30. Nova
30
nova
The first day of the class was amazing with an amazing set of women in attendance. A few of my old coworkers were here and after class was over, a few of us went out for dinner and drinks. Lauryn, Regan, Kiersten and I hit one of our favorite hang-outs from when I still lived here, T-Sushi.
We laughed, we ate, we drank and did something I hadn’t done in years. With these girls, I wasn’t mom, momma or mommy. I was Nova, the hairstylist, the girl who worked her ass off to get where she was today and damn it felt good.
“I can't believe you have a daughter,” Regan said. “I just never pictured you as a mom, especially since you were against having kids.”
I shrugged, always hating this topic. “Things change and being pregnant and thinking about your future or the future of your child, well, it changes you. I couldn’t give her up. She’s gonna be six soon and it still blows my mind!”
“Kids change you,” Kiersten said, as I glanced at Lauryn who grew quiet. “I never thought I would become a teen mom, but here we are. She’s almost eleven and my boy is four.”
Kiersten grabbed my hand, and I squeezed hers.
“Lauryn should know too,” Kiersten said. “She’s got a daughter who is almost six.”
“Awww, that's amazing,” I grinned, seeing Lauryn look a little upset.
“Actually, you know what, I didn’t realize it was so late.” Lauryn stood up abruptly. “I have to go.”
She pulled out her wallet.
“It’s on me,” I smiled, and when she didn’t return it, something nagged at me that she wasn’t ok.
“It’s fine.” She threw two twenties on the table.
She left without saying anything else, leaving the girls and I speechless.
“Is she ok?” I asked, breaking our silence.
“That was strange, but honestly that's not the first time she’s done this,” Regan said. “She’s been stressed lately, and she probably just needs to sleep it off.”
I looked out the door she had just come out of. Kiersten and I were both still wary of what had just happened, but we spent the next hour catching up and exchanging horror stories about past clients.
When I got back to my hotel it was nine-thirty. I told myself that I wanted to talk to Sol before she went to bed, but being with the girls, it slipped my mind. I spoke to her after I got out of the class, and we chatted for a little while. A part of me wanted to feel guilty, but I couldn’t. Colt was right. I needed this.
Undressing as I watch an episode of the Golden Girls, I got comfy before I called the guys. On the second ring, Theo answered.
“Darlin.” His smooth voice brought me comfort.
“Hey, I've missed you,” I said, leaning back against my pillows.
“We’ve missed you too,” he said, as I heard Colt asking if that was me.
There was commotion before I heard Colt speak. “Hey, Cielo, how are you?”
“Seriously, Colt,” Theo grumbled.
I laughed. “I’m good and you?”
“We are great, we miss you,” Colt said. “How did today go?”
“Oh my god, it was great!” I squealed, since I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to them earlier.
I went into detail about what the class was about and how people were so excited for it. Tomorrow we would have models, and we’d get to do some big transformations. Colt and Theo asked questions and genuinely sounded interested in what I was talking about.
“Damn, Cielo,” Colt said. “It sounds like you had a badass day.”
“It was so great, and it made me realize I needed to go to more education courses. Lauryn and I talked about possibly going to a Paris show next year,” I gushed, feeling so excited.
“Paris? Wow,” Theo said.
“Yeah, and it’s during the summer so maybe we could all come. Imagine we could see the Louvre and have coffee on a pretty patio,” I said, imagining all of the fun we could have.
“You’d want us to go with you?” Theo asked hesitantly.
“Um…. yeah of course,” I said, wondering if that was wrong to think about. “Is that bad? I mean you don’t have to, I mean it is far away and…”
“I think what Theo means to say is he loves that you are planning ahead with us,” Colt said softly. “We love that you are making plans, that means a lot.”
My heart warmed. “I want to make plans with you, I think I… Wait, where is Atlas?”
In my excitement I didn’t realize he wasn’t there. I wanted all of us together to make plans.
“Oh, he was called in to Monroe,” Theo said, sounding a little sad.
“Is everything ok?” I blurted.
“Yeah, they had a doctor not show up in the ER and they called to see if he could come in.” Colt sounded better, but something was still off.
“Why do I feel like there is something more happening?” I sighed.
“It’s nothing.”
“He’s been acting weird,” they said at the same time.
“Why do you think he’s acting weird, Theo?” I asked.
“I don’t know, just something feels off,” he said, and I could picture him shrugging, looking uncomfortable.
“It could be nothing, I don’t think we need to assume anything right now,” Colt said, bringing reason into the conversation.
“When will he get back from Monroe?” I sat forward feeling uneasy, but Colt was right.
“Tomorrow; he has the overnight shift tonight,” Colt sighed.
My phone beeped and I pulled away to see that it was Atlas calling.
“Atlas is calling, I’ll tell you what happened afterwards,” I said quickly, clicking the call over. “Hey.”
“Hey, Starlight,” Atlas said, and I immediately knew something was wrong.
“Are you ok?” I had a bad feeling.
“Yeah, just wanted to hear your voice,” he sighed.
“I miss you,” I said, laying back.
“I miss you too. Now tell me how your day was?”
“Ok, but first, are you sure you’re ok?” I asked, hoping he would tell me the truth.
“Yeah, I had to come to work at the ER in Monroe and it’s been rough,” he yawned. “I’ve also been up for about twenty hours.”
“Bad day in the ER?”
“There was a big accident nearby and they didn’t have a doctor come in and they were short,” he said softly. “There is a lull in traffic, so they told me to come take a nap. Actually, that nurse that tended to you chewed my ass out to go to sleep.”
“I’m glad she said something, you need to sleep.” I laid down on my side. “You need to go to sleep, rest and we can talk later.”
“Tell me three great things about today, first,” he murmured.
“I taught a hair class, went to dinner with old coworkers, and it felt good to feel like me again,” I said thoughtfully. “You guys have been peeling back some of my layers and each time a new layer comes through I feel like I have found a little bit more of myself again and again, but today felt like the first time I was me before I had Sol.”
“I love seeing you shine brighter, Nova,” Atlas mumbled.
“I love it, too,” I whispered, feeling emotional. “Now get some sleep, Doc, your patients need you in tip-top shape.”
“Stay on the line with me?” he muttered.
“Of course,” I said, feeling more emotional. “Good night.”
I knew this was more than exhaustion and my mind screamed for me to ask him again, but I didn’t want to push…
“Goodnight, my Starlight,” he mumbled.
I kept watching my show, falling asleep too when I heard an alarm go off.
“Fuck,” Atlas groaned.
I looked at the clock and realized it had only been forty-five minutes.
“Atlas, may?—”
“I have to go love. I’ll call you later,” he yawned before hanging up.
Something was wrong so how could I fix something I didn’t know how to fix?
It was a gorgeous day in Denver and as I was walking to class, I took in the city I had missed so much. The morning air was crisp, and the hustle and bustle of the city was not what I remembered it to be. Was it always this loud, this busy and have all the people always been this rude?
Had small town life softened me up?
A piece of me always missed Denver and the life I had here and there were times I wanted to move back, but now that I was here again, it didn’t feel like the city I remembered. It felt foreign and honestly, it didn’t feel like me anymore.
I missed home.
Damn, I never thought I would ever miss Sterling Ridge, but I did. I missed my crazy clients with their perms, roller sets and hair so big it required a can of hairspray to keep it high. I missed the gossipers, the sweet people and even the pain-in-the-ass people who couldn’t keep a secret and loved to know yours.
I missed my men, and I missed my daughter.
My men. Never did I dream I would have three men, but now I couldn’t imagine life without them. I didn’t want to imagine life without them. My heart beat faster as I smiled and had the urge to go home to them. Instead of waiting till tomorrow to leave, I think I was going to have to drive back tonight if we didn’t stay too late.
“Nova?”
My stomach dropped like I was on a roller coaster. I was stunned to see Sol’s father standing outside of the building I needed to get into.
“It’s really you,” he said, looking me up and down like he also couldn’t believe I was here. “You look good, really good.”
I didn’t know what to say as my brain caught up to what my eyes were seeing. I didn’t know what was happening, but my feet kept walking past him and I didn’t know if it was self-preservation or avoidance, but I kept walking.
“Nova!” He called out to me.
Just keep walking. Don’t turn around, just keep walking.
It’s not till I felt a hand wrap round my bicep did my brain kick back into gear.
“No,” I growled, yanking my arm away.
I stepped back and that's when I noticed he was holding a little girl's hand. She couldn’t have been more than five years old and when I took a good look at her, she looked a little bit like Sol.
“Can we talk please?” he muttered.
I was so fixated on the little girl, I didn’t even see Lauryn walk up to us.
“Andrés, what are you doing here?” Lauryn snapped, looking at my ex and then at me. “I told you to stay home.”
“Hey, Babe,” he said, darting his eyes between us as the little girl ran up to Lauryn.
“Hey, little one, mommy is working ok? I have to go to work,” Lauryn said, and I finally put two and two together.
This asshole told me to get rid of the baby and he had a baby with my old coworker?
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” I snapped. “Did you bring me here to rub it in my face?”
“Nova, can we talk in private?” Andrés asked.
“Seriously?” Lauryn snarled. “She left you and you want to talk?”
“Left me?” I cackled. “Did you forget how we ended Andrés?
“You're the one who brought her here, Lauryn,” Andrés said, crossing his arms. “You purposely brought her here.”
“Well, I didn’t know she had your fucking child!” Lauryn yelled. “You forgot to mention she was pregnant when she left you.”
“How long did you wait until you pounced on Lauryn? Not long since your daughter is five,” I laughed. “What else did he tell you?”
“Nova, can we please talk, I really?—”
“No, we are way past talking, you should have talked six years ago,” I growled, turning around to leave.
“Her name is Sol and?—”
“You will keep my daughter's name out of your mouth if you know what's good for you, Lauryn,” I snapped.
“Sol?” Andrés whispered. “Her name is Sol?”
My stomach swooped again, and I hated the hope I had that he might actually want to see his daughter.
“Were you ever going to tell me?” Lauryn walked up to him.
“How old is she?” Andrés asked? “Can I see a picture of her?”
“Six years too late on that, especially after leaving me in the middle of nowhere telling me to get rid of it,” I snarled. “So, no, you can't fucking see a picture and you can shove your kindness right up your ass.”
Their little girl looked at me in shock.
“Sorry, Sweetie,” I said, before walking away from them.
“Andrés?” Lauryn clipped.
I turned around before I really lost control of my anger.
“And you.” I pointed at Lauryn. “Did you bring me here for a sick game? I knew you always liked him, and you always flirted with him. So, what? Was this to shove it in my face that he was yours?” I laughed as her scowl deepened. “Well, he’s all yours, Sweetie. Soak up my sloppy leftovers.”
“He loves me more than he ever loved you, Nova,” she laughed. “He didn’t even tell me to get rid of her and we were together six months before you left?—”
“Ya callate, Lauryn,” Andrés snapped, telling her to shut up.
This news shouldn’t have affected me, but now it all made sense as to why he reacted the way he had. Did he tell me to get rid of it so he could be with her and their baby? I didn’t need to stick around for this; they were made for each other, and I wanted no part in whatever they had going on. I had stayed away for a reason.
“Nova, wait!” Andrés yelled after me as I took one glance back to see Lauryn yelling for Andrés.
She looked heartbroken as he followed me and while I felt a little guilty, what goes around comes around. Karma was a bitch, and this is why you didn’t fuck with her. I sped walked out of the building needing to go home and be with Sol, grateful she hadn’t grown up with that man.
“Nova,” Andrés yelled out again.
“Leave me alone,” I yelled over my shoulder, as I left the building.
“Nova, please, just let me talk, and if you don’t like what I have to say?—”
“I won’t. I don’t give a shit if you tell me you’re sorry or you regret it, it won’t make a difference,” I shouted. “You left me in my most vulnerable moment and I will hate you for the rest of my fucking life.”
His eyes grew wide like he was seeing me for the first time. I wasn’t the same starry-eyed girl who loved him so much that she would do anything for him.
“So, why don't you shove whatever you were about to say far up your ass and forget about ever seeing me,” I snarled. “I do not want you, Andrés, and I would rather risk my life sitting next to a bear than ever be with you again. Goodbye, and I hope to never, ever see you again.”
I didn’t wait for him to tell me anything; I turned around and walked away. It was time to get out of this city and go back home to Sol and my men.