Page 32 of Her Rock Star's Dark Secret

“Good morning, baby girl.”

“Can I have Cheerios?” Penny sat up and pushed back her butterfly-covered comforter before climbing down from her bed.

“Yep. Go potty first and wash your hands.”

“Ok, Mommy.”

Lauren went into the kitchen and pulled down Penny’s favorite cereal bowl. It had butterflies on it too. Penny went crazy over the cute little creatures. She filled it with cereal and milk and plopped a spoon into the bowl.

Penny padded into the room, still in her jammies, and climbed into the booster seat strapped to a kitchen chair. She pushed her hair back from her face and smiled as Lauren placed a bowl of cereal before her.

Like she did most mornings, Lauren lit a bundle of white sage and waved it around the room to help their energy adjust to a positive place for the day. She pulled her crystal necklace from the bowl where she kept her crystals and used her burning sage to cleanse the crystals with the smoke. She asked her crystal to protect her and ground her, and then she placed the smoldering bundle back in the abalone shell where it belonged.

The room filled with the pleasant aroma of her burnt sage. It was one of her favorite smells. She put on the black tourmaline necklace, clasping it behind her neck. She’d learned about crystals from her friend Onyx in high school. Her parents owned a crystal shop, and Onyx had worked there all through her teen years. Now Onyx owned the wedding dress shop where Natasha had bought her dress for her wedding last June.

Lauren had felt drawn to the crystals from the moment she’d walked into Onyx’s parents’ shop. She’d spent her entire paycheck at the crystal shop that day. She’d bought a bundle of crystals and a book on how to heal with them. She’d spent the entire summer learning about the crystals, and the more she learned, the happier she felt. They brought her so much peace and joy.

When she married Brandon, he forced her to get rid of all her crystals. He told her they were odd, and he forbade her to use them. He called her a freak and threatened to leave her if she didn’t throw them away. She threw some of them out and then hid the rest.

Lauren was so glad that marriage was over. She’d been so helpless to stand up to him. She despised herself for it. Eventually, he had left her—and Penny too—for another woman. She didn’t last long. Now he jumped from woman to woman, living a life of constant partying. He’d moved away to Atlanta because the party scene was better there, and some of his friends were moving there too. She knew this because she’d gone to the parties before he left her. She was always the designated driver. She enjoyed having fun and being social. Then she’d gotten pregnant with Penny and got sick and couldn’t go out with him anymore. Once the baby came along, the parties lost their appeal.

She used to be the life of the party, even sober. But now, responsibility had weighed heavily on her shoulders. She’d gone to hair school, and her grandmother had promised her the salon. She’d had a plan, and she became ultra-focused on it. But fun became nonexistent. Almost. She still had fun with the day-to-day moments with Penny, but it wasn’t the same as taking time for herself to pursue what she deeply desired. Like spending time with other adults and going to parties. If she looked closely, she’d admit to herself that she missed going to parties. She resented Brandon that he got to shirk all responsibilities and have fun all the time. How was that fair?

“I’m done, Mommy.” Penny pushed back from the table.

“Okay, let’s go get you dressed.”

Penny dashed off to her room, and Lauren followed her, smiling. She had no idea how Penny could have so much energy.

“I want my butterfly shirt!” Penny already had her dresser open and half the contents dumped out onto the floor. Lauren groaned inwardly. She’d had the drawer perfectly organized with all the shirts folded neatly. She didn’t know why she bothered.

“Did you find your shirt?” Lauren asked.

“It’s right here!” Penny held up the purple shirt proudly. Lauren couldn’t help but laugh to herself. Despite the mess she’d made, Lauren adored her daughter with all her heart.

She helped Penny get dressed and packed her backpack.

“Ready to go see Aunt Maggie?” Lauren asked.

“Yes!”

Lauren packed her daughter up and drove her across town to her twin’s house. She kissed her daughter goodbye and blinked back tears. It was so hard to say goodbye to her every morning. She wasn’t sure she was cut out for this life. She’d never planned on being a single mom. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. When she went to hair school, she’d planned to eventually work part-time doing hair, and spend most of her time with whatever kids she’d end up having. But because of Brandon’s cheating ways and lack of child support, she had to work overtime to make ends meet.

Maggie did a great job with Penny. Lauren knew she was lucky to have such a loyal sister, but she still didn’t want someone else watching her child for so many long hours. She wanted her little girl by her side more often. And next year, Penny would be going to kindergarten. She’d missed out on so much because of having to work. She’d seen Penny’s first steps from a video. The first time she’d eaten ice cream was at Maggie’s house. Sometimes the pain of it was unmanageable.

All she could do at this point was make her time with Penny count. And she intended to continue doing that.

Lauren climbed back into her car and drove to the salon. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was Wednesday. Today Chase and Mrs. Wheaton had their hair appointments.

Lauren was the first person to the salon that morning. She unlocked the building and went inside, where she first booted up the computer. She couldn’t believe she was still using such an outdated system. It took forever to boot up, so she always had to make sure it was up and running well before any customers showed up for the day. Rita opened the front door and came inside.

“Good morning!” Rita chimed. Lauren never knew how Rita would be dressed. Today she had on a tight, neon-red mini skirt and a leopard print tank top. Rita was a master at doing hair. She was easily the best stylist at the salon, next to Lauren. Rita came in and dropped off her purse in the break room.

The rest of the morning went by uneventfully. Just before ten, Chase came into the salon, jangling the bell as he walked in, coffee in hand. He pulled off the hat and sunglasses he wore. “I’ve been wearing these to hide from the paparazzi. I feel like I’m back in LA now that they know where the salon is.”

Lauren hadn’t seen any reporters hanging around, but she wasn’t looking for them either. She hadn’t realized how serious Chase was when he said they were going to be watching her salon.

She typed a few things into the computer. “Okay, I’m ready for you. Follow me.” She led him back to her station. He took a seat, and she draped a black cape over his shoulders. “What are we doing today?” she asked him.

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