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RACHEL

My bag sainst the railing in thepaint chips flaked off onto my blazer After almost a year, I still couldn’t clihts of stairs toon the tread up the stairs with a box that weighed as ym Maybe I should incorporate that into eous

Breather over, I trudgedin front of my door and let the box drop The contents shook and rattled At this point I didn’t care if I opened the flaps to a box filled with broken glass I’d toldcosts alone made me want to cry

The door flew open as I touched ers to the electronic keypad lock Dahlia backed out of the apartrabbed ontoin amusement

“Hey, Rach, sorry about that,” she said, righting lanced down at the box on the floor “Do you need so the box off the floor and hed nothing Weakling status reconfirmed

“Thanks,” I said, wipingand other crap sprawled out on the floor in front of et it later or never, whichever

“What did they send this tiether, practically salivating over the box Her high messy bun of black hair bounced on top of her head My parents were known for their slightly unorthodox care packages, which were always over the top The price tag on each delivery was like a gut punch

I stopped looking up the prices after the first five I lovedof me, but their definition of what I absolutely needed would ed in an upscale mental hospital It wasn’t like New York didn’t have toilet paper, candles, or vitamins

No matter how many times I told her I didn’t needup It was the third box thiss away for me and to include them in the silent auctions she had all the time The contents of this box could probably keep a food bank fully stocked for a week All she had to do was keep them and add the up

I donated what I could, after Dahlia had her pick of course She ru small sounds of appreciation as she pulled the stuff out and looked each item up on her phone

So of pearls, espresso breath mints, or Russian caviar Who knew? Certainly, not the two of us, hence the online scavenger hunt to figure out what the hell my mom packed away for me

Even withinstead, when Dahlia pulled out the red soled sky high heels, I whipped to attention Must have Must wear So pretty I sprung to my feet, launched myself across the roootten the last two pairs when she opened the boxes while I was in the bathroom These puppies were mine

“Mine,” I said, clutching them to my chest “I told you, the next pair were mine”

“You also said, I got first dibs on whatever ca her piles of keep and donate Shoes that cost more than my portion of the rent weren’t on my list of necessities, but even I couldn’t turn these down It was ridiculous how much I liked them because I’d never wear them out They weren’t practical At all But oh so pretty

I slid theand turning my feet to admire their beauty The outside was encrusted with shiny, sparkly clear crystals I couldn’t wait to do dishes in these It would lamorous

“Spoilsport,” she said, slinging her bag over her shoulder “You’re not even going to give the to the door

“Because they are completely i an ankle,” I said, adht the the kitchen cabinets and the floor My own disco ball

“Says you,” she said, pointing down to her feet The last pair of red soles were on her feet They had a funky rainbow crystal pattern on theiven up trying to figure out how she did it The six-inch heels suited her style perfectly Her ripped skinny jeans that showed off just enough skin, topped off by a ripped gray sweatshirt that showed off her shoulder and hot pink lacy bra underneath No wonder the tattoo parlor was always booked solid That and the fact that she was one of the most celebrated tattoo artists on the East Coast