Clarissa was in my bed and curled up in my blankets, but I didn't care. She was asleep, and I knew that was the best thing for her since she had drained so much energy from crying so much. Her face was red and puffy, and I could tell that she would be there for a while.

"Enter," I said when I heard a knock at the door and turned around to see Wally with worry in his eyes.

"Wh-"

I nodded to my bed, and he looked that way before he looked at me. He had this look in his eyes, and I had a feeling he was wondering if I had knocked her out or not.

"She knows that our parents don't care about us," I said, calming his fears. I scowled and narrowed my eyes, and he bowed his head in shame. "I wouldn't do that to her, Wally. I can't land a hand on her, even if I don't like her."

He hesitated but nodded. "I know," he said. He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Do you need me to take her out of the room?" he asked, and I shook my head, no.

"It's best not to move her," I replied. "She will leave when she needs to."

He nodded, walked into the room, and moved toward me. His eyes were on my sketchbook, and I knew that he wanted to see what I was drawing. "A Make a Wish dress?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Yes, but I can't find the dress for her," I said with a small huff. I moved a hand through my hair and pursed my lips. "Those are the drawings that I had done, but they aren't for a girl like her."

Wally picked up one of the drawings and looked at them before he looked at the little girl. "They could work," he said. "What aren't you satisfied with?"

"Everything," I groaned. I placed my head on my desk and sighed. "I don't know what I want to do for her to make her feel like a princess."

Wally nodded. "Have you tried to mix and match what you have done to see if that would work for you?" he asked.

"No?"

Wally nodded. "I think you should," he said. "I know that is one way you have gotten yourself unstuck before." He placed a piece of paper on top of another on top of another. "How about something like this?" he asked.

I lifted my head from the desk and looked to see what he had done.

Wally had placed the bottom piece of one dress onto another piece that included a different top.

I looked at the three pieces and removed the top one, a ball gown type, to reveal a different style. I looked at the three of them and nodded, agreeing with his choice. "Wally," I said and looked at the male, "you're a genius."

***

I sketched the design that Wally had left me while Clariss slept on my bed. I was grateful that he knew I wanted this dress to be special for the little girl in the photo.

And, the dress was, or at least it was on paper.

The dress was going to have a simple skirt on the bottom with a poofy one on top. They were going to be the same colors, a light blue that matched her eyes.

With the poofy skirt, I was going to have a sheer fabric that would make it look like it had sparkles all over the skirt, marching the sparkles on the top.

Clarissa groaned and stirred, and I moved the photo so that she wouldn't be able to see the person I was creating the dress for. "Christina?" Clarissa asked, groggily still half asleep.

"Chris," I said. "Call me, Chris."

"Ok," she yawned and sat up, "Chris? What time is it?"

I looked at my phone and saw that it was around nineish. "Almost nine-thirty," I replied before I turned my attention back to the drawing.

"Oh." There was some shuffling, and I knew that she was looking around the room she was in. "Why are you in my room?"

"You're in mine, Clarissa. You fell asleep after you cried." I moved through the paperwork that I acquired for the design.

Clarissa stayed silent, and I sighed and looked at her to see that she was staring at me with wide eyes. There was a soft blush on her cheeks, and I raised an eyebrow in question.

Shifting on the bed, she cleared her throat and looked away from me, blushing. "Ummmm, I'm so sorry," she said and got out of bed. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, looking completely uncomfortable. "I-I didn't realize that I was in your room." She stood by my bed with her hands behind her back, looking awkward. "I think that I should... leave."

I shrugged and turned my attention back to my drawing, picking up my pencil and sketching on my drawing. "That is up to you," I replied, dismissively. "If you want to leave, then you may. No one is stopping you."

"Why are you so standoffish and stuck-up?" Clarissa asked, and I looked at her with a blank look on my face. Her cheeks turned redder, but she didn't backtrack from what she had asked.

"Because I don't know how else to act," I replied tersely and turned my attention back to my drawing. "I'm the product of my environment." I flicked my hand as if I was gesturing across the house. "If you weren't sent to boarding school, then I am sure that you'd be the same way."

"No, I wouldn't," Clarissa insisted. "I'd be a hell of a lot kinder than you."

I pursed my lips and shot down the small feeling of hurt. "'Clarissa is so much better than Christina,'" I said, mimicking our "mother's" voice. "'She gets amazing grades and is an amazing person. Christina, on the other hand...'" I pursed my lips in disgust and gripped the pencil tighter. "'... is shit. She is not good at whatever she does. She is lazy and is fat. She is ugly and doesn't care about anyone but herself.' Ya, tell me you won't be standoffish or stuck-up when you hear that every fucking time your parents come home," I spat. I tossed the pencil down because I knew that if I didn't, then I'd make a mistake. I turned towards her and glared, and her gaze softened. "So yes, I am stuck up and standoffish a-a-a-and a bitch because that is how they made me out to be. It is so nice to see that you think the same way as them."

Clarissa shook her head. "I don't," she said. She walked over to me and hugged me, and I froze in her hands.

My whole body grew tense, and I kept my hands at my side and made fists. My heart pounded hard in my chest, and my breathing became labored because I was not used to this. I was not used to feeling comfort from someone else, so I had no idea what to do next.

"You need to put down that wall of yours," she whispered, not caring that I hadn't hugged her back. "It's ok to feel feelings and be human. You aren't a robot." She paused and cleared her throat, and I had a feeling that she licked her lips before she continued again. "It's ok to cry."

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth together, fighting back the emotions that she made me feel. I didn't hug her back, not knowing what was happening at all.

This was all too new for me, for this was a family member who was hugging me. This was actual blood that I was related to, who showed me kindness when kindness was lacking from this family. This was someone who wanted to see the real me and not the stuck-up bitch that I portray myself to be.

"I don't know how," I finally whispered, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat and took a deep, shuddering breath. "I just don't know how."