WITSEC

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Last night, after dinner at the guys’, I went home and watched the Food Network all night. Colt and Creed had offered to spend the night. I’d turned them down. They had been up all night when I’d been in the hospital and had gotten broken sleep because of me yesterday. They deserved a good night’s rest.

Despite missing school the previous day, Friday at school was thankfully uneventful. Sure, I got dirty looks from Cassy and her posse, but since I wasn’t cornered in the locker room or tossed in the school’s pool, I was going to call it a good day.

As soon as the final bell rang, Isabelle, Ethan’s girlfriend, and I met in the parking lot. We were going to have a girls’ afternoon to prepare for Ethan’s party tonight.

“How are you doing?” Isabelle asked as we climbed into my 4Runner. “Ethan told me what happened with that guy who attacked you.”

“I—I’m alright,” I said as I turned on the car.

“You don’t sound so sure,” she said, peeking at me before looking out her window. “I’d be a mess.”

“I think I’m still processing it,” I said and pulled out of the school’s parking lot. “I was terrified at the time. I was angry afterward. Now, I don’t know how to feel.” The truth was that I was disturbingly unfazed.

She tucked her long, dirty-blonde hair behind her ear. “That’s understandable. If you begin to feel overwhelmed while we’re out, don’t hesitate to tell me and we’ll go home, okay?”

Finally, I thought. I’d found a girl who could be a good friend. Logan would be happy. “Thank you for that. I’m really happy to be out, though. I love hanging out with the guys, but I’ve desperately needed some girl time.”

She smiled. “Same. I swear I’ve been spending all my time with Ethan.”

“What about your other girlfriends? They haven’t wanted to hang out?” I asked. I had seen Isabelle hanging around two other girls at school. I thought their names were Gina and Paige. Both were quiet and kept to themselves.

Isabelle didn’t answer right away, and I caught her sad expression before she turned her head to look out the side window. “They don’t like Ethan. They think he’s a player and don’t understand why I would want to date him. It doesn’t help that he’s popular, either.”

“What do you mean?’ I asked.

“Gina and Paige hate the popular crowd at our school. I mean, you know how bad Cassy and her friends are.”

I nodded. Yes, I did.

“I’m not proud to say that I used to judge Ethan and his friends because they hang in the same social circles. That’s why when Ethan first tried talking to me, I shot him down right away. I disliked him without truly knowing him. Seeing him trying to cover up his hurt puppy-dog look made me feel disappointed in myself. I guess you could say it was an eye-opening moment. So when he tried talking to me again, I listened.”

“I’m glad you did, because I can confidently say that Ethan is crazy about you.”

The joy that filled her eyes was genuine. “This place we’re going to does hair, too. What are your thoughts on adding that to the agenda? I think I want to take the plunge and dye my hair.”

She had told me she had been thinking about dyeing it pink. I glanced at my dark roots in the rearview mirror. “Sure.”

“Yes!” she exclaimed and pointed at the shopping center I needed to pull into. “Now I’m more excited than nervous.”

“You’re nervous?” I asked as I pulled in and parked in front of Mystic Beauty Salon.

“I’m a little nervous about the party,” she replied. “I’ve never been to one unless you count birthday parties.”

“Same.” Was I nervous? Not really. I was kind of looking forward to it. Shayla had been to more parties than I could count. She’d even risked the wrath of our parents every time.

We walked into the Mystic Beauty and upbeat music greeted us. The salon was decorated in bright white and gold.

“How can I help you?” a lady wearing a black apron over all black clothes asked from behind a tall, white marble counter.

“We’re here to see my cousin Maranda,” Isabelle said.

Not a moment later, a slightly older version of Isabelle came out of a door behind the desk. She and Isabelle had the same dirty-blonde hair and blue eyes.

“Hey, Izzy,” the older version of Isabelle greeted her. She was also wearing a black apron over black clothes. Her hair was styled flawlessly, and her red nails had geometric designs on them.

“We’re here,” Isabelle said and gestured to me. “This is my new friend Shiloh. We’re going to get our hair done, too, if that’s alright?”

“Nice to meet you, Shiloh,” Maranda said with a smile. “Adding hair to the schedule is no problem. I’m training a new girl, so I have extra help today.” She tilted her head to the back. “Let’s go get started.”

Isabelle and I followed her further into the salon and Maranda had us sit in two twirling leather chairs in front of brightly lit vanities. Not a second later, another black-apron-wearing girl with a pixie cut showed up and stood next to Maranda.

“This is Lexi,” Maranda introduced her and then explained to Lexi what we were here for.

Lexi smiled at us and moved to stand behind Isabelle’s chair.

Maranda moved behind mine and ran her fingers through my long lilac hair. “Izzy said we were doing color today?”

Before I could answer, Isabelle said, “Are you going to touch up your roots or do you want to do something totally different?”

I pulled on a strand of my hair. Was it time for a change? Shayla never stayed with the same hair color very long. “I think I might want to do something different. What color do you suggest?”

Isabelle grinned as she looked over my hair.

“What about cherry red?” Maranda suggested as she continued to play with my hair. “You have the perfect complexion for it.”

“Ooh, I like that,” Isabelle said, nodding.

I tried to imagine what I’d look like and shrugged. “Alright. Red it is.”

I couldn’t stop looking at my hair in the mirror as I applied my makeup. It was so different, and I loved it.

My afternoon with Isabelle had been uplifting. We’d both talked and laughed a lot as we’d gotten to know each other. Because we both had long and thick hair, we hadn’t been able to stop giggling at all the foils that we’d had on our heads as we’d gotten our nails worked on. I’d chosen a matte black for my nails because my new hair had been giving me a dark, edgy vibe. I’d wanted to be brave and embrace it. Isabelle had had her nails painted neon green with black stars, which surprisingly matched her hair. Lexi had made the suggestion that Isabelle go with neon green on the top and black on the very bottom layer instead of dyeing it all pink. Isabelle had been all for it and I’d liked the idea of green and black a lot more than pink.

After our hair and nails had been done, we’d had just enough time to run across the street to the mall to find something to wear for tonight. Isabelle had found an outfit right away. I, on the other hand, had struggled for a little bit. I’d kept eyeing this black dress, but I’d kept talking myself out of even touching it. The style was so different from what I normally wore. Then Isabelle had caught me looking at it.

She had grabbed the dress off the rack and put it in my hand. “Go try it on,” she had said with a gentle nudge toward the dressing room. I’d put it on, and the moment I’d stepped out of the dressing room, her mouth had fallen open. “Oh wow! You look like Jessica Rabbit and a vampire had a baby.”

“Is that a good thing?” I’d asked, laughing.

She had nodded. “You look sexy.”

“Sexy,” I had repeated as I’d smoothed my hands down the front of the skintight, black fabric.

Isabelle had frowned. “Have you ever tried to look sexy before?”

I’d shaken my head.

Sure, I bought superhero lingerie. I had never bought it with the intention of feeling sexy—which I was sure a lot of women did, and that was fantastic. For one, I loved superheroes and to have something that symbolized that brought me a little bit of joy. And two, it had been my first step to living more bravely. Yes, my eccentric lingerie was hidden under my clothes, but I had to start somewhere.

“I’ve never tried to be sexy. To be honest, I wouldn’t know where to begin,” I had admitted to her.

Isabelle had stepped closer and turned me toward the mirror in the dressing room. “How does this dress make you feel? Because that’s what really matters. Not what you’re trying to be, but how you feel in it.”

Like I’ve missed out on so much. “Confident.” The corner of my mouth had tugged up. “Sexy.”

Isabelle had smiled, too. “I think you found what you’re wearing tonight.”

After finishing the last touches to my makeup, I went to stand before my full-length mirror in my closet. I looked over my new black dress, which was long-sleeved. The neckline went all the way to my throat, but its length cut off mid-thigh. Because the fabric was form-fitting, I couldn’t wear anything underneath. I had never gone without underwear before. My mother would have killed me and my sister would have high-fived me if they had still been here.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I took in my new hair, then my makeup. I went with dark colors that made my gray eyes pop and chose a red lipstick. I really was going all in with this new look. At least for tonight. My gaze roamed down to my black pumps, which had thick ankle straps that covered my scars perfectly. Everything about my appearance made me nervous, yet I found it exciting at the same time.

I grabbed my anklet tracker and put it around my wrist. I had to punch a new hole in the band so it wouldn’t fall off. I tucked it under my sleeve and was pleased it didn’t look too bulky. The tracker had the same shape as a Fitbit. If I was lucky, people would think that was what it was if it happened to slip out from under my sleeve.

Colt and Creed had said they would come and get me when it was time to go. I looked at the time. I was ready with ten minutes to spare. Instead of fidgeting at home, I figured I could hang out with Knox and Keelan as I waited.

I knocked on their front door before letting myself in. “It’s me!” I said loudly as I shut the door behind me.

Knox walked out of the kitchen, followed by Keelan. The moment they saw me, they froze.

“Damn,” Keelan drawled as his eyes raked over all of me.

Knox folded his arms across his chest. “You changed your hair.” His tone sounded like he was irritated.

“I did.” I pulled on a red, curled strand. “Do you like it?”

Knox didn’t respond. Instead, he continued to stare at me, his hard gaze making a slow descent from my head to my pumps.

“Red is his favorite color,” Keelan said with a mischievous grin and put his hand on Knox’s shoulder. “That’s why his Camaro’s red.”

Knox shrugged off his brother’s hand and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Keelan’s grin didn’t waver as he watched his brother walk away.

“I guess he doesn’t like it,” I mumbled. Why did I feel so disappointed by that? I didn’t dye my hair for him. I did it for me.

“Quite the opposite, baby girl.” Keelan made his way over to me. “I bet he’s in there trying to think of reasons not to.”

I frowned. “What?”

He shrugged. “Boys can be stupid sometimes.”

Yeah, that still didn’t make any sense. “Boys? Knox is twenty-five.”

“Fine. Men can be stupid sometimes.” He took the strand of hair I was pulling on and curled it around his finger. “Especially when it comes to someone so beautiful and sweet.”

“You think I look beautiful?”

Tugging on my hair gently, he said, “I think you look fucking stunning.” He put his other hand on my hip and slid it to my lower back. “And I always think you look beautiful.”

It was shameful how I reacted. My pulse started racing and I had to fight the urge to arch against him, desperately wanting him to touch more of me.

His gaze dropped to my mouth. “I’m almost tempted to use ‘it’s my birthday’ as a way to guilt you into spending the evening with me instead of going to Ethan’s lame party.”

The evening, I repeated in my head. I cleared my throat. “Your birthday is tomorrow.” I was proud of how calm and unaffected my voice came out.

He pouted. “I’m only going to turn twenty-three once. I need to make the most of it.”

I smiled. “Any age you turn will be the only time.”

A throat cleared behind Keelan and guilt hit me like an arrow to the gut. Keelan’s shoulders slumped and he turned a little, revealing Colt and Creed standing behind him, glaring. They both looked gorgeous. Colt was wearing a dark blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled almost to his elbows and dark jeans. Creed was also wearing dark blue jeans, but with a skintight black T-shirt.

Creed reached for me. “Quit hogging our girlfriend,” he grumbled as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward him.

Keelan let me go and stared at Creed with his brows raised. “If anyone is hogging her attention, that would be the two of you.”

Creed’s arm wrapped around my waist and held me against him. “You’ll be getting plenty of Shi’s attention tomorrow. Tonight, she’s ours.”

I was still held up on the girlfriend comment, but said, “I kind of feel like a toy you all are bickering over.”

“We’re not bickering. We have an agreement,” Creed said.

“An agreement?” I repeated.

Colt grabbed my hand. “That’s a discussion we can save for later. Let’s get going.” Pulling me out of Creed’s arms, he steered me toward the door.

“Don’t wait up,” Creed said over his shoulder as he followed us out of the house.

Colt led me to the passenger side of Creed’s black truck and then spun around. His eyes bounced all over me. “You look…” He rubbed the back of his neck, unable to take his eyes off me. “Different.”

Just different?

I felt Creed come up behind before his hands smoothed over my hips. “I think what he’s trying to say is, you look smokin’ hot.”

Colt nodded.

Creed’s hands squeezed my hips a little. “You’re really bringing out the caveman in me. I might have to kick someone’s ass if they look at you for too long.”

Creed’s words seemed to break Colt’s trance and he stared past me to look at his brother. “Maybe we shouldn’t go.”

“That thought had crossed my mind. I’d hate to ruin Ethan’s party with a fight,” Creed said.

Colt nodded again and folded his arms over his chest. “Fuck Ethan.”

“I agree, fuck Ethan,” Creed repeated.

“Cheese and rice, not this again,” I snapped, moving toward the truck. I went to open the door to the backseat when I heard the sound of the lock clicking into place. I spun around, glaring. They both held confident smirks, as if they were tickled they’d outsmarted me. I put my hands on my hips. “You have two options, boys. Either you come with me to the party or you stay home and I’ll go to the party all by myself.”

Their smirks dropped. “Normally Knox is on the receiving end of that look,” Creed grumbled.

“It’s funnier when it happens to him,” Colt said.

Creed looked at his twin. “Think it’s the red hair?”

Colt shrugged. “Redheads have been known to have fiery attitudes.”

I’d show them fiery. “I guess I’m going to the party alone.” I started walking away. “I wonder what drinking game Ethan wants me to play. I hope I don’t get too drunk. Things like inhibitions tend to go out the window when that happens.”

Creed caught me by my waist and put his lips to my ear. “That was manipulative.”

“Yet highly effective,” Colt grumbled and waved flippantly toward the truck. “Unlock it, Creed.”

I bit my lip to hold back a smile as we climbed into Creed’s truck and headed to Ethan’s.