I'm Pissed
Avery's reconstructed dress is Cecilia's green dress in Atonement:
I opened the text and the picture attached, and all of the blood drained from my face. In this photo, Emily Laughlin wasn’t laughing. She was smiling at the camera—a wicked little smile, like she was on the verge of a wink. Her makeup was natural, but her eyes looked unnaturally large, and her hair…
Was exactly like mine.
“What did you do?” I asked Thea again, more accusation this time than question. She’d invited herself along on my shopping trip. She was the one who’d suggested I wear green—just like Emily wore in this photo.
Even my necklace was eerily like hers.
I’d assumed, when the stylist had asked if I wanted to look like the picture, that Alisa was the one who’d supplied it. I’d assumed it was a photo of a model. Not a dead girl.
“Why would you do this?” I asked Thea, amending my question.
“It’s what Emily would have wanted.” Thea pulled a tube of lipstick out of her purse. “If it’s any consolation,” she said, once she was finished turning her lips a sparkling ruby red, “I didn’t do this to you.”
She’d done it to them.
“The Hawthornes didn’t kill Emily,” I spat. “Rebecca said that it was her heart.”
Technically, she’d said that Grayson had said it was her heart.
“How sure are you that the Hawthorne family isn’t trying to kill you?” Thea smiled.
She had been there this morning. She’d been shaken. And now she was acting like this was all a joke. That seemed to be common with the Hawthornes and those involved with them, among other things. It was either avoidance and letting it build up inside till it transformed to anger, constantly keeping quiet about it, being tricky, sarcastic, and ironic with a taste for vengeance, or twisting words and turning everything into a game. I was seeing the pattern but frankly, I’d seen plenty and I had enough of it, too. My own mother had died and I mourned, grieved, went through the whole five stages of depression but even I didn’t pull shit like this. Even if I had been living as a rich kid at the time, I feel like even then, I wouldn’t act that way, that I would be more pulled together and have my behavior intact.
“Emily, it’s always Emily with you idiots. What is actually wrong with you? Why do you feel the need to do what Emily would have wanted, huh? She's dead!" I started to move toward her, leaning forward as I forced her back and boy, was it satisfying to see the look of shock on her face.
"You wanna know what I think? I think that you, Rebecca, and Grayson and Jameson need therapy. Why? Because you guys are traumatized as fuck!
I think Emily was a manipulative bitch who shatters the relationship between two brothers and their mental stability, she also ruined her own sister's and best friend's mental stability as well. She dated two brothers behind their backs, knowing damn well that it would shatter them and their relationship with each other, and manipulates and deceived them so much, that they became blind to her doings. She gaslights and guilt trips them into doing what she wants and the boys fall for it, because they loved her, she manipulated them to the point where infatuation turns into obsession. And she treats them like a sack of shit.
And when one of them finally breaks free of her control, what did she do? She gaslights and guilt trips him into thinking he was a horrible person, and when she's gone, the boys are traumatized by her. But instead of healing, you came in and took her turn guilt tripping them, bringing painful memories back to them, and in turn making me the bad guy."
Thea was shook to the core, she was about to open her mouth but before she could utter a word, I cut her off. I'm pissed off now, she humiliated me just to get "revenge" on the boys that, in her mind, killed Emily. When in reality, Emily was the mastermind of it all and she brought it upon herself, her heart was the one that killed her. And now, Thea is set with this mindset to get revenge on two traumatized boys instead of moving on and seeing Emily's true nature. She is blinded, all of them are.
"Now, you." Thea visibly flinched as the attention turns to her.
"You are not out of the picture in all of this, oh no no no. You are just as influenced by her as they were, you were just as obsessed, if not more obsessed with her. And in your mind, Grayson and Jameson are to blame for her death because if it weren't for them, her heart wouldn't have killed her. But in reality, she manipulated you so much that your mind revolves around her, and you decided to take it out on two traumatized boys that were just as broken as you were, if not more. And because of you, instead of healing, they just keep reminiscing about it painfully in their mind.
Whether you like it or not, Emily is the manipulative mastermind that got all of you under her, even her own sister who is now blaming herself for her death. Because her entire life, it's always Emily. It's almost like you have Emily's voice in your head, spewing shit into your brain and telling you what to do. You know what that sounds like? Sounds like you have a case of schizophrenia, hearing Emily's voice in your head."
I walked right in front of her face, grabbed her chin in my hand, and pulled her ear closer to me.
"Now,You seem to have never experienced what it’s like to lose so I’m courteously teaching you that lesson now.
You have two options, A. Take it down a notch and we’re cool, and go to therapy. I'll happily provide you and Becca with appointments paid by me, so you can finally accept the fact of what Emily truly was, a manipulator. Or option B. Beat it, I can completely kick you out of the house, get a restraining order against you, and call security on you if I ever get news that you’re trespassing on the property. I’m not your cat toy, you twisted psychopath. And leave the boys alone, too. They’ve done nothing to you and most definitely not to Emily. It’s quite plainly put, pathetic what you’re doing. Are you five because if not, as I’m sure you aren’t, have much better things to do like growing a pair. Get over yourself."
I pushed her away and admired how scared she looks at that moment, serves her right.
"Now, you have exactly 5 seconds to get the fuck out of my face before I broke your bones, I am not afraid to get physical, Calligaris. And no one will ever know that it was me, they would never suspect me. You have no idea of what I'm capable of, so I suggest you book it in 5, 4, 3-" I watched as Thea scrambled to her feet and hurries out of the bathroom.
I breath in and out a few times, just like how Libby taught me. I need to calm down, and looking at myself wearing this dress in the mirror is not helping. But I don't have anything else to wear, and I doubt Alisa would let me switch clothes with her. Oh wait, I know what to do with this damn dress. I pulled out my phone and texted Alisa if she can fetch me some scissors, then I texted Oren to somehow bring me a wireless sewing machine.
A few minutes later, a knock was heard on the bathroom door. Alisa came in, scissors in hand, and started to scold me. Another knock came from the door and I opened it to see that Oren, somehow, actually got a wireless sewing machine in his hands.
"Avery, what the hell is going on? You should be out there right now." Alisa scolds me. I didn't say anything as I shoved the picture of Emily in her face. she looked at the picture, then looked back at me, and back at the picture.
"Thea planned this, she purposefully made me look like Emily so she could get back at Grayson and Jameson." I said calmly, my tone was cold.
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Alisa said, putting down the picture.
I stayed silent as I took off the dress, and not caring that I'm in my undergarments, I grabbed the scissors from Alisa's hand, and turned the dress over so thye back was facing me. Without a word, I sliced the back of the dress.
"Avery wha-"
"If I stay looking like this even a little bit longer, I will go insane Alisa. Now, will you please help me?" I looked at her in the eye, dark brown eyes staring back at me in contemplation. Finally, she sighed.
"How can I help?" I looked back at her with a small smile.
"Mind helping me get out of this braid while I completely reconstruct the dress?" She nodded and started to undo my hair, section by section.
I completely cut off the back of the dress and hem the edges clean, I cut the piece that was the back into multiple long pieces. One for the sash, and two for the straps. I cut the front of the dress into a v neck and hem the edges, I sewed some straps into the dress, and hem another long piece of fabric and sewed it to the hips of the dress to give a tied sash effect. I hem the waist to make the top part of the dress hang a little bit, and sewed everything in place. I admired my work and put it on, Alisa looking impressed by my handiwork.
"Impressive sewing skills, I have to admit." Alisa said, pulling out the last braid in my hair.
"Thank you, now Alisa I need you to..." I instructed Alisa on what to do with my hair, restyling and reusing the pins into a whole new hairstyle.
I looked at myself in the mirror, I look completely different, and I love it. My hair is now in a braided bun with a few pieces of flyaways loose, the dress is now a sleeveless backless dress with long straps going from my neckline all the way to my exposed lower back. I don't care that this defeats the purpose of making me not look like someone who would seduce an old rich man, I look hot as hell and I turned a piece of trauma into a whole new piece.
I thanked Alisa and Oren for their help and asked Oren to put everything away while Alisa escorted me to the dining area. Thea was already there along with the others, she looked up and her face morphs into shock, I simply gave her a smug smile and sat down next to Grayson, who seemd just as shocked but quickly recovered as he poured me a glass of wine. Xander gave me a curious eye from across the table, and I just shrugged my shoulders with a smirk, which he returned.
Well, this was a night I won't forget. And definitely one Thea won't forget either.
Oh yeah, that reminds me. I need to ask Alisa to book some therapy appointments.