Execution (Off Balance 2)

She bit her lip. "Do I look okay, Hayden?" she asked her brother, anxiety spiking her voice. "It's not too much?"

Hayden nodded with gentle eyes. "You look great, sis. Beautiful."

"Not too much skin?"

Avery expressed amusement and said, "You can't be serious. You walk around in a onesie all day, so what's the difference?"

An airy laugh escaped Holly. "I guess you have a point, but I'm just not used to this kind of dressing up. I feel like my boobs are on display, and if the wind blows my dress, my butt will show."

"Your boobs look fantastic," Avery offered. "Not too much, not too little. I'd ask Hayden to back me up, but that's just a little weird."

He put up his hands. "That's where I draw the line."

Two knocks sounded on the door, and Mom waltzed in looking as flawless as ever, while I was still in my robe. At least I had my hair and makeup complete.

"Holly, darling"—her eyes scanned the length of her body—"that dress fits you perfectly. Spin around for me."

Holly's cheeks flamed, and she shot me a fleeting look before spinning around with her arms out. I knew what my mom was doing, she'd done it to me numerous times, and I hated it.

Mom clicked her tongue. "Magnificent. That cocktail dress was designed for you, it doesn't fit Ana that way. Keep it. It looks much better on you than it ever did her."

My lips parted as the room grew silent. I sat stone-still, staggered by her comment. I wasn't upset my mom gave the dress to Holly—she could have it—it was the fact she had the gall to insult me in front of my friends without concern for my feelings.

I glanced at Holly and suppressed the pain Mommie Dearest dealt me. Holly’s eyes were wide, and her jaw bobbed like she lost her voice. Her gaze shifted back and forth from me to my mom. Not everyone could handle Joy Rossi.

Nodding, with an artificial smile in place, I cleared my throat. "She's right. It looks amazing on you, I was going to tell you to keep it anyway."

She shook her head frantically. "Oh, no. I couldn't do that. Really."

"Nonsense," Mom butted in. "It's yours. End of discussion."

She shifted in her four-inch heels until her dissecting eyes landed on me. She glared, and my shoulders wilted like a deflating balloon. I guess her kindness toward me when I arrived was short lived.

"When do you plan to dress, Ana? After guests have arrived? Or do you plan to greet our visitors in a…a housecoat?" She snapped her gaze toward Avery. "And what about you?"

I straightened my back and answered for the both of us. No Victoria's Secret silk robe could ever be defined as a housecoat.

"Holly just stepped out of the bathroom, Mom, I was going in next, and then Avery."

She blinked. "Make sure to pat your face with finishing powder so you don't look oily. I don't want to see my reflection on your forehead. I expect to see you downstairs soon." She walked out, closing the door behind her.

Avery snapped a murderous gaze at me. "Can I put eye drops in her vodka so she can shit everywhere tonight?" Her face contorted with fury. She knew how my mom was, yet every time something happened, she was more appalled than the last. "I honestly don't know how you deal with her?"

I shook my head, shrugging it off. "What am I going to do, Ave? You know how she is."

"I know, I just…I don’t know. She really gets under my skin."

Holly walked over to me looking like a sad puppy. "Aid—"

"Don't worry about it. Seriously. That's my mom for you. I'm used to it. I'm just sorry you had to experience it."

Her lips flattened into a thin line. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Avery stomped over to the rack of clothes and pulled out the hanger that held her glittery dress. She ripped off the clear bag and thrusted it at me. Her blue eyes were lethal.

"Here. Wear this."

My brows snapped together. "But that's what you're wearing tonight."