I can’t fully blame them for being overprotective, however. My life would have been completely different if I would have been blessed with a helicopter parent instead of the terrible person who gave birth to me. I was sold by my own mother…twice. And if my own mother can do something so heinous, then anything could happen to Aria. I’m just happy she never had to go through what I did. Even if that means being locked up inside an ivory tower, I would take that fate over mine any day.
“My brother is different with you,” Aria says, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“What do you mean?” I ask, turning to her.
“He’s always so moody and closed off. Been like that for as long as I can remember. But when you’re around, I can see a light breaking out inside all of that darkness. He’s so patient and gentle with you,” she explains.
I want to ask her why she thinks that is, but I’m afraid of her answer. I think deep down Nico loves me…or at least maybe thinks he does. But a big part of me wishes he would just get over me and move on with a normal girl. Someone who isn’t so messed up. Someone who can make him happy. Someone without so many issues. He deserves so much better than me, so much more than I can offer him.
Aria comes up from behind me, and I watch her reflection in the mirror. She takes a lock of my long blonde hair and curls it around her finger. Looking up at me, she asks, “What do you think about going to the hair salon next?”
My eyes meet my own in the reflection. A smile twitches at the corner of my mouth as I nod emphatically. I’ve been wanting to cut my hair for years, and now I have no one standing in the way of my decision. No one telling me what I can or cannot do. This is the sense of freedom that I’ve been craving. And I so desperately want to be free.