Annabel Lee ─ emily prentiss

twenty-five

AS SHE and Emily walked through the mall's entrance, Bel's heart pounded so hard that she felt its vibrations in her stomach. They were meeting JJ and Penelope for a shopping trip, and Bel was more anxious than she'd been on her first day of school. She knew Penelope was extremely eager to buy some things for her. Emily kept herself tame but did say that it was okay for Bel to ask for things. After all, Bel really did need some new clothes, and it was Emily's job to make that happen. The mere thought of that, especially of Penelope, who had no obligation to take care of her and was simply doing it out of the goodness of her heart, spending money on her, riddled Bel with guilt.

The other problem with clothes shopping was that it would put the state of her body under a microscope. Bel was extremely self-conscious about her body. A few years of being underfed by foster parents left her unhealthily skinny. Emily made her visit a pediatrician because she hadn't had a regular checkup in years, and that visit confirmed that she was extremely underweight. She'd gained a little weight since moving in with Emily because she now ate three meals a day instead of just breakfast and dinner and was free to get a snack from the pantry whenever she wanted, but she still felt like a skeleton. She dreaded everyone realizing just how sickly she really was.

Emily looked over at the tense expression on Bel's face and wondered, not for the first time, whether this was a good idea. It still made Bel uncomfortable when Emily bought things for her, even if she needed them. If her actual guardian buying things for her bothered Bel that much, how would she react to Penelope trying to do it? Emily did brief JJ and Penelope on how to rein things in a bit: don't push anything too hard, and Penelope, don't try to buy too much for Bel. If she really wants to, it should be something minimal, or she should let Bel split the cost. Coming on too strong would spook Bel. But even if all three of them didn't push too hard, would it be enough?

"You sure you're okay, B?" Emily took Bel's left hand in her right one and wove their fingers together. "It's not too late to bail. They'll understand."

"We're already here, Em. It's definitely too late to bail."

JJ and Penelope had beat them here. The two of them stood in front of a big fountain in conversation. When Penelope noticed Emily and Bel headed for them, her face lit up. She waved them over emphatically.

"Hi hi hi!" She wrapped Bel in a tight hug before Bel or Emily could get a word out. "I'm so glad you're here. We are going to have the best afternoon."

Bel met Emily's gaze and mouthed, "Afternoon?" Emily winced and smiled sympathetically.

At first it wasn't so bad. They started off shopping for the women, not Bel. She didn't mind being another opinion on the unfortunate brown blazer Emily found or whether or not JJ could pull off wearing a certain pair of pants (she always could, and Bel had to try not to stare).

But once their walk through the mall's first floor brought them to a teen store, the tide changed.

"I think this is where kids shop." Emily peered inside the Forever 21 and saw a few clusters of teenage girls milling about. Bel had seemed okay so far, so maybe it was a good time to test the waters. "Let's take a look inside."

Bel's mouth opened and closed and opened again as she tried and failed to search for the right words. Her legs moved automatically as Penelope took her hand and led her inside.

"See anything you like?" Penelope asked. Feeling the women's eyes on her, Bel shuffled over to a rack of shirts and rifled through them. She paused on a black baby tee with small white outlines of wildflowers on the chest. It was layered over attached long white sleeves. Other girls at school definitely wore things like this. Before she could stop it, JJ nabbed a size small and handed it to her.