“This is her?” she asks Aiden as she leans against the doorframe, “This is Spencer?”

Her brown hair is pulled back in an afterthought of a ponytail. She’s wearing a soft pink robe that doesn’t even pretend to be directly covering anything other that her bare skin, and her face says she’s almost always unimpressed with what she sees before her—which in this case happens to be me. It was this type of woman who almost instantly made me feel like the awkward teenage version of myself instead of a woman men would risk their career and families for. I was thirteen years-old, a forgotten concoction of evident bones and bad posture and she was the girl who was born knowing exactly how to get what she wanted. The girl who had never known a moment of awkwardness or uncertainty at her own reflection or even the word “no.” I swallowed hard.

“Spencer, this is Ashley. Ashley…Spencer,” Aiden said, smiling. I couldn’t really tell if this was a new smile or he had yet to relieve himself of the one from the limo. Either way, I’m sure he meant to assure me. He was obviously familiar with people falling apart in front of this intimidating brunette.

She offered a forced smile—no teeth—and grabbed Aiden’s shoulder, “I need to talk to you.”

“Can it wait? I really want to get Spencer settled in and…”

“No, it can’t. I need to talk. She doesn’t mind.”

She didn’t wait for an answer. She simply walked into the open foyer without hesitation. Aiden glanced at me—a silent apology—and followed Ashley into what I assumed was her bedroom. The door closed and I could only make out the rhythm of her voice and his short muffled replies before another girl descended the spiral staircase.

“Are you Spencer?” she asked.

“Yeah…yes, I’m Spencer.”

“Well it’s nice to meet you. I’m Kyla. I can show you where to bring your stuff if you want. Your room’s right next to mine.”

“That would be great.”

“Here,” she said, grabbing the one small suitcase I had exited the limo with in my haste to follow Aiden, “I’ll get this one. You have more, right? In the limo?”

“Yeah.”

“Aiden will have Eric bring them up. Eric’s the driver.”