When I'm With You (Little Hollow Series, #2)(23)

I know a fake smile when I see one, I’ve had to plaster them on enough to recognize even the tiniest of them all. But I smile at her back, ever the professional, and ask her what she wants done to her hair. The way it is right now, brittle at the ends and falling to her mid back, I can already tell it needs at least three inches off and would look beautiful with a little balayage, brightened up with a chocolatey-brown color and layers put in, but I let her talk before putting in my two cent.

“Just a trim, thanks,” she squeaks, messing around with her hands like she can’t keep still.

I tell her what I think, like I always do with every client, but she shakes her head. “I can’t afford anything more than a trim right now.”

She gives me another nervous smile and I don’t even need to think about it before I’m walking into the back to mix up some color. To hell with that, if anyone needs a little bit of special treatment right now, it’s this woman.

Hell, she’s probably only a year or two older than me, but looks like she has as much of a story to tell as I do. I sympathize with her and what’s better than that, she doesn’t look at me, treat me, or talk to me any different than she would anybody else, and damn if that isn’t refreshing.

“Sorry, I think you must’ve misheard me. I said I couldn’t afford that right now.”

She shifts in her chair like she’s going to flee having been made to say it a second time.

“No, I heard you right, I just think everybody deserves a little kindness every now and then, it’s on me.”

If I’m not mistaken, I could swear she’s about to cry, now that I’m not good at dealing with, so I busy myself getting a gown on her and pulling some foils out to give her a minute.



I was right, the caramel-blond color running through the chocolatey-brown color I’ve colored her hair with, and the long layers I’ve put in has made her look young and alive. It brings a warmth to her face and her eyes stand out big and blue like sapphires.

Katy and Adi come over to their mom, their wow’s sing out in unison, but Faith doesn’t take her eyes off herself in the mirror.

“I… I don’t know what to say. I look like a completely different person,” she stammers out.

I start to feel a little anxious at the thought of not pleasing her which is so unlike me, I chalk it down to the tiredness. But all of the anxiousness isn’t worth it as she turns with tears in her eyes, oh hell, here we go. But they’re not the all-consuming kind of tears, they’re just happy ones as she pulls me in for a hug.

“Thank you,” she whispers in my ear.

I pull back and smile at all three of them. “Don’t sweat it, you’re welcome here anytime.”

I give her a wink as we settle up their cuts and as they walk out, my eyes dart to where I know the hand shaped bruise sits at the back of her collar. I’ve been around plenty of violence in my life so far to know that it isn’t a bruise from hitting it off something, finger marks were imprinted clear as day across her neck.

My hands scrunch up at the thought of someone treating Faith that way. What coward lays their hands on such a sweet woman? If I ever find out who it is, I’ll have a little something to say to them.

I disinfect the salon and all of the tools, making sure to wipe down all the bottles of peroxide, the same as Sam does each night. It’s a tedious job but I find the monotony of it starts to relax me and by eight, I’m more than ready to heat up the rest of my pizza from last night and binge watch car crash TV.

Around ten, my buzzer sounds and I pick the phone up with a yawn. “Yellooow?”

Nothing. While I’m still holding the phone in my hand the buzzer goes again. “Look, if you’re going to come and do this every single night, I’m just going to one-up you and disconnect my buzzer.”

When no one replies and the buzzer stays quiet, I chance a look out the window but I can’t see anybody, they must’ve ran off. I shrug and replace the phone to the wall, but jump as a tapping noise catches my attention, and my body goes rigid as I realize it’s coming from my apartment door. I stay as still as possible thinking it might’ve just been my imagination but when the three taps sound again, I know there’s someone there.

How did they get inside? I know I locked that door!

I tiptoe across the wooden floors into my kitchen.

“Just a second,” I shout, trying to keep my voice sounding normal.

I reach and pull out a knife from the carving block and make my way over to the door, pressing my body against the wall beside it.

“Who is it?” I ask.

No answer, my hands are shaking and I steel myself to look through the peephole we have in the door.

I swear to God if there’s a masked murderer standing there when I look through here, my ass is going out the window!

I take a deep breath and squint to see, there’s no one there and I laugh at myself, maybe it’s all in my head? I have been really jumpy lately.

I return the knife back to the block and head for a shower, all the adrenaline has woken me up and I need to feel the hot water running down my skin, easing the tension.

I ready myself for the cold air to hit my skin as I turn the shower off and I freeze as I hear a bang coming from my apartment, now that I didn’t imagine. I tug on my tank and cut offs and look around for anything I can use as a weapon. Sam wouldn’t be back already, would she? No, that’s impossible, she would’ve text me first.