“Cool. Let me find my keys and we’ll get going.”
She started rummaging through the huge designer bag she called a purse, muttering under her breath as she did so. I spotted something shiny on the floor and, picking it up, dangled them in front of her face. “Looking for these?”
She made a face and grabbed them from me. “Aren’t you the miss smarty-pants. You must be feeling better.”
I didn’t even have to think about it. “Yeah,” I replied. “I am.”
***
Mom and Dad were waiting in the living room when I got home. I knew it was bad because Dad had a glass of bourbon in his hand and Mom was actually drinking a martini. Mom rarely drank, and when she did, it was usually nothing stronger than a glass of wine. And by the looks of it, this martini wasn’t her first. There were several toothpicks lying on the end table near another glass, this one empty, where the remnants of several olives could be seen. My parents sitting on the couch facing the living room entrance when I walked in. Mom had her legs crossed. Dad was frowning.
“Hi, guys.” I purposely used a nonchalant voice, hoping it would buffer the storm I knew was coming.
“Hi, guys? Hi, guys? That’s all you have to start with?” Her voice was two octaves higher than normal.
Oh, crap. She’s already gone off the deep end.
“Mom, I told you everything was fine. That I’m fine.”
“That was over an hour ago! I expected you home immediately. But you’re fine, so I guess I have nothing to worry about.”
I sighed. When she started a discussion like this, it was all downhill from here. I’d been down this road many times and it never, ever ended well. I’d be getting the silent treatment for at least a week when she was done screaming at me.
Dad finally spoke, but once he did, I wished he’d simply keep drinking. “Young lady, your mother and I were scared to death. Your car just shows up here, beaten to hell, looking like it fell off a cliff, with no daughter inside or in the tow truck. What do you think went through our minds?” Without waiting for me to answer, he marched along. “I’ll tell you what we thought! We thought you were dead or dying somewhere and we had no idea where you were, what you were doing, or who you were with... nothing,” he thundered. I flinched but he wasn’t finished. “And now that we see you are, indeed, fine,” sarcasm dripping from his lips, “there are going to be some new rules around here. Starting with a strict grounding for one month, minimum, and an introduction to every single friend and foe, alike, in your life.”
When he was done, an oppressive silence took his place, laying like a heavy blanket over my lungs. I struggled to get air in, my mind reeling at what he’d said. Grounded? I’d never been grounded before!
“Dad—”
“Not a word. We’ll talk about this more tomorrow. I have to get to work and your mother has a busy night ahead with the twins. Now that we know you’re safe, we’ll discuss the details later.”
There was a finality to his voice that I knew better than to argue with. Mom looked like she was going to add something but took a deep swig of her drink instead. I glared at both of them before I turned and headed for the hallway. I stopped short when I saw the cat sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, twitching his tail and looking at me like he knew exactly how much trouble I was in and delighting in it. I stomped my foot at him, hoping he’d take the hint and get lost. The damn thing leaped in the air, his back arched, fur standing straight up and then landed lightly on his feet. I hissed at him and he hissed back, dancing sideways in a taunting motion that pushed me over the edge. Screaming like a banshee, I ran straight at him. But instead of retreating like I expected, he leaped straight at my face, sinking his claws deep into my cheeks and howling as if I were cutting him to shreds. I grabbed his body and tried to wrench him off my face, but he wasn’t having it. I spun in circles, me screaming with him hissing and screeching until a louder noise cut through the racket.
“Harry!” Sophia shrieked. “What are you doing to my cat?”
Before I could answer, before I could do anything, she launched her tiny body at us, fists flying as she bawled big, huge crocodile tears.
“Let go of him! Let go of Harry!”
I was dodging her blows and still trying to dig the evil fur ball’s claws out of my cheeks, fury racing through my veins. “I’m not holding on to him, he’s latched onto me!” Pain spurred me and I tried harder to pull the wriggling body off me. More howls, more screams, until I wasn’t sure who was making what noise. I heard the splintering of wood and something glass shatter as I whirled into a side table. I instinctively knew what had broken and I could almost guarantee my grounding would be extended if I was correct. Adrenaline and anger combined into one near-demonic emotion. My fangs popped down and a deep, fierce, menacing growl escaped my throat. It was a sound I’d never made before. For a second, I faltered, surprise overtaking everything else.
It must have scared him, too. He let go of my face and crawled up onto my head, his claws tangling in my long blond mane. He thrashed and screeched as what felt like needle pricks erupted all over my head. Suddenly, my hair began floating in the air around us as he shredded and pulled it from its roots. I did the only thing I could think of. I threw myself to the ground and started rolling, dragging Sophia and the damn cat with me. We stayed like that, one huge ball of flying hair, fists, and fur until a deafening roar split the air.
“Enough!”
The three of us froze. Even Harry understood the seriousness of that tone. I looked up at Dad’s red face, his eyebrows slashing downward in angry stripes and dark vein shadows snaking over his skin. As I did, everything started to sink in. Broken glass lay scattered beneath me, a cloud of my hair still floated lazily to the ground, and Sophia sobbed softly. I reached a hand up to feel my head and almost lost my temper again. I couldn’t be sure, but it felt like the cat had torn about half my hair out. Tears threatened but I didn’t dare shed them in front of my angry father.
Now that he’d gotten our attention, he spoke in a calm, even voice that we all knew from experience was more dangerous than anything else. “Get up off the floor. Clean up this mess. And. Go. To. Your. Rooms.”
We scrambled to obey. Harry let go of my head and slunk off to sit on the bottom stair again, alternatively licking his fur and glaring at me with hate-filled eyes. The feeling was mutual. I mentally resolved to get rid of that cat if it was the last thing I did on this earth. Surely someone else in the neighborhood would take him in. I’d simply have to make it look natural, like he’d run away. Otherwise, Sophia and Joshua would spend their lives making me miserable for it.
Sophia left and came back with a broom and dustpan. I finally got a chance to look at the damage and confirmed my suspicion. Lying on the floor in a shattered heap was my great-great-grandmother’s vase, an heirloom passed down through the generations that my mom was infinitely proud of. I stared at the crushed ceramic dust and my stomach churned. I was going to catch hell for this when Mom saw it. Nothing could replace it and even if I spent my life trying to find a duplicate, it would never be the same. For the first time since the brawl started, I felt shame. It spiraled through me and I wanted to hide in the safety of my bedroom, where I could at least lock the door and escape from the reality of the past day.
I gathered my torn hair into a ball and held it close to me. Out of all my traits, my hair was one of the few things I had going for me. Now, the majority of it was in my hands, a sad reminder of the crowning glory it once was. Well, maybe not glory, but it had been pretty. And now it was gone. Another flicker of anger flamed inside me. But it was replaced with panic as I remembered the Homecoming queen election. What the hell am I going to do now?
Ignoring Sophia’s glares and whispered insults, I hurriedly swept up the vase’s remains and righted the table’s leg that had been cracked and bent out of place. It would need a more permanent repair, but I’d deal with that later. After dumping the ceramic pieces in the trash, I flew to my r
oom and locked the door behind me. I went straight to the mirror and stood there in shock, staring at the tattered mess on my head. There were huge areas where the hair was so thin at the scalp, I looked practically bald. And I don’t know how he’d managed it, but it looked like he’d sheared sections of hair completely off, leaving only about three inches. The long pieces that survived the onslaught were snarled and tangled into tons of knots. I wondered if I’d ever be able to straighten them back out. Not that it would do any good since I suspected a drastic haircut was in my near future.
The deep punctures where Harry’s claws had dug into my cheeks were almost healed, a fact I was extremely grateful for. With the election only weeks away, there wouldn’t have been enough time for the wounds to heal if I wasn’t suddenly on speed repair.
Sighing, I dug my phone out and plugged it in to charge. I flopped onto my bed and dialed Molly’s number. As I waited for her to answer, I played with what was left of my hair, anger once again building within me.
“Hey, chick, how much trouble are you in?”
“You’re not going to believe what happened. You’re just not going to believe it!”
“Was it that bad?”
“I mean, I’m grounded for a month, but that’s not what I’m talking about!”
She whistled. “A month grounding is pretty bad, Sadie. If that’s not it, what’s got you so worked up?”
Anger made my voice quiver. “Sophia brought a cat into the house that she and Joshua found on the street. A cat that absolutely hates me. I tripped over him the other day on the stairs and he hissed and created a fuss, which is whatever, ya know? But tonight, after my dad laid down the law, I was going upstairs and the damn thing is sitting there looking at me all judgey. So, I tried to intimidate him and he threw himself at me and tore out all my hair! My hair! It’s ruined!”
I heard a muffled sound on the other end of the line. “Molly Louise Churchill, are you laughing at me? In my time of crisis? I’m running for Homecoming queen and I’m practically bald!” My shrieking prompted a hiss from outside my door. I turned hot when I realized the animal was out there stalking me. Picking up the closest thing I could find—a heavy boot—I threw it at the door as hard as I could. The hissing stopped and I felt slightly vindicated.
My distraction with the cat had given her time to calm down. “Sadie, I doubt it’s as bad as you’re saying. You do tend to get a little… dramatic. Not that it’s bad! On the contrary, you’re really fun to hang out with and listen to, but surely you’re not actually bald.”
“When you see it, you’re going to be singing a different tune. I need you to get over here and fix it.”
“Me?”
“Yes! You’ve cut hair before. I can’t go into this explanation with a stranger, who’ll most likely let the cat out of the bag to Jill and Angie when they do their hair, so you’ll have to do it.” I was too miserable to realize what I’d said, but now Molly was howling with laughter.
“What the hell, Molly? This isn’t funny!”
“You just… said… cat…” She stopped, choking and coughing in between fits of laughter. Annoyed, I didn’t say anything, letting my silence get my message across. It finally registered with her that I wasn’t going to continue the conversation.
“Sorry.” She gulped in air. “I didn’t mean to lose it like that. It just hit me as funny.” I muttered something unintelligible and she took it as acceptance of her apology. “Honey, I can’t cut your hair. I’ve done trims and that’s it. If it’s as bad as you say it is, you’re going to need some professional help.” Sympathy oozed through the phone and I wanted to cry again.
“What am I going to do?”
“Call Harper. Maybe she knows someone who can do it while being discreet.”
“Yeah, I guess I can do that.”
“Call her and let me know what she says. I’ll go with you or come over if they’re willing to do it at your house. You know, for moral support.”
I let a deep sigh escape. “I need all the moral support I can get right now. Between the crash, being grounded, all the secrets going on and now my hair, I don’t know how much more I can take before I go full-out crazy.”
“Just take it one step at a time. Call Harper and see what she says. Then, we go from there.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll let you know what we’re gonna do.”
I hung up and dialed Harper’s number. I was exhausted and didn’t want to go through the whole explanation again. Luckily, she didn’t give me all the nonsense Molly did and got straight to the point. “I can’t do it, but Maddie can. Her mom used to be a hairdresser, too, and Maddie picked up a lot of skills by watching. She actually used to practice on me a lot. I trust her. She’d do a good job and you know she won’t say anything about why you’re doing it.”
Relieved, I agreed to let Harper talk to her. “She’ll have to come to my house to do it. I’m grounded from the car thing and I don’t think a haircut is going to be a good enough excuse for them to let me out of the house. They’re pretty mad.”
She clucked her teeth. “Don’t worry. Maddie will come to you.”
“I want Molly here, too. Y’all are all my team. But—”
“But you’re worried about Maddie and Molly meeting.”
“Yeah. It’s not like they won’t get along. They’re two peas in a pod. It’s just… you know, two totally different worlds. Two species.”
“Yes, but the same can be said of your friendship with her. And mine, too, now that we know a few things. It’s going to be okay. I have good vibes about it.”
I didn’t say anything. Crossing my fingers, I prayed she was right.
Chapter Fourteen
I didn’t go to school the next day. I couldn’t face everyone looking like I’d literally gotten into a cat fight. Mom didn’t argue. She took one look and waved me back to my room without saying anything. I was getting the expected silent treatment, but at least she understood the crisis I was in. And she didn’t even know the half of it. I hadn’t told either of my parents about running for Homecoming queen. It wasn’t like I was trying to hide it exactly, but I knew they’d try to talk me out of it. I wasn’t under the delusion I actually had a shot at winning, but I’d made such a fuss about running against Kitty and Angie, there was no way I could back out now.
It was early evening when the doorbell rang. I took the stairs two at a time, barely beating Nathan, my older brother, to the door. I shoved him out of the way. “It’s for me.” He grunted from the elbow I jabbed in his ribs but wandered off to the kitchen without fighting. Holding my breath, I opened the door for Molly.
“Oh, wow.” She didn’t say anything else but stood there and stared. My heart sank.
“I guess it really is that bad, huh?” I’d been holding out hope she’d see me and laugh it off as nothing huge. But if there was one thing I could always count on, it was Molly’s blunt honesty. And her reaction told me everything.
I sighed and held the door open for her. “Come on in. Maddie and Harper aren’t here yet.”
“So, Maddie’s the one who’s going to try and fix that?”
I grimaced at the referral to my hair as “that.” “Yes. Her mom used to do hair and she picked up a lot of tricks. Harper says she’s pretty good.”
“Well, she’s gonna have to be.”
Ignoring that last comment, I led the way to my room. Molly continued to stare at my head until I fidgeted from self-consciousness. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Seriously, I know it’s terrible, but you’re creeping me out. Do I have something growing up there now?”
“Would you just calm down? I’m trying to picture you with short hair.”
Feeling bad for snapping, the only reply I could come up with was “oh.” Luckily, the doorbell rang again, breaking the awkward tension. Molly waved at me to sit. “I’ll get it. Take a beat.” She left the room and I heard her run lightly down the stairs.
I couldn’t sit. Instead, I wandered aimlessly aro
und my room, picking things up and putting them back down. I could hear faint murmurs from downstairs and I guessed introductions were being made. Impatiently, I waited. When the three of them finally trooped into the room, I was a hot mess.
Molly came in first, temporarily blocking me from Harper and Maddie’s view. I heard Harper’s voice ask, “Where is she?” When Molly moved, Harper sucked in a deep breath and another crushing wave of panic threatened my composure. But Maddie stepped in, and without batting an eye, immediately started chattering.
“Well, there she is! Oh, that’s not bad at all. We can definitely work with this.” She pulled me to my feet and walked a full circle around me, talking the whole time. “Let’s see. Okay, it looks like the shortest pieces are about three inches long, so we’ll have to do a pixie cut. You’ll look so cute! Very chic. I think it’ll make you stand out from the competition, ya know? Angie and the rest all do those huge bouffant updos, that between you and me, make them look like they’re sixty-five years old. You’ll have a modern edge and it’ll look really good with your face shape.” She pulled on a few pieces of hair, twisting them this way and that. “And we could do a little color to make it pop. You’d look awesome as a redhead, with your pale features. Very delicate. What do you think?” She finally took a breath and looked at the three of us. Harper and Molly sort of had these glazed expressions, which perfectly matched what I was feeling. Pixie cut? Red?
Molly eventually found her voice. “Yes to the pixie cut. No to the red.”
Maddie frowned at her, ready to do battle for the color, but Harper stepped in.
“I agree with Molly. Red would be a little too drastic. She’s going to have a lot of changes going on at once. Maybe, instead, a few lowlights?” Her natural subtlety softened Maddie’s expression.
“Hmm, okay. Yes, I think lowlights would definitely look just as good.”
Forgetting about my hair for a minute, I fretted about Molly and Maddie’s clash. I had been hoping they’d get along as well with each other as they each did with Harper, yet it didn’t look like it. As usual, though, Harper looked at me like she could read my mind. She gave a little wink, a signal for me to relax, and it worked like a charm. My muscles loosened and calm flowed through me. For a second, I wondered if she was Persuading me, but I pushed it from my mind. I didn’t care either way. I was simply grateful for the peace.
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