Page 130 of Hide and Keep

Except when I enter the salon, she’s nowhere to be seen.

“Where is—”

“Oh, she’s in the bathroom,” Chloe explains, filling a rolling suitcase with all the stuff she brought even though she didn’treally need anything. This salon is stocked. But her tools are her tools.

Speaking of…

Approaching her, I ask quietly, “Is there a way to practice on hair when you don’t have any?”

She arches an eyebrow. “About how long?”

I gesture to where Ever’s stops.

“Is that what you were doing the whole time?”

I nod and shrug.

“But why can’t you just—”

My head’s already shaking. “I don’t… Because she’s… We don’t really…”

“Get along.” This is said with zero doubt and earns another noncommittal gesture. It is what it is and it is evident. Ever and I don’t like each other. For the most part. We’ve had our moments over the last couple days but they were just that—moments.

“I need to learn how to do her hair just…without…her.”

Chloe chuckles. “You need a mannequin. I have one you could probably use.”

I shoot a glance at the closed bathroom door. “Uh…”

“Not here. I’ll have to cut some length off first, but I can drop it off while you guys are gone.”

“All right, yeah. I’d appreciate that. Just tell me how much you want for it and—”

“It’s nothing fancy. Trust me. It’s just the one I used in beauty school. I don’t even know why I still have it.”

“But it’ll work?”

“It’ll work.”

She gives me some recommendations for online tutorials to check out, then asks, “Do you need some help with your bowtie?”

Without waiting for an answer, the hairdresser comes at me, but I’m quick to step out of reach, saying, “No, that’s okay.”

The last thing I need is for Ever to come out and see another woman in my face.

“I was going to wait—”

The bathroom door opens.

“For…”

Ever comes out, causing me to forget what I was talking about.

“Um…”

“Uh-huh. I see.” Chloe chuckles again, and my eyes briefly flick to her, registering her amused expression before returning to Ever.

See? What does she see?

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