“What do you do for work?”
“I’m a CNA. I work at Sunny Hill.”
The chair spins, and I hear the scissor blades in my hair. “Where’d you move from?”
“Annapolis.”
She crouches down and cuts some more. “How do you like it here so far?”
“It’s beenreallygreat.” I can’t help the warmth that fills my chest at the mere thought of Ben.
“Uh-oh. That sounds like maybe more than a job brought you here.”
I want to make friends. But if this isn’t his sister, after what happened with Tara, I realize any woman in this town could be one of Ben’s exes. I can’t just blab about him to anyone. “It’s kind of complicated.”
“I see.” She doesn’t say anything else, focusing on her task. But only a few minutes later, she spins the chair back around. “What do you think?”
I lean forward, impressed by how precise the highlights are and by the short layers at the bottom, which add a ton of extra volume. “It looks great, thank you so much.”
She takes the cape off and hangs it on the little hook. I retrieve my dress bag from the coat hook and meet her at the register.
“How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. My brother will kill me if I charge his girlfriend.”
My teeth crash together, and I slowly close my eyes. “So you are Charlie?”
“I am.”
My fingers are shaking as I hold my hand out. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She reciprocates the gesture. “Why are you shaking?”
“You knew it was me the whole time, and now I’m freaking out because I can tell you don’t like me.”
“Why do you think that?”
“I just knew by the way Ben said I still needed to meet you, like he wasn’t looking forward to it. I don’t blame you for not liking me.” I swallow and wipe the sweat off my hands on my leggings. “Ben was there for me when I didn’t even know I needed him, and then he got shot because of me, and I hate myself for it. Then it caused even more problems between my dad and your dad and…I’m sorry.”
“Girl. Take a breath.”
I did, but it was jagged.
“Please don’t cry on me. Ben will really be mad if he thinks I made you cry.”
I feel a burn at the tip of my nose and sniffle to chase it away. “I have nobody.” I dabbed the corner of my eye. “The past couple of weeks…the past few years have been… I don’t even know. It’s hard to explain. Have you ever had something happen and you think you understand it, but then something else happens, and nothing makes sense anymore?”
She crosses her arms and contemplates what I said. “I have had something happen, but the difference is, I know I’ll never understand it.”
“I’m sorry. That’s such a shitty feeling.” The next breath I release isn’t nearly as shaky. “I only came to him because I had nowhere else to turn. I was going to leave, but…he kind of made that impossible. He wants me here, and I want to be here with him. I hope we can get along, and eventually, you’ll see how much I care about him and that I would never do anything to hurt him.”
She taps her hot pink nails on the counter. “From the way he described you, I’ve gotta say, I’m shocked you’re laying it out for me like this.”
I lift a shoulder. “Honestly, me too. But he means the world to me, and I don’t want to put him in a position where he has to feel tension between you and me.”
A small smile tipped the corner of her mouth. “I don’t want that, either. It’s all good, Annie. I promise.”
“Really.” I smile.
