Page 85 of Midnight Wedding

“Sure, I love those. Brought a few with me in case you didn’t have your own.”

I laugh awkwardly. “I honestly didn’t have time to find anything.”

“No worries at all.” Allie beams at me brightly. “I got you.” She unrolls a soft case and starts showing me the different options.

I like her enthusiasm. She’s got this punky vibe going on with lots of tats on her pale skin. I don’t know where Maud found her, but she’s perfect for this. Easy to get along with and clearly a professional.

“Do you make a lot of house calls?” I ask as she gets her tools prepped.

“All the time. Tattoos, piercings, all that good stuff.”

“How’d you end up doing this?”

She grins and holds out her arms. “I guess it’s a calling.” She’s covered in ink. Lots of brightly colored pictures fill in every inch of her skin. “The home stuff sort of came naturally. I was working at this shop and I had clients asking all the time if I made house calls, and I just… started doing it. Guess I got a reputation now.”

“That’s really cool. You like it?”

“Love it, really. The piercing’s fun. I get to help people put together a new look. And maybe I’m a sicko and like hurting people a little bit too.”

“Been a while since I got anything done.” I tap at my little nose piercing. “I was thirteen when I got this.”

“Seriously? That’s young.”

“Call it my rebellious stage.”

“Good for you, girl. It’s really cute. You have such a good face for this.” She gently wipes my eyebrow with antiseptic and uses a special marker to make dots. “How’s this look?” She holds up a mirror for my confirmation.

I touch my face gently, careful not to get close to where she’ll do the actual piercing. “That’s perfect.”

“You sure? I can move it now, but once it’s in—” She makes a helpless gesture.

“No, this is exactly where I wanted it.”

“Great. Okay.” She lifts up a clamp and a needle. “Both sterile. You ready?”

“Not really.”

“Take a few deep breaths. Want me to play some music? I got death metal, lo-fi beats?—”

“Do people really want you to play metal while you’re piercing them?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s awesome. Really distracts you from what’s going down.”

“Play it then.”

“Very good choice.” She happily turns on a Bluetooth speaker and connects her phone. The opening chords of a distorted guitar song blare out followed by what sounds like a man screaming as he murders someone.

The music is bad. But in a good way? Allie turns it up loud and bangs her head, grinning like a maniac, and her energy is infectious. Death metal isn’t really my taste but the fast guitars and the loud drums are a really good distraction.

“Ready?” she asks over the music.

“Let’s do it.”

She clamps a section of my eyebrow right where she marked it and uses the needle to make the piercings. Her touch is fast and skilled, and it still hurts like hell. My eyes water and I grimace, but it’s done in seconds. She slips the barbell into place and holds up a mirror.

“That’s that,” she says, turning down the music. “Easy, right?”

“Sure, easy, totally.” I wipe the tears from my eyes and stare at myself.

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