Page 29 of Into the Light

“Let’s go?” Santiago asked before pressing the elevator button. I hugged Marissa, and she told me not to forget to show the hairdresser the note.

The salon was next to the Tipsy Tavern in Isles. There was a small nail salon attached to it, and quite a few people were already inside. It was a large street in the middle of town with the same cobblestone alleys the quad had. There were small buildings with students coming in and out. Truthfully, since this was the main street, there was a lingering smell of vomit from the night before, but the salon looked modern and inviting enough to pique my curiosity.

“Are you okay to go in?” Santiago asked. This would be the first real outing, aside from class and the occasional grocery store run. Apart from the one time at the Den, I tried to keep it as low key as possible.

“Yes,” I responded before walking toward the salon and Santiago sat on a bench across the street in direct view.

“Hey. What’s your name?” the icy receptionist asked. She had her arms crossed over her chest and barely looked up from playing a card game on her phone.

“Oh, um, hi. My name is Ember Solis. I am here to see Tana.” The girl pointed to a set of chairs in the waiting area. There were large, oversized pillows on them that I presumed were there to make them feel more luxurious. I was standing in the front waiting room, and it was as inviting and modern as the outside felt. Beyond the receptionist desk was a drawn cream curtain where she’d just disappeared behind. Chatter came from back there, and I assumed that’s where the heart of the salon was. She came back quickly and took her place behind the desk.

“You’re the girl whose boyfriend died?” she asked, and I gulped the pain down.

“Yeah,” I muttered, hoping she didn’t hear. Shifting my gaze out the window, Santiago looked up at the same time. I shook my head because I didn’t want him to come in, I was only making sure he was in eyesight. There was a comfort in having him so close by.

“Come back. She’s ready for you.” I stood up, following her behind the curtain where a few stylist chairs were set up with a small shampoo bowl in the back.

She pointed to a chair as far away from the window as possible, which made me slightly anxious, but I swallowed, reminding myself this was all about an experience I never got to have. This was all about the new me and feeling good about myself.

“What’re we doing today, boyfriend killer?” I paused, making sure I understood what she said. My mouth hung agape as I processed the words.

“I-I’m sorry?” I must have misheard her. There was a smirk on her face when she looked back down at me.

“I said, what’re we doing today, honey?” I swear that’s not what she said, but being the innate people-pleaser that I am, I convinced myself she didn’t say what I actually heard.

I shook it off and then reached into my pocket and pulled out what Marissa had written.

“I’ve never gotten my hair done before, so my friend suggested this.” I gave her the piece of paper, then she looked down at my hair while smacking the gum she was chewing on.

“No.”

“No?” I cocked my head to the side so I could look her in the face and not through the mirror.

“This will look terrible,” she admitted.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, this is too neutral for your hair and your face shape. We are going to put large chunky lights in the front.”

“Is it going to be very natural looking?” I swear I saw a glint in her eye before she responded.

“Of course, honey,” she said coolly, and I sat back, trusting she was a professional and knew what she was doing. At any rate, Marissa and I were using Pinterest to find similar looks, we didn’t really know what we were asking for, so I trusted the professional.

Tana excused herself to go get the color, and I sat in the chair, awkwardly looking around when the salon had gone quiet. When I arrived, there was a hum of chatter heard throughout the building, but the noises had dropped to a dull whisper.

Huh. That is weird. I’m not sure getting my haircut is something I will do often in the future.

My eyes darted toward the window, but I couldn’t make out Santiago, so I sent him a quick text to let him know everything was okay in here. The last thing I needed was my big bad bodyguard bounding through the salon making a scene.

When Tana arrived back at the station, she started to put the color in my hair and wrap it in foils. I relaxed slightly because from what I’d seen on social media and YouTube, she seemed like she knew she was doing. Plus, this wasn’t in someone’s garage, this was in an actual salon. I kept trusting she was the professional and knew what would look best on me.

“So, what’s it like with your brother on campus?” she asked, and again, I did a double take at her.How does she even know my brother?

“Walsh Solis?” I asked, double-checking she didn’t have me confused with someone else.

“Yeah.” She looked down at me while she added another foil to my hair. “Come on, Ember. Everyone knows who you are and what you did to your boyfriend last year.”

My jaw dropped.I am so fucking naïve.I knew people would laugh at me in public but never while working intimately with me.

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