenue, number six. I'm going to see that old man, and he must help me. I gulp down my fear as I ring the silver doorbell before me. The last time I was here, it was in the afternoon. Now that I'm here in the cold evening, it makes the hair on my skin rise. I prefer not to spend another day of my life as the person I am right now. At least not without assurance that soon enough something I'm doing would yield me a tangible result. The door slowly creaks open, and I swallow before walking in. Once again, the door shuts after me, and I close my eyes. I look around the empty room before me and find that t