Until Harry(29)

Kale beamed at me. “If it’ll make you smile, I’ll be the biggest freak this world has ever seen.”

I continued to laugh. “That wouldn’t take much.”

He gripped his chest. “Your words, they wound me deeply.”

“Go call your mum already!” I howled in laughter.

Kale chuckled to himself as he left my room, and I beamed after him, not surprised that I felt so happy being in his presence after being so sad without him.



The next day Kale helped me convince my parents to let me have the day off school. He had the week off college and promised my parents he would take me out and help cheer me up. My father wanted to know what that entailed, and Kale had to explain my makeover plan to them.

My father didn’t like it, but my mother was completely on board. She gave Kale a bunch of money from her savings jar and told him to help me make good decisions.

“Come with us, Mrs Edwards – you know more about fashion and hairstyles than I ever will,” Kale said to my mother.

She patted his shoulder and said, “I think a boy’s opinion is what is needed here, not a mother’s, because I think Lane looks beautiful as she is.”

“Then it’s pointless for me to go too, because I wholeheartedly agree with you.”

“My God,” I grumbled as embarrassment heated my cheeks.

We eventually left my house, without my mother, and made our way into town, laughing and joking the entire bus ride in. When we got off the bus, we were in shopping heaven. There were clothing shops, nail bars and hair salons in every direction. I’d never come into this part of town before, and the overload of people made me nervous.

“I’ve got you.” Kale threaded his fingers through mine. “Don’t let go; you’re tiny and would get lost in the crowd.”

Oh, my God. I could have died. I could have died right there in the middle of the shopping district.

Kale was holding my hand and leaning protectively into me like a boyfriend would to his girlfriend. I knew we were just friends, and he was making sure I didn’t venture off, but I let myself pretend that it was real and he was really just hanging out with me as his girl.

“Okay, what do you want to get done first? Hair, nails or do you want to hit the clothes shops first?” Kale asked as he leaned his mouth down to my ear so I could hear him over all the voices around us.

I trembled as shivers ran up and down my spine.

“Hair,” I squeaked, and then I cleared my throat. “Hair first.”

“Hair first it is,” he said, weaving us through the crowd until we entered a Toni and Guy hair salon.

I stood staring at all the different hairstyle pictures in black and white on the walls for a long moment, and when Kale pulled on my hand, I almost jumped out of my skin. He laughed at me, and so did the woman behind the counter.

“Follow me,” the woman chirped after she smudged a little white gel behind my ear, a skin test for future appointments that involved hair dye. I didn’t want my hair dyed this time around; I just wanted a different style, but I did the test anyway.

I swallowed and looked to Kale and found him sitting behind me in the mini waiting section next to the doorway. “I’ll be here and I’ll be able to see you. Go on – you’ll be fine,” he said, and then hesitated. “Just don’t cut too much off, ’kay?”

I smiled and nodded my head, then walked over to a chair to be introduced to Kevin, a stylist. Kevin was in his early twenties, with spiky hair the colour of the rainbow. He also had so many piercings on his face and in his ears that I lost count at fifteen. He was lovely, though, and very excited that he was giving me my first haircut in, well, forever.

“What are we thinking of doing today?” he asked me, his voice bubbly.

I blew out a breath. “Okay, so I don’t like my hair being so dull. I like the colour, because it’s dark brown but it has a natural red-wine tint when the sun hits it. I’m thinking of five inches off the length and a full fringe like that picture over there. With some layers thrown in too.”

Kevin snapped his fingers at me in a “Z” formation. “Honey, your lad over there won’t be able to take his eyes off you when I get done with you.”

I knew Kevin was talking about Kale, but I didn’t correct him because I liked the fact that someone didn’t think it was as crazy an idea as I thought it was. A half hour went by, and after getting my hair washed, cut, blow-dried and cut again, I was ready. Kevin spun me around and told me to open my eyes. I gasped when I saw myself in the mirror. I looked . . . pretty!

Not beautiful or anything, but pretty, and I was so happy with that.

“Oh, my God,” I squealed. “I love it. I love it so much.”

I hadn’t been trying to look older, but I could easily pass for sixteen now, and I thought that was beyond brilliant.

“Told you,” Kevin said, beaming, and ruffled the hair on the sides of my head.

He brushed stray hairs off my clothes and brought me back over to the desk, where I checked in so I could pay. Kale still sat in the waiting area. He was slouched down on a seat, his long legs bent as he paged through a magazine. There were two girls sitting across from him, watching him with keen interest. I wanted to roll my eyes. He got attention like this everywhere he went, and he didn’t even notice.