Page 29 of Crossroads of Innocence
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Trudging into the apartment, all Jude wanted to do was close her eyes and forget everything that had happened the last couple of days. Matthew hadn’t woken up from his medically-induced coma, but no way her father would be put off much longer. And she couldn’t handle another encounter with him—or her mom and Laura.
So like the coward she was, she’d left the hospital.
Macey pranced at Wade’s feet, and he grabbed a leash and snapped it on her collar. “She needs to go to the bathroom. I’ll be quick.”
Jude forced a small smile and nodded.
He hurried outside at the same moment Mia came to the door with her arms full of shopping bags. They exchanged a brief greeting before Mia bustled inside.
“Hey,” Mia said. “I talked to Chet. I’m so sorry about your brother. I’ll just drop this stuff off then get out of your hair.”
“Mia! What did you do?” Jude asked, rushing to help her friend unload her burdens. “I only needed a few things.”
Mia shrugged and struggled to make it to the table before spilling her haul on the floor. “I got everything on the list and a few other things I thought you might like. I also stopped by my restaurant and grabbed some food. With everything going on, I figured neither you nor Wade would want to cook. I wasn’t sure what you like to eat, so I brought enough house favorites to feed five.”
Gratitude chased away some of the gloominess that had followed her home from the hospital. For the past twelve years, she’d been on her own. Depended on herself and no one else. Having someone—a brand new friend at that—step up and take care of her was something she’d yearned for.
“Thank you,” she said, choking out the words.
Mia flashed a smile and started unpacking the bags. “No problem. I picked up some groceries too. You’re all set for at least a week.”
Jude got started putting away the groceries. A plastic sack from the drugstore caught her attention and she pulled out a box of hair dye. “What’s this?”
Mia grinned. “You mentioned earlier how much you hate the pink hair. And honestly, it doesn’t make much sense to keep it that shade since the guy after you knows so much about you. And if he’s caught a glimpse of you at all since you’ve been in town, he knows it’s pink. Not to mention you don’t plan on leaving this place anyway. I thought you might want to go back to your natural color.”
Hugging the box to her chest, Jude let out a long sigh. “I know it sounds crazy, but I feel like this might bring back a tiny piece of normalcy to my life.”
“That doesn’t sound crazy at all,” Mia said, unloading white Styrofoam boxes that smelled like heaven and placing them on the counter. “Besides, I’ve always heard blonds have more fun.”
Jude snorted. “I’m not sure about that.”
With the food all packed away, except the meal Mia had brought which stayed on the counter, Mia scooped up the last two bags and dangled them from her forearm. “How about I take these new clothes with me? I’ll put them through the wash really quick.”
“Are you sure? You’ve already done too much.”
“Positive. Do you have anything else I can add to the laundry?”
Jude hurried to her backpack and pulled out the clothes she’d worn the day before and handed them over. “You’re an angel.”
“Tell Chet that, won’t ya?” Mia shot her a wink and headed for the door. “Lock this behind me. Wade has a key on him. He’s still right out front, but better to be safe.”
As the door shut, Jude studied the box of hair dye. The color was almost a perfect match to her natural hue. A lightness swept over her, and she ran to the bathroom. She didn’t care if it seemed weird or ridiculous to do something so frivolous, she was doing something for her—something to bring back a little piece of herself she’d left behind.
With expert hands—she’d colored her own hair too many times to count in pursuit of self-discovery and expression over the years—she unpacked the supplies and got started threading the pungent dye through her long strands. The meticulous work kept her glove-covered hands and mind busy, for a brief moment allowing her to escape the heaviness weighing her down. Right now, she was just a woman who needed to color her hair.
A soft knock sounded on the door. “Jude? Is everything all right in there?”
The wariness in Wade’s voice lifted her lips, and a foreign giddiness set off her nerves. And these nerves had nothing to do with the danger tracking her down and everything to do with hoping a boy she had no right pining for thought she’d look pretty after making a drastic change.
She rolled her eyes. She was being silly. Dying her hair back to blond was for her pleasure and no one else’s. What Wade thought shouldn’t matter one bit.
“I’m fine. About to jump in the shower. I’ll be out in a little while.” She studied her smothered locks, debating on if she should rinse the chemicals out and leave it wet or actually put a little work into her hair.
She opened the cabinet and found a hair dryer and curling iron. Clearly she should do more than rinse and let it air dry. Just so she could make sure she liked the color and nothing more.
“Are you hungry at all?” Wade asked, drawing her attention back to him.
