Page 42 of Crow
“The guests have been evacuated,” she reported, sitting on Samantha’s other side as Evelyn went to calm the still-panicking cousins. “It’s just the seven of us and the Rebels in here now. They wanted us to leave too, but I told them it wasn’t happening, so they want us to stay up here, safe and out of the way. Their words, not mine. They think the Freeways could be here at any minute.”
“You’re handling this well,” Samantha commented. Rose snorted.
“No, I’m not. I’m furious, I’m worried, I’m terrified…” She sighed, shoulders drooping. “But what will me running about like a headless chicken like those three do to help?” She gestured to the cousins. Evelyn was doing an amazing job corralling them, but they were still flapping their hands about and hyperventilating.
I bit into the sandwich Evelyn had given me to avoid having to say anything. The first bite was heaven on my tongue—I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until now. The sandwich was gone in seconds, and when I looked up, Rose and Samantha were staring at me in shock. I shifted nervously, my hair falling in front of my face.
“When was the last time you ate?” Rose asked.
“A while ago,” I muttered vaguely. Not since the sandwich Jess had snuck me. My eyes filled with tears. I hoped that Jess was okay, that Ray hadn’t hurt her more for helping me. My hair fell in front of my face again.
“The Freeways haven’t been kind to Jade here either, have they, honey?” Evelyn said, resting her hand on my shoulder. I looked up at her kind face, and then the tears spilled over and I was telling her everything. I told her about my parents not wanting me, about being with Ray and the Freeways, about the drugs. I even told them about the other day, about being forced through an isolated detox as punishment. By the end, even Rose’s cousins had shut up to listen to me with wide eyes filled with pity, their mouths hanging open.
“And I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I said, turning to Rose and Samantha. They exchanged a look, and then they lunged at me. I flinched back, eyes squeezed shut as I braced for pain, and then two sets of arms wound around me. I opened my eyes, confused, to see that the two women were hugging me while Evelyn watched on with sadness in her eyes and fury carving lines around her tightly pinched mouth. The cousins were behind her, blubbing.
“It wasn’t your fault, Jade,” Rose insisted.
“Yeah, what you went through was awful, and completely abusive,” Samantha added.
“The emotional and mental manipulation through gaslighting, blackmail, and threats systematically broke down your self-esteem and will to fight, which were already fragile from your childhood trauma and neglect. It’s no wonder you behaved the way you did,” one of the cousins piped up. We all turned to look at her and she shrugged. “I took a psych course in college,” she explained.
“You tried to warn us, that’s what matters,” Evelyn said after a beat of silence, offering me a tissue. I blew my nose, sniffling.
“Hey, we could help you cut your hair!” Samantha explained, face lighting up. “I’ve had to groom tons of animals at work, how different could it be?”
“Um.” I frowned, uncertainty swirling in my chest. “I feel like it’s a little different.”
“Yeah!” Rose spoke over me. “A pixie cut would be super cute, and make sure that no one can use your hair to drag you around ever again.” The rumble of engines filled the air, and suddenly, everyone’s expressions became strained as fear washed over us.
“Besides,” Rose continued, false cheer in her voice. “It’ll give me something to think about other than what’s going on downstairs.”
How could I say no to that?
As the first shots rang out, I sat on a chair in the middle of the room, with all the other girls surrounding me. Cries of pain and angry shouts echoed up the stairs as Samantha wielded the scissors, huge locks of hair drifting to the floor around me.
“This is so not how I expected my wedding day to go,” Rose tried to joke as another gunshot split the air. Samantha laughed, but it fell a little flat.
“Youaremarrying a biker,” she said.
“Yeah, you’re right, what are you gonna do?” Rose shrugged, grimacing in a way that made me think it was probably meant to be a smile.
“It’ll be okay,” Evelyn said, but I didn’t know if she was reassuring us or herself. From the look on her face, I wasn’t sure she knew either. One of the cousins screamed as a bullet shattered one of the floorboards, shooting through the room up into the ceiling above us. My heart clenched, fear clawing up my throat.
“Almost done,” Samantha said, as if nothing had happened. I could see her reflection in the mirror in front of me, see how tense she was and how intensely she was staring at my hair. I could understand how she felt. She said she was with one of the Rebels who was downstairs fighting for their lives, and I guess now so was I. I strained my ears for any shouts that I thought could be Crow, and I wasn’t sure if not hearing any was good news or not. On the one hand, it could mean he wasn’t hurt. On the other, it could mean that he was dead. I chewed my tongue, wishing I had a cigarette. My thoughts also flashed to coke, the blissful ignorance that it allowed, but I pushed the image away. I needed… Iwanted… to be alert for what was happening now. I was going to be there for Michael when he needed me, like he had been there for me.
The gunshots came quicker and quicker, and I found it harder not to flinch with each one. No matter how familiar the sound was to me, the fear never got any better. More stray bullets came through the floor, and it was a miracle that so far none of us had been hit. Rose gave a strained laugh.
“Maybe we should have left with the others after all,” she said.
“Yeah, maybe,” Samantha agreed, voice high.
“Too fucking late now,” one of the cousins said from where they were pressed against a wall, as if that lessened their chance of being hit.
“No,” Evelyn said firmly. “This is our turf, my home, and I will not abandon it.” Still, she looked afraid. We were all silent, listening to the sounds of the fight downstairs and the metallic hiss of the scissor blades opening and closing. My heart was in my throat.
“And… done,” Samantha said finally, dropping her arms to her sides. “What do you think?”
I got off the chair to get closer to the mirror, studying the girl in the reflection. My hair, which had fallen down past the middle of my back, was now cropped close around my ears, with strands cut to frame my face. I ran my fingers through it, marveling at how easily it slipped between them. I felt lighter.
