Page 28 of Veil of Lies

“No,” I admitted. “I won’t ever fight you over a girl. Either she fits in or she’s out. If we all want her, then we share her.”

Quinn settled back in the cushions. “Agreed,” he said with a smirk. “I know Harley’s on board the sharing train, so all we gotta do now is persuade Stella to get with the program.” He grinned at me. “And that might be easier said than done…”

Yeah, we were fucked.

Chapter 24

Stella

My sorry-looking reflection stared back at me from the mirror in the girls’ bathroom adjacent to the cafeteria. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Months of using hair dye had stripped all the moisture from my blond hair and it looked dreadful. The green color had faded somewhat but my roots were showing. I really needed to sort it out and I was truly sick of being a brunette. It didn’t suit me. The color made me look washed out most days, and the green tint I’d ended up with gave my skin an unhealthy glow down.

Not that I’d felt pretty before. I knew I wasn’t ugly, but I’d never felt attractive when in a room full of my peers, who were always perfectly put together, whatever the occasion. I just had no interest in fashion or beauty. Spending my evenings watching TikTok makeup tutorials on how to contour and apply lash extensions sounded like hell to me. Why waste my time? It wasn’t as if I socialized or went on dates.

“Hey, girl. My offer for a do-over still stands.”

I looked up to see Tessa smiling at me in the mirror. Her black-brown eyes sparkled with amusement as she surveyed my roots and limp hair. Honestly, I was on the verge of taking her up on that offer. I wasn’t sure I could stand much more of my own reflection.

Tessa was the only person who was unfailingly nice to me without an agenda. She always said hello and made time to chat, even though I was monosyllabic most of the time. It was hard not to like her. Unlike Cassie and Rowena, she didn’t seem to be a social-climbing bitch. Like me, she preferred casual wear and also like me, she didn’t party every weekend.

“I may have to take you up on that,” I admitted. “Before I start losing clumps of hair.”

Tessa smirked. “It’s not that bad, babe, but you could definitely stand a new color and possibly some styling.”

“How much would it cost?” It pained me to admit I was broke, but I couldn’t very well accept Tessa’s offer if her sister worked in a fancy salon and charged a fortune.

“Nothing. My sister is still training, so she loves having guinea pigs to experiment on. If we’re really lucky, she’ll feed us too.”

I could hardly say no really. “OK, if you’re sure she won’t mind?”

“Nah, she’ll be thrilled! I’ll call her later and see when she’s free.”

???

“What do you think?” Tessa’s sister, Marie, watched me anxiously. She’d just spent the last two hours cutting and coloring my hair, refusing to let me see what she was doing. The only mirror had been removed the minute she started her makeover, much to Tessa’s amusement and my frustration.

Marie’s six-year-old, Savannah, peeked out from behind her mother’s legs and grinned at me. “She looks like Princess Merida, Mama,” she giggled.

“Just what she wanted, the Disney Princess look,” snorted Tessa.

Savanna stuck her tongue out and Tessa pulled a face at her.

“Savannah! What did I say about being disrespectful to your elders?” Tess mock-glared at her niece, but the little girl just burst into more giggles. It was obvious who was the boss in this house.

I was too busy trying to get to grips with the new me to pay much attention to the family dynamics. The girl staring back at me from the mirror looked like a different person. Grungy Stella was long gone, replaced by Sexy Siren Stella.

“You’re killing me here,” muttered Marie. “If you hate it, I can strip all the color out and get you back to blond again. As for the cut, well, that will grow out.”

Tears pricked my eyes. “I love it,” I admitted. “It’s amazing. Thank you, so much!” I tried not to think how much more recognizable this made me. My only hope was that being a vibrant redhead with green glasses was so far removed from my pale blond waif look, nobody would make the connection.

Marie smiled with relief. “Oh, thank god, I’m so pleased you like it! You do look amazing. The red picks up the warm tones in your skin and you’re practically glowing.”

“Yeah, she’s right, the red color really suits you. Much better than the green.” Tessa sniggered and I glared at her.

“That wasn’t intentional,” I reminded her.

“Are you girls staying for supper?” Marie asked as she tidied all her hair-styling stuff away.

I glanced at my phone and grimaced. It was much later than I realized and we had a two-hour drive to get back to campus. “It’s getting kinda late?”

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