7. DANIELLE #2
He turned to Cody, offering a firm handshake and a pat on the back. "Please, keep her safe, man."
"You know I will. Try not to worry about us." Cody grabbed my bag from Alex and left to locate the car.
Alex guided me into the wheelchair. The hard casts were gone now, and all I had left was a single large brace supporting my femur. Walking still sent pain through my leg, but Dr. Matthews had provided a cane to help distribute some of the pressure.
Everything was in slow motion, making the journey to the loading dock feel like it too all day.
For three months, these hospital walls had been my sanctuary, and now I was venturing into a world where Landon could be lurking anywhere.
And I had to trust someone I didn’t know, and manage a whole new level of unprotected anxiety.
At the loading dock, Cody was already waiting with the car while Alex and the nurse helped me navigate the few steps separating me from the car. Alex pulled a baseball cap and sunglasses out of his back pocket and held them out to me.
"Please, Danielle, wear these until you're finished at the salon." His voice was soft and worried, which is a tone I hadn’t heard from him in the past few weeks. Something in his expression made my usual defiance crumble. I didn’t want to leave on a bitter note, because the truth was, I didn’t know when I would see him again.
Anything could happen, and I refused to let our last moments be volatile.
Without protest, I accepted them, carefully tucking my hair into a bun beneath the cap and sliding the sunglasses into place. Alex knelt down and planted a soft kiss on the top of my head.
"I love you, sis. This will be over soon, I promise."
"I love you, too."
Alex helped me from the wheelchair as Cody appeared at my side, supporting me while I gripped my cane and maneuvered into the car.
As we pulled away, I watched Alex's figure grow smaller in the rear window, my heart heavy with uncertainty.
When would I see him again? Would I see him again?
The questions I'd been avoiding crashed over me.
What if Landon remained uncatchable? Worse still, what if he found me first?
I shoved the thought back down before it could fully surface.
I had to trust Alex; I had no other choice.
As we emerged from the garage into the sunlight, my new reality settled in. Outside the hospital walls, I felt exposed, like I was naked. I was stuck with Cody indefinitely. An involuntary sigh escaped my lips, loud enough to catch his attention.
"What time is the appointment for?" he asked, attempting to break through the tension.
"10:30. In New Market." I couldn’t respond in any way but cold.
"Are you hungry?"
"No."
"Okay, then. I guess we'll head right to the salon." We didn’t speak another word to each other on the fifteen-minute drive.
At the salon, I attempted to exit the car before remembering, with bitter frustration, that I needed Cody's help for even this simple task. My resentment, though unfair, continued to build with each passing minute. Cody opened my door, retrieving my cane with one hand while offering his other to help lift me from the seat. I couldn’t shake an unjustified, growing feeling of total resentment, specifically toward him, as I grabbed his hand.
The salon was modest but welcoming, nestled in a strip mall in this sparsely populated town.
The long, narrow space had brick walls and circular backlit mirrors at each station that made the small, industrial space feel warmer and inviting.
A blonde woman around my age stood at the counter, greeting us with an enthusiasm that seemed almost artificial, as if she'd overdosed on caffeine.
"Hi, welcome! Do you have an appointment?" Her voice bounced off the walls, fueled by her excitement.
"Yes, my name is Dan... Stacy. Sorry, my name is Stacy." I almost forgot about the alias.
"Ah, yes. 10:30 cut and color. Right this way." She emerged from behind the counter, matching her pace to my slow progress as Cody helped me to the chair. "What happened to your legs?" she asked while assisting me into the seat.
"Oh, um, I was in a really bad car accident. Just got released from the hospital. My brother wanted to do something nice for me, so here I am." The lie felt hollow on my tongue, and yet the words came out smooth.
"Oh, that's sweet of him." She smiled up at Cody, and I felt oddly relieved she hadn't assumed he was my boyfriend.
As she removed my cap, my hair tumbled down around my shoulders, more unruly than usual—a mess of curls and frizz from being confined under the hat.
"Oh, my! Your hair is so long and beautiful! Are you sure you want to cut it?"
No.
"Yes. It's time for a change. I don't know what I want, though. Just surprise me."
As she draped the cape around my neck and began brushing out my hair, each snip of the scissors released more than just length.
I hadn't realized how heavy my hair had become, both physically and metaphorically.
As it fell to the floor, I felt lighter, freer.
What started as Alex's attempt to disguise me was transforming into something more significant.
A rebirth of sorts. It was time to let go of the old Danielle and all the things Landon had done to her.
I watched my reflection without a word as the hairdresser’s fingers flew through my hair. She tried making small talk, but I was distracted enough that my answers came out short.
From the corner of my eye, I caught movement in the mirror—subtle, but there.
He was watching me. Not in a casual, spaced-out kind of way. Not in the bored, I’m-only-here-because-I-have-to-be way either. No, this was intentional. Focused. Like he was studying me, or maybe trying to figure me out.
The second my head shifted to look toward him, he snapped his eyes back to the magazine in his lap, suddenly way too fascinated with Men’s Weekly .
Busted.
My stomach flipped, but I ignored it. He was just being nosy. Probably trying to anticipate my next move like the dutiful guard dog he was.
Still, the way he looked at me… it didn’t feel like surveillance. It felt like something else entirely. It was unsettling enough that I shifted in the chair and looked away. If I couldn’t see him, maybe I could forget he was there. Forget that I wasn’t alone.
After the cut, I told her I didn’t want to see it yet.
She guided me over to the coloring station, out of Cody's line of sight at last. The distance felt like a small mercy. I gave her the same creative freedom with the color, and her eyes lit up. You could tell she didn’t get that kind of trust often.
I lost track of time as she sectioned and colored my hair.
She shared stories about her two kids and her military husband, and I found myself opening up about Alex joining the Army to care for me after our parents' deaths.
Her easy conversation and genuine interest started breaking through my walls.
She was the first one who managed to get through since I woke up.
By the time she finished drying and styling my hair, it felt like catching up with an old friend rather than meeting a stranger. As I sat there, I realized it wasn't just my appearance that had transformed; for the first time, I was starting to feel human again.
"Ready to show off your new look? You look amazing!
" She was overflowing with excitement over what she had created.
Despite my initial reluctance to part with my hair, I couldn't deny that the transformation in the mirror was stunning.
The stranger staring back at me bore no resemblance to the girl who'd walked in hours ago.
My signature long, brown waves had been replaced by sleek, shoulder-length fire-red hair.
As I ran my fingers through it, I discovered the hidden platinum blonde underneath—an unexpected detail that made the style even more striking.
It had been at least two years since I felt this good about myself, and it caused a genuine smile to spread across my face.
"I think this is just what I needed to feel better." I pulled her into a heartfelt hug. "Thank you!"
"Anytime, sweetie. Now, let's go show your man!"
I laughed, shaking my head. "Okay, but gross, he's definitely not my man."