Page 30 of Phantom Mine

A dull ache spreads through my chest and I wonder if the crazy bitch didn’t crack a rib. It certainly feels like she has.

Enzo reholsters his weapon and crouches next to me, careful not to touch me. “I know.”

“How?”

“You don’t strike me as the type to steal eyeshadow for the fun of it.”

Despite the heaviness in my heart, I manage to aim a faint smile his way. That’s when I notice what he’s holding in his hand. A pair of scissors glinting under the light.

His fist tightens around them when he sees me staring. His jaw shifts tautly back and forth.

“She was going to cut your hair,” he informs me.

I stare unseeingly at them as my mind takes me back four years into the past.

“Sit,” Adriana orders, pointing at a chair she’s positioned in front of my bathroom mirror.

I groan loudly. “I thought we were going to the movies. Do we really have to do this now?”

“Yes,” she answers firmly. “I was sitting behind you in English yesterday and nearly gasped out loud when I saw your split ends.”

My hand comes up defensively to the back of my head. “Alright, no need to be dramatic.”

“I’ve seen forks in the road with less splitting than what’s going on back there.”

I park a hand on my hip. “Now you’re just being rude.”

Adri snaps a pair of scissors open and closed between us. “How much ruder do I need to be to get you to sit?”

“I’ll sit,” I grumble, doing just that.

“Smart choice,” she says, turning my shoulders towards the mirror and grabbing my hair. “I don’t know why you’re fighting me. You love it when I cut your hair.”

“I just really wanted to seeAmor en Vuelo. You know I’m crushing on the main actor.”

“Exactly. I heard he’s going to be at tonight’s premiere so I got us tickets.”

I shriek. “He is?!”

“Why do you think I’m trying to get your hair sorted?”

I clap my hands happily. “You’re the best.”

Adri laughs when I straighten from my slouching position, sitting dutifully as she starts trimming my ends.

“I know.” She sighs as she runs her fingers through the silky strands. “Split ends aside, you have the most beautiful hair in the world. I’m so jealous, I wish mine would behave without needing to be fried using heat at levels that rival the temperature of the Earth’s crust.”

“Your curls are adorable! You look like Mama.”

Adri’s eyes soften as they meet mine in the mirror. I offer my palm over my shoulder to her and she takes it, squeezing my hand tightly.

Thirty minutes later, my hair is bouncy and healthy looking, and I feel like a brand new woman. Adri leans over my shoulder and meets my eyes through the mirror.

“Promise me you won’t ever let anyone else cut your hair, Leni. They’d just butcher it.”

I smile. “I promise.”

“Melody?” Enzo questions, ripping me from the comfort of my memories.

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