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Ella
My fingers lightly rub against the smooth paper. The words barely register in my mind. I can only focus on the elegant font and gold overlay. For a piece of paper, it's freaking gorgeous if not a bit ostentatious. But I guess that’s the point. I found it while I was cleaning, shoved in the back of a kitchen drawer. I bet she thought I wouldn’t find it there, but she should know better than that. It’s obvious that they don’t want me there. They like to keep me hidden. Out of sight, out of mind. Never would they take me to something fancy where the world might find out what they’re like when people aren’t watching.
My eyes scan the words once more, burning them into my brain. Memorizing every word like they might change as I read them.
Thomas Family
You are cordially invited to a masquerade ball
to celebrate the opening of Midnight Blue.
9 pm - Black Tie Affair
Masks are required at all times
RSVP to [email protected]
My hands sting as the invitation is ripped from them, leaving small paper cuts along my fingers. I don’t look down at my fingers because it’s useless. Instead I spin around quickly to find Mia standing in front of me with a scowl on her face.
“Why the fuck do you have this?” she yells harshly as she holds the paper up in the air.
I see something deep in her eyes, but I'm not sure what it is. I can’t seem to put my finger on it. Her hands are twitchy as they hang by her sides with the invitation in one hand, and her face has turned pale. She has to be hiding something. Narrowing my eyes, I search her face looking for any indication of what it could be.
I want to know what it is.
I need to know.
Luckily she’s easy to get information from. I just have to be careful how I extract it from her. I can’t have her tattling to “Mommy.” Throwing my hands on my hips, I snap back at her, “What’s it for, Mia?”
Her lips go into a tight line. Folding the invitation, she places it in her back pocket and shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter,” she says in an uncharacteristically calm voice as she turns her body away from me.
Shit, I need to act fast to get more information from her. I can’t let her walk away without finding out why they don’t want me to know about the invitation. I rush out the same question as before. “Mia, what is the invitation for?”
Stopping in her tracks, she looks over her shoulder and rolls her eyes. “You don’t need to know, because you won’t be attending.”
She’s definitely hiding something. Her normal self would’ve bragged about an exclusive party. She would’ve thrown the fact that I wasn’t invited in my face. Mia never wastes a moment to remind me that my place is beneath hers.
Taking a deep breath, because it's imperative that I stay calm and steady, I look her in the eyes making sure she understands me. “If I want to attend, I will. The invitation is addressed to the whole family and the last time I checked Mia, I’m still a part of this family.”
Mia lets out an annoyed sigh like I can’t possibly understand anything. “Ella, this is an important event. We don’t need the riffraff of the family there. And on top of that even if you could go, you have nothing to wear and no money to buy anything.”
Ignoring the jab she threw at me, I hold my armor in place not letting her see how her words hurt me. Over the years, I’ve become good at hiding my feelings. I learned at a young age that these people aren’t my family, at least not in any way that counts. They don’t care about me, and even though my brain knows this, my heart still yearns for the family we could’ve been.
“Mia, even if you don’t want me there, I still have the right. I’m a part of this family.”
“Ella, this party is for Mother to find us our husbands. You don’t need one, so you don’t need to go. Just stick with what you’re good at, working on your knees. You’re an independent woman, right? Even if you wanted a man, he wouldn’t be a socialite from the likes of this event.”
She throws her insults at me so easily, making it sound like I’m a whore when in reality I’ve only been with a couple guys who I met while bartending.
“The ball is to find a husband?” I ask in disbelief.
“Yes, Mother says everyone worth anything will be there,” she replies with a wink.
Of course my step-mother plans to marry her daughters off for money. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. Not wanting to let my disappointment shine through, I give her what she wants. “Well, I could care less so you don’t have to worry about me being there.” I wave her off as I turn my back and leave the room.
If I keep asking questions she’ll get suspicious, and the spoiled brat will tattle to her mother. But I smile to myself already planning.
