Stay Toxic

Chapter 23

“Help me,” I shamelessly beg. “I made a grave mistake.”

To her credit, my roommate doesn”t laugh, as she watches the terrible, spotty, blotchy mess I made out of my previously blonde waves.

Ari”s probably too horrified to mock me.

Somehow, the dye that was supposed to make my hair pitch black made it a faded sort of blue-gray. And not even a nice, even color, because some of the locks are fully colored while others remain completely blonde.

”Oh. Erm. Yeah. How…what…”

”I used this,” I tell her, thrusting the cardboard box into her hand. ”I wanted to say a great big ‘fuck you’ to Mother. She doesn”t approve of drastic hair changes, you see. And, well…” I sulk.

”It”s not the best brand,” Ari tells me diplomatically.

It was ten bucks. She can say it sucks.

”And there wasn”t nearly enough of it for all your hair. Like, it goes to your ass when it’s wavy; I bet if we straightened it out, it”d reach your damn knees. You’d need at least five of those boxes to go black. Which would…not be the best color on you, I don”t think. Not with the length, anyway. You know what? Grab your coat. It”s getting a little chilly.”

”You want me to go out like this?” I squeal.

She rifles through her cupboard until she finds a black woolly hat with a fluffy pompom, and tosses it my way.

I stare down at the hat in my hand like it might bite. There”s no way I can fit all that mess in there.

”You go out like this, or you stay like this,”she reminds me.

”Right. Perspective.”

I stuff what I can in the hat, lower it down to my eyebrows, and put my jacket on before following her out of the dorm, and into the parking lot.

Ari drives a little red Beetle that has seen better days, but it suits her somehow.

Once we”re on our way, driving toward town, but then turning left instead of right, toward the riverside on the crossroad, she says, ”Now, a word of warning. She”s Lauren, not Mrs.Stewart, and if she offers you a martini, be careful. They pack a punch.”

”Mrs. Stewart…we”re going to see your mom?” I glean, remembering her surname.

”Duh. Do you know many hairdressers who”d help an emergency situation at eight on a Sunday night?”

Oh. That makes sense. ”I…don”t have access to money right now. I will,” I”m quick to add, ”but not right this second.”

I twiddle my thumbs, feeling awkward as fuck. I”m the girl who has money. That”s my position amongst my friends, always. I can take us to restaurants and shows, do things they can”t afford. Without that, who am I? What use do I have, really?

”Dude, no one cares,” Ari says, rolling her eyes. ”Mom will help because you”re my friend, and because what you did to your poor hair will break her heart. But what happened to your money?”

”Mother cut my cards off after I ignored her yesterday. And kicked out Rob last week.”

Ari stills for a moment. ”Is that how she punishes you and controls you? Taking your money?”

I glance out the window. I”d gotten a look at the tall buildings from a distance, of course, but it”s still strange to see skyscrapers and shiny high-rises in Thorn Falls. We must be in southie.

”Amongst other things,” I reply. ”The main threat is my tuition, and André”s.”

Ari nods. ”Right. So what”s the plan?”

I lick my lip. ”I thought I might make her sweat for a little while, rather than run back to her,” I admit. ”Change my hair, post on my main social media to show I”m breaking her rule. In the meantime, I can ask my brother to lend me some cash—just to get by. He”ll get it. He was raised by Mother. I think if she sees I”m not caving, she”s going to panic and give me a bit more wiggle room about her asinine rules. She can”t afford to really disown me; she”s just trying to tighten my leash.”

I say all that casually, but in truth, I”m terrified. I”ve never done anything so openly rebellious in my life. And my first attempt is a disaster currently stuffed in a beanie.

”Badass,” Ari praises. ”Showing her you”re not a doormat. I like that.”

”So long as it works,” I grumble, trying not to wince.

She parks in front of a modern building, amongst hundreds of cars. I look up at the silver high-rise with a dozen, maybe fifteen floors. I would have thought it was for offices, but on closer inspection, I see plants and clotheslines on the balconies.

So, that”s where Ari lives. It”s not that bad. It”s clean, for one. We enter the hall, without a reception. ”Sorry, the elevator’s out,” she tells me, heading to the staircase. ”As usual.”

She”s on the seventh floor; no wonder she”s so dainty and muscular if she has to go up and down all these stairs all the time.

”That”s a workout,” I huff.

”Tell me about it. I might have been used to it back in high school, but damn.”

She knocks, loud, and screams, ”Incoming!” before keying in a long code to open the door.

The apartment we walk into is modern, well designed, and tidy.

”Ari, darling, is that you?” a lovely voice calls. ”I”m in the bath.”

”Alone?” Ari shoots back somewhat warily.

I guess her indulgence in all things sexy has one firm boundary: her mother.

”Yes, alone, sadly. Give me five minutes. Make yourself a martini, darling.” After a beat, she adds, ”And me. Make me one, too. A double, please.”

I chuckle, already liking her mother.

I remove my jacket to hang it up next to Ari’s, and start to remove the beanie, too, but she stops me. ”You want to give Mom a heart attack? We have to ease her into that mess.”

I would say it”s not that bad, but she has a point, so I keep my mouth shut and keep the hat on.

”It”s a nice place,” I say, walking into the inviting apartment.

Open concept, and pretty large, the kitchen-living area has a large reading nook, a set of drums, and a guitar, as well as what looks like a yoga corner.

”It”s a bit messy,” Ari admits with a fond smile. ”But I love it. Mom makes a point of always having stuff for all of us, you know.”

”You”re the reader…who plays that?”

”Lawrence; both the drums and guitar.Natalie is the fitness freak, hence the weights and stuff. Victor has an art studio—my old room. As he and Nat are still at home, they have a bit more space than the rest of us. AndBenjamin”s into cooking, so the fancy stuff in the kitchen is for him.Vince is just into video games at the moment, so the TV and his laptop are all he needs.”

”You have a pretty epic mom.”I whistle, thoroughly impressed. ”But if your room”s now a studio, where do you stay during the breaks?”

She grins. ”With some friends from last week. I room with a few girls who belong to the same club as me.”

Oh. Oh. The Heritage.

”We have a lovely house on the riverside,” she explains. ”It”s pretty big, but it tends to be busy, hence why I prefer to stay on campus when I”m studying.”

I clear my throat. ”Right.”

I”m just not sure how to react to everything I now know about her. I mean, our acquaintance began in a way that made it clear that my roommate was not a prude, but the fact that she auctioned herself last week is still a lot.

Then again, I had sex in a room with fifty people, most of whom were watching me, so I”m not judging. I”m just blushing and don’t know where to look.

Ari”s certainly not bothered. She gets three martini glasses out and starts to make the cocktail.

She hands it to me and I wince at the first taste. ”Woah. Apparently it”s not just your mom”s drinks I should be wary of.”

”Where do you think she learned to make them?” someone says.

I turn to face a buxom blonde in a silk robe. I don”t swing that way, but hell, she”s seriously hot. Not like Sebastian”s mother and aunt, who were beautiful, elegant, gracious. This woman exudes seduction, her natural beauty somehow still innocent, with those big blue eyes.

I think my jaw must have hit the floor, because she chuckles, and say, ”Oh, sweetheart, you”re going to make me blush. Who”s this adorable new friend you brought me, Ari?”

Despite their difference in coloring and stature—Ari is rather short, while this woman is almost as tall as me—I can imagine that at her age, Ari will have the same vibe. They definitely have a similar mouth, nose, and eyes—though Ari”s are golden brown.

”This is Tia, my roommate, and she has an emergency.” Ari winces, lifting her hand to stop me as I bring my hand to the beanie.

I guess that”s not enough preparation.

”See, Mom, she, err—” I”ve never seen the bubbly woman so uncomfortable. ”She might have used cheap hair dye.”

”No.” The big blue eyes go wide as they stare at me in horror. ”Why?”

I feel like I”m breaking her heart. ”I…I was just trying to send a message. I was never allowed to do something like that, so…” I shrug lamely.

”I see.” The woman gracefully slides onto a stool at the breakfast bar and lifts her dainty, manicured hand to Ari, who doesn”t hesitate to hand her a drink.

”She has a very strict mother,” Ari explains. ”She literally cut her off because she missed a phone call, Mom.”

The woman breathes in deep. ”Well, I suppose I can understand that. Just a minute, sweetie. Let me drink this, and then you can show me the damage. Tia, was it? I am Lauren. I, too, had challenging parents, so take my somewhat belated advice: hair takes an awful lot of time to regrow or fade. How about a piercing next time? You can just remove those.”

I suddenly understand absolutely everything about Ari as a person. ”Right. That”s…sound advice.”

She gulps the rest of her drink and slides the empty glass to her daughter. Ari”s already shaking the second round.

”All right, I”m ready.” She straightens her spine, grounding herself. ”Show me.”

I take a sip of my drink for courage, then slide the hat off.