Soon after, Juliet brought me something to eat while the others and I sat down on the couches, loveseats, and chairs in the entertainment room. I explained to them what I could remember about the other night when the three men took me from my home. Jackson, Zackary, and Robert filled in the rest. They said that the men had stopped at a gas station the same time they did and saw me trying to get out of the van. That was when they had went over to see what was going on and try to get me away from my capturers.
"The men didn't want to let you go, though, so we had to figure out a way to get you away from them." Jackson said as he sat beside me on the couch. "Once they finished getting gas for their car, Dad, Zack, and I followed them in our car. Before they got far, they ran a red light and crashed into another car. I told Dad and Zack to stay in the car and call the police while I got out and rescued you, Cara. Once you were safely in our car, we brought you to our home and put you in one of the guest rooms. The rest you already know."
"It kinda makes sense now. The cuts and scrapes on my body and the few memories I have," I said as I ate the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that Juliet had given me. Still, they're hiding something from me, I thought to myself as I bit off a piece of my sandwich and chewed it. I just know it.
"Oh, I almost forgot. We have to get ready for the party tonight," Natasha said.
"What party?" I asked as I stopped midchew. Please, tell me I don't have to go to this party, much less wear high heels, I thought. I was just beginning to learn to trust this family I had met only thirty minutes ago. I don't need to be around more people. Also, I barely know how to walk in heels. My mother and best girl friend were teaching me how to walk in them just before I had been abducted.
"It's just something we go to every year. Don't worry, I have just the thing for you to wear," Natasha said as I finished eating my sandwiches. When she stood up, I took the hint and did the same. The older woman took my hand and led my out of the entertainment room and to her bedroom.
Once we were in her bedroom, she let go of my hand and walked over to her closet. Opening it, I saw that her closet was positively enormous. Walking over to where the closet and Natasha were at, the only words I could manage were, "Oh, my God."
"You like it, huh?" she asked, beaming at me as she looked over and saw the expression on my face. "Wait until you see the clothes."
"Does everyone have a closet like this?" I asked as I began to look through some of her skirts. There was a lot of lace, beading, and stuff like that on the skirts.
"Pretty much, yeah," Natasha said as she brought over a pastel blue/gray dress that was on a hanger. Along the checker-crocheted bodice, there were tiny faux pearls and crystal-petaled daisies. The skirt fell in crinkled folds of pale gray and blue. Lastly, it had a shirred back, handkerchief hem, and adjustable, elasticized straps.
"It's so beautiful, Natasha," I said as I took the dress from her and ran my fingers along the soft fabric, mesmerized. "But I can't wear it."
"Of course you can, dear. We're practically the same size and you will look gorgeous in it," Natasha said as she began to look for some undergarments for me to wear.
"I will just ruin it," I replied.
"No, you won't. Now, go get dressed. The party is in a few hours," Natasha said in her best commanding motherly voice.
"Thank you, Natasha, for the dress," I said, smiling as I took the undergarments from her and left the room.
When I arrived at the guest bedroom I had woken up in, I went over to the bed and gently laid the clothes on it. After making sure the door was closed, I got undressed and began to put the undergarments on. A few minutes passed before the bra and panties were on and I was ready to put the dress on. Gently slipping the dress over my head, I poked my arms out where they should be in the dress and made sure that it fitted in all the right places.
The moment I was dressed, there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Come in," I said in a slightly raised voice so that whoever was at the door could hear me. When the door opened, Juliet and Beth came in and walked over to me. Turning towards them, I asked, "How do I look?"
"Beautiful," Juliet said at the same time Beth said, "Hot."
"Do you think Jackson will like me in it?" I asked without thinking. I instantly regretted saying it out loud as my face turned red with embarrassment. "God, I can't believe I just said that. I can't believe I even feel that way," I said, almost to myself.
"It's okay," Juliet said as she and her older sister smiled wickedly. "I think he feels the same for you. Yes, I think he will like you in that dress, but there's something missing. I will be right back." With that, she left the room.
A few minutes later, Juliet was back with a necklace and some shoes. "Cara, go sit down on the bed. Beth, could you go get that grey cardigan that you bought recently?" she said as she walked over to where I now sat on the bed. Putting the sandals on the bed beside me, she then unhooked the fastening on the necklace, put it around my neck, and then fastened it. Making sure that all of my hair was out from under the necklace, she took a look at me and nodded. "Perfect," she said, still smiling. "Now, the shoes."
As I took off my boots and put on the sandals, I noticed the heel and slightly cringed. "Um, Juliet, I'm not good at wearing shoes that have a heel. I usually wear flats," I said as I looked up at her.
"It will be alright. I can help you learn how to walk in them," Juliet said.
"Okay," I said as I finished fastening the ankle strap on both of them. Slowly and carefully, I stood up. When I was on my feet, I tried walking while remembering what my mom and best friend said when they were teaching me how to walk in these things. Surprisingly, it went well as I walked across the room and then walked back over to Juliet.
At the same time I was doing this, Beth came into the bedroom with the grey cardigan in her arms. "Cara, you look incredible," she said as I stopped a few inches away from Juliet.
"Thanks, Beth and Juliet, for everything," I said as I look into a full-length mirror. My mocha brown hair was now out of the ponytail I had put it up in earlier and framed my face in gentle ringlets. My light skin was practically glowing. The dress and the Celtic knot necklace brought out my cobalt blue eyes. It was true, I did look incredible.
"You're welcome, sweetie," Juliet said as she pulled me into a hug. A moment later, Beth joined us and we did a group hug, laughing.
"I see the three of you are bonding well," a voice suddenly said from behind the three teenage girls. Letting go of one another, Beth, Juliet, and I turned towards where they heard the voice. There, standing in the doorway, was Robert with his left hand in Natasha's right hand.
"Hey, Dad," Beth said at the same time Juliet said, "Hey, Mom." While they spoke, I stayed quiet, because I didn't know what to say. So I just stood there, probably looking like an idiot or something.
"The boys are ready downstairs," Natasha said, noticing my lack of movement and sound. "We should get going if we want to get there in time. After all, we will need to beat traffic and find a parking space."
A few minutes later, we were going out to the driveway where I soon found out that that was where the cars were at. At the moment, I had on the grey cardigan that Beth had let me borrow, Juliet had on a formal black cape, Beth had on a black flyaway cardigan, and Natasha had on an aqua/green shawl. Zack, Jackson, and Robert had on pretty much the same dark-colored coat. I pulled my cardigan closer to my body when a sudden gush of wind came in my direction. The now-closed cardigan instantly warmed me as I stayed close to where Beth and Juliet were at.
There were three cars in the driveway. One was a silver Bugatti Veyron. The second one was a black Pagani Zonda. The last one was a navy blue Lamborghini Murcielago LP640. Wow, those are really cool cars, I thought as Robert started telling who will go in which car.
"Jackson, Juliet, and Cara, you will ride in the silver car while Beth and Zack will take the black one. Natasha and I will follow you guys in the navy blue car." Robert said as he took out a small key ring and began to walk towards the car he was planning on taking, his wife by his side. The rest of us walked towards the cars that we were planning on taking and got in. A few minutes later, we were heading towards where the party was at.