Sʜᴇ ʟɪᴇᴅ.

“   of-   of   course   i   believe   you!   but   the   police   are   saying   you   helped   kill   ali…   it’s  a   little   hard   to   swallow   that   thought   but   i   never   thought   you   could   do   it,   not   for   a   SECOND.   “   maybe   her   loyalty   to   her   big   sister   is   blinding   /   naivety   takes   hold   and   she   holds   on   for   dear   life.   this   is   aria   montgomery,   the   girl   who   was   named   POOKIE   BEAR,   not   a   murderer.   “   i   believe   you   okay?   i   will   always   believe   you.   we   fight,   we   get   mad   at   each   other   but   that’s   what   we   do,   we’re   family.   i   will   believe   you   over   any   police   assumption   any   day.   “   just   like   that,   she   wraps   herself   around   the   other   in   a   warm   embrace,   soft   as   velvet   /   warm   as   an   open   fire   /   just   like   when    they   were   younger   and   full   of   youthful   innocence.   “   i   love   you.   “

              o ,         the    youthful    desire    to    shed    its    entire    being    tends     to    scattered    invitations    with    such    alacrity ,       providing    impetus    that    only    midnight    stowed    claret     can    carry      !      –––––––––––        &        make    haste    to    first    filter     those     SPRENT     with      stellate    adumbrations         /         sent     to     those    with    mothers’    pearls    to    complement    those    of      the    first    snatched ,         but   never    to    match .               ❝      hmmm      –––––––––––––      smells    to     me    like     SABOTAGE .      ❞           her    tone    is    one    to    insinuate        /        her    neck    is    stiff .     despite      second      pedestal’s      fallacies ,             smudged    sooth    trembles    beneath    another’s         forgery    :              she    was    the    first    to    go .            ❝      i    mean .        anyone    who    knows    anything    would    know    she    has    to    know    better .      ❞           but    no    two    fates      are    penned    identically       ;             trenchancy    wanes      &       waxes    with    guidance    anesthesiac    eye ,      rare    to    set    free    acanthous    carapace           (      but    then    all    the    more    hurried    to     sweep    back     in      ) .

                          ❝      –––––––––––      please .        knowing    that    i    had    a    hand    in    helping    you    find      the    dress     is    all    i    need .             for    now .      ❞            colours    jest    with    vorancy    of    respective    opposition         /         permits    smile    to    blossom       &       fade .            ❝      the    dress    was    handled        &        out    of    the    way    months    ago    :          two  -  piece    sherri    hill    in    blue .         but    the    stress    of    finding    it    was    readded    with    the    last    minute     taking    on    the    role    of    post    prom    party     hostess .           but ,       you    know .         i’ll     pull    something    together .      ❞     

surprise   it   is   NOT   /   a   delicate   flower   set   up   to   have   its   petals   plucked   in   the   cruelest   of   ways.   a   soft   heart   grown   fond   of   a   lion’s   claws   striking   into   gentle   flesh.    “   well   i   am   not   surprised   in   the   slightest.   one   year   for   halloween   she   made   me   be   wicked   witch   of   the   west   while   she   was   glinda.   “   irony   in   form   of   costume   reversal.   the   one   dressed   as   evil   was   anything   but.   the   impostor   dressed   as   a   saint   wore   silk   to   sheath   the   fires   she   bestowed   upon   everyone   else.   “   she   does.   trust   me,   she   does.   she   equals   your   nina   if   that   tells   you   anything.   “

she  can  recall  the  pinch  of  lily  flesh  between  doting  fingers,   cheeks  plucked  rosy  and  warm  under  the  makers  of  those  that  named  them  angelic.     how  easily  the  wave  of  reminiscence  flows  forth   —   fills  the  shaky  hollow  of  her  laughter  with  genuine  merriment.     ❝   it’s  because  there’s  usually  so  much  there  to  grab  onto.     kids  are  chipmunks.   ❞     scrunch  of  delicate  nose,   charade  of  disgust  curdling  crimson  pout.     ❝   well,   you  can  let  that  fear  go,   ezra’s  not  a  spontaneous  kisser   —   not  unless  you  turn  up  at  his  apartment,   but  what’s  the  likelihood  of  that  happening?   ❞     thick  brow  arches,   hazel  gaze  a  lingering  look  of  so  there.    she  punctuates  the  lapse  of  thought  with  blunt  nails  against  the  hardback  of  her  book,   mind  overturning  what  remains  unspoken.    ❝   does  it  really  bother  you?     that  people  mistake  us  for  each  other?    ❞  

              how    lingering    form    reclines    beneath    the    tide    of    eternal    ennui ,          gaping    maw    wrought    of    most    malleable    ivory         /         exsculating    surface    until    attentions     are    drawn    back    to    shore .  

              &       from    unsuspecting    stem    explodes    carmine ,           a     revelation     written    in    vinaceous     vacillation .             (      will    the    rim    sear    my    lips ,          or    the    taste     shock    my    skull      ?          here ,        familiarity    serves     as    emication’s    catalyst ,        welkin    magnetizing    encouragement’s    expression .      )          ❝      ––––––––––––––      .       .       .          well ,        yeah ,        i    wonder    why .      ❞         thus    arises    hope    of    clarity ,           a    candor    dressed    in    blinding    sarsenette    beneath    roots    run    deep .          ❝      no    one    goes    to    prom    trying    to    get    their    spotlight    stolen .      ❞          she    offers    a    BITE    to    brass    intruder ,        but    floret’s    full    splendour    to    kith       –––––––––––––         a    moiety    of    byssine       &       abrasive ,          there    cuts    only    the    voice    the   other     must     hear .         ❝      honest    opinion      ?           this    would    leave    everyone    else    looking       ‘   horrible       &       contrasted   ‘ .      ❞ 

sadness   weighs   heavily   on   a   gentle   heart.   it’s   the   confirmation   she   needs   to   know   blood   is   not   thicker   than   water.   water   is   just   water   /   pulling   her   deeper   and   deeper   with   a   dominant   hand   holding   her   head   beneath   the   currents   /   absorbing   traces   of   chlorine   in   hopeful   lungs.   

❝ TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION THAT MAYBE it isn’t your friends that are horrible, but rather just you. ❞   a sharp intake of a quiet breath that words are mumbled underneath. she turned her head and crossed her arms over her chest, mulling it over for a moment or two. ❝  i don’t know how to ice skate. i’d just embarrass you. ❞

❝   as  if  i  could  forget.     i  think  mike  might  have  been  the  first  ever  power  ranger  mouse  in  history.     at  least  one  of  you  had  an  ounce  of  originality.   ❞     playfulness  pulls  plush  brims  upwards   —   glance  pointed,   goading  brow  arched.     a  memory  so  pungent  she  can  feel  it;   pumpkin  pie  on  her  mouth,   the  sticky  residue  of  glitter  upon  pink  cheeks.     laughter  goes  lengths  to  distracting  from  reality’s  turmoil.     ❝   it  could  be  worse.     mom  could  still  be  putting  us  in  those  identical  dresses  her  friend  from  art  college  made  for  us.     ——-   the  important  people  can  spot  the  differences.     isn’t  that  all  that  matters?   ❞