Page 86 of Alessia
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she snaps, “not all of us are accustomed to,” she gestures vaguely in my direction, her words catching in her throat. “whatever this is. What did you do to your hair?”
I freezemid-motion, hands still on my zipper, and stare at her. “What?” I ask, blinking like she’s the one who’s suddenly gone off the rails.
Her eyes flicker to my hair, and it’s like a moment of clarity has hit her.
“Your hair,” she repeats, now sounding less judgmental and more… concerned. “You, cut it.”
I glance in the mirror. The short, choppy layers are barely long enough to graze my neck. My fingers twitch nervously at the strands.
“Yeah,” I reply with a shrug, trying to sound nonchalant. “Got tired of the whole ‘long hair’ thing. Wasn’t doing anything for me anymore.”
Alessia raises an eyebrow. “Well, it’s… drastic. Definitely a change.”
“You could say that.” I mutter, turning back to the mirror. I still need to get used to it, and the uneven ends aren’t exactly what I’d imagined. But there’s something oddly freeing about it.
I catch her eye in the reflection. She’s still staring at me like I’ve grown a second head.
“You don’t like it, do you?” I ask her flatly.
She hesitates for a second, but then her lips curl into a reluctant smile. “It’s… bold. I’m just surprised. I never imagined you,” she cuts herself off, then quickly adds, “You always seemed like someone who would never change something so big.”
“Yeah well, things changed, I changed.” I retort. “And it’s just hair, it will grow back… Maybe.”
“Yeah,I guess so…” Alessia falls silent. A notification on her phone draws her attention way from the conversation. I finish up packing my clothes and grab the toiletries from the bathroom. Alessia furiously types away on her phone, completely lost in her own world. When everything is packed, I stand a little straighter and look at her.
“Can we go?”
No response.
I clear my throat “Alessia! I would like to go now.” That snaps her out of her focus and she looks back at me, worry etching her face. Whatever she just got notified on, it’s not good.
“Sorry, what?” She replies.
“I said, I would like to go now!”
“Ah, yes, of course! Alex is waiting downstairs for us.”
“Where’s Elio, I thought he drove you everywhere?”
“Yeah, usually he is, but he has more pressing matters to attend to right now.”
“Like what?” I raise my brow defiantly. I’m not in the mood to be brushed off today.
Alessia sighs and rubs her forehead with her middle finger and thumb. It’s clear there’s something going on that she won’t or can’t tell me.
“I’ll tell you when we get home, okay? I promise! This is not something I want to discuss here.”
And with that she strides out of my room, leaving me a little stunned. I blink a few times before I follow her. We ride the elevator down in silence, as well as the drive home. The tension of unspoken words hanging between us.
