Book 2: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The Hadid home was beautiful as ever. The grass was still bright green, with the sprinklers running promptly. The same servers here last year were here again, aside from a couple of new faces. Everything was the same, from the beautiful spiral staircase to the pleasantly polished floors. Jay was walking like nothing but it always made me feel bad for getting my outside shoes on the clean floor. I know whoever had to clean them spent a lot of time doing it. Their house was huge. It most likely took hours to sweep the floors, let alone polish them.

My favorite part was getting to the backyard, where the bench was. It was still up, and Twila was keeping my space saved for me right on it. Seeing Kira here with us was a bit strange, mainly because she was oblivious to the woman Farah was. The taste she was about to get would be uncanny. Kira and I are outcasts here, and from experience, Farah doesn't like our kind. However, she may be a bit nicer since she needs my help this time.

What shocked me was my friends were all wearing sweatpants and their hair in messy ponytails in honor of me. It was funny to see because Farah would lose her mind at our appearance. However, it intrigued me that they were willing to forego the elegant dresses to compare to me. Now I didn't feel so badly about dressing down.

Sitting down next to Twila, I laughed at the lot of them. "You guys shouldn't have," I say, elated.

"It was Twila's idea, and I must say, this is comfy," Bradyn snugged herself. She looked super cute with her baby ponytail. We were almost matching since she cut my hair similar to hers.

"You guys dressed up for this last time?" Kira asked Bradyn and Twila.

I nod. "You should have seen them all in their dresses and heels. It made me want to puke." I fake gag.

Twila swung the bench with me. "Yeah, you had the right idea last time."

We all laughed, enjoying each other's company. Despite the drama with Cyrus and Jenna, I would have a good time with my girls. This was the last place I wanted to be, and opening up our business was going to take a back seat, but Kira will have fun, so there's that. I wish this would have come at a different time. Dealing with it all at once was meant to be a disaster.

Speaking of disasters, I almost forgot Jay was standing there. He looked at me with a smile as I chatted away with my friends. He was supposed to be meeting with Cairo, but instead, he was here looking at me. He couldn't hide his feelings for me. Every little thing I did brought him joy, yet he still somehow friend-zoned me. It didn't make sense, but we weren't going to talk about it.

Standing in front of the door, Jay spoke to me after minutes of watching my every move. "Is this what girls do when guys aren't around?" He asked us, amused.

"Yes, Jason, it is what we do," Twila crossed her arms. "Care to join us?"

Jay laughed, shaking his head. "No thanks, but have fun," he declined. "I don't know when I'll be done, A; you think you'll be ok?"

I nod. "Yeah, it's no big deal. Go do your business," I say.

After that, he left the girls and me to wait for Farah to show. In the meantime, Sienna, Ocean, and Jenna made their presence known. It was interesting seeing Sienna. She looked the same, but there was a glow about her this time around. Breaking things off with Twila did wonders for her. Looking at Twila, she looked content with the way things were between them. Much of that had to do with the fact that Kira was her new love interest. Who was also here with us. If Sienna didn't have anyone new on her mind, I wonder how she would take seeing Kira with Twila. That should make for something interesting.

Ocean, on the other hand, was still Jenna's absolute best friend. Sienna was their friend, but she wasn't as close as the other two. Kind of like how Twila and I are tight, and now Bradyn and Kira are close. However, we were all still friends. Last time, I didn't get to know much about Ocean, nor did we talk one-on-one. Maybe things could change between us as this wedding prolongs. She was a gorgeous girl, but I knew nothing of her. Things could change, and I could figure out how the hell she stays friends with someone like Jenna.

"Well, the poor girl has gotten a makeover," Jenna poked fun at me. I must say her skin looked great. "Changing your hair isn't going to make you any less broke."

I rolled my eyes. She was starting with me already. "What do you want?" I ask, annoyed by her shit.

She shrugs. "I'm trying to decipher why you thought it was a good idea to be a bridesmaid in *my* wedding."

"According to your mother-in-law, you don't have any friends," I say, unbothered.

Before she could say anything back, the door opened again with Farah coming out to greet us. This was when things were about to get serious. At least serious by Farah's standards. My ears were awaiting what she had planned for this extraordinary wedding. Ever since we began the competition last year, Farah has been waiting to announce Jenna marrying Cyrus. However, I doubt she expected to be using us in her plans. She could thank Jenna for that.

Farah looked around making sure we were all here. She had on a beautiful dress with her hair up in one of her infamous buns. I'm unsure how she kept her hair up like that all the time. It had to be daunting for the edges of her hair to be tightly pulled back everyday. She made it work though and I must say, the look suited her facial structure well.

"Good morning ladies, thank you for coming here on such short notice," she thanked all of us. "Things won't be as strict this time around, however we still must follow a schedule. I expect everyone to meet here every Friday for activities we have planned the next eight weeks."

Twila and I chuckled. "This lady sure does have a hard on for doing things in eight weeks," Twila whispered.

"I swear that's like her magic number," I whisper back.

We both silently burst into a fit of giggles at the nonsense Farah always has going on. There's always a schedule and everything always ends in eight weeks. Farah was an organized woman, so this being similar to the competition doesn't surprise me. Difference is, I would have to make sure I get here on time every Friday. At least it's only one day of doing stuff and not the whole week.

Farah continued listing and yapping about what to expect for next two months. I was most excited about trying on bridesmaids dresses. With Farah backing this wedding everything was going to be stellar. Even if most of us she rather do without, she was going to make sure we looked damn good.

"Does anyone have any questions?" Farah looked around at us again.

No one said anything as Jenna crossed her arms not happy about the situation at hand. Aside from her posse, none of us wanted to be here just as much as she didn't want us to be. There was no choice seeing as Farah practically begged for us to come. It's going to take every ounce of my being to not snap on Jenna. Patience isn't something I'm good at.

"Very well, then I have one more piece of news for you," she said before opening the door.

There was no telling what Farah had up her sleeve. Though it was always something to shake things up around here. I'm positive this was all apart of her game plan and the fact that I was seeing her for the first time blew my mind. Not only my mind but everyone else as well. The pictures definitely didn't do her enough justice. She was gorgeous from head to toe. It made me feel a bit insecure about myself and judging by Jenna's face she felt the same way.

"There's one more person joining us that person being, Kameron Blake." Farah introduced her with a proud look on her face.

Everyone gasped as Kameron walked her way through the glass door. She was the definition of blonde bombshell. Bright blue eyes, blonde hair that was pressed perfectly, and long stunning legs. This was our generation of a super model and that she was. How she made time to come here for this crap is beyond me. Kameron Blake was here and she was here to stay. How the heck did Jay ignore her advances? I don't think any man could ever turn down such a feat.

Kameron looked around at the lot of us before landing on me. Why does every girl with money fixate on me? I do stick out like a sore thumb but, damn can I catch a break? It was like I was an eye sore for people like her and Jenna. The minute their eyes laid on me, I instantly became their target.

Smiling smugly, Kameron walked over to me scanning me up and down. There didn't seem to be any ill intent on her part, but it was weird that she was trying to read me. Whatever her endgame is wasn't going to work on me. I've put up with Jenna already as it is.

"My aren't you gorgeous," she smiled at me graciously. "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

I shake my head. "No, but it's nice to meet you," I try to be friendly.

Kameron pulls her shades down turning back around towards Farah. "You've picked a lovely group of ladies, Farah."

Ok maybe she wasn't like a Jenna. She seemed nice and didn't immediately dismiss me on first glance. Im guessing Jenna really is just a bitch. Though, Kameron could be putting on a facade in front of Farah. I don't know the girl well enough to judge whether or not her compliments to me are genuine. There was definitely some entitlement there being that she's Kameron Blake. Anyone would be entitled if they were her.

This wasn't sitting well for Jenna, however, as she decided to open her mouth. "Why wasn't I informed about Kameron being apart of this?" She questioned Farah furious.

Kameron laughed deviously. "Aw, is someone worried I might catch her fiancé eye again? Cyrus never could resist me." She queried.

That made me nervous. If it's true Cyrus couldn't resist her I must be like chopped liver compared to her. Would he even want anything to do with her after what happened with her and Jay? Not that I was here to win Cyrus over again. Those days were over, but having someone like Kameron here would make me nonexistent in his eyes. The drama between Jenna wasn't even comparable to the drama between her and Kameron. They seemed to dislike each other a lot more than the average person.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Farah, there's no way she should be here," she continued to complain. "First Autumn, now *her* I don't like this!"

"Hey, whatever was going on with Cyrus and I is history," I chime in. It wasn't true, but it's what I'm telling myself to get by.

Kameron immediately shot her eyes back at me. "You had a thing with Cyrus?" She sounded surprised.

I shrug. "Guilty, I guess."

She smirked. "Oh, looks like we have more to talk about than I thought."

That didn't sound like something I want to be apart of. There was nothing to talk about between her and I. Not only that but we were all having this conversation in front of the other girls. I'm sure that was awkward for them just as much as it was awkward for me. I'm talking to two different women that were involved with the man I love. One of them soon to be wed to him. There's no way Farah didn't plan things to be this way. The woman was too smart not to have known the three of us would butt heads. It's strange though because last time she was all for Jenna. Now that Kameron's here things might change. No wonder Jenna is flustered.

Before Farah could diffuse the situation, the door opened one more time and my heart instantly dropped. There he was with beautiful brown hair and eyes that trap you like a mouse. He didn't notice me at first but as soon as he did it was like his heart jumped out of his chest.

"Mom where is the guest list? Dad, Jay, and I are trying to—" he stopped mid sentence once his eyes fell on me. There was a smirk that appeared on his face looking directly into my eyes. "Autumn?"

I didn't know how I would react when this moment came to be. It was different seeing Jay because he popped up at my store. He also didn't promise me that I was a shoo in for a competition that ended up shooting me in the foot. As much as my head wanted to give him the biggest of hugs; my heart thought differently.

So I ran.