Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington Read Free Book Online Page B

now. But we made it all the way inside without so much as a: ‘I read your notebook. That’s some messed up stuff in there.’ And once the coffees had been handed out and dry-cleaning hung on the rack, Ethan collected his pile of drugs, loaded them in his bag and left with barely a nod in my direction.
    I busied myself restacking shelves and made a point of not thinking about Ethan – every single time his curvy lips and muscly forearms crept their way into my mind.
    Mom let me go just before two, which was perfect timing to make my appointment. I headed straight for the hairdressers, forbidden excitement bubbling up inside almost as much as the fear that I was about to make a very big mistake. And pay for it … in another world.
    ‘What do you want to do?’ the hairdresser asked, chewing on gum and holding out my long dreary hair.
    I swallowed, watching in the mirror as her fingers combed through my hair. ‘Can you just make it look good? You can cut off as much as you want, and colour it too. Darker.’
    She looked at me like I was an unwrapped Christmas present. ‘I can do anything?’
    I hesitated. ‘As long as you didn’t know me and hate me in a past life, yeah. I … I’ve never coloured my hair and it’s always been really long. I want a change and I figure you know what you’re doing, right? Just …’ I looked at myself in the mirror, taking in my miniskirt, fraying tank top and boots. ‘Make it suit me.’
    She smiled. ‘I’ve got you covered, hon. Sit back and relax.’
    So I did.
    Mrs Jefferies delivered Maddie home right on 6 p.m. When I opened our front door, Maddie’s eyes lit up and she started jumping up and down on the spot.
    I couldn’t help the goofy grin on my face.
    ‘Binie, you look so cool!’ she wailed, hugging me tight.
    ‘Thanks, Mads,’ I said, wriggling out of her hold. I was usually happy to have her attached to me, but today, with all the thoughts I’d been pretending not to think, her affection left me feeling ashamed.
    I waved to Mrs Jefferies, who was still in her car, and took Maddie inside. She continued to ooh and ahh over my shaggy, almost-black, styled cut which gave me more edge than I’d ever dreamed possible.
    I’d stopped by Thrifty Tunes on the way home and Capri almost fell over herself before teasing that Davis would now never leave me alone. I’d just laughed and soaked it in. I’d never had a makeover before and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was loving it.
    With Maddie pawing over my hair, in between drawing on my cast and telling me it was so, so pretty, it made it easier to keep up the act. Helped me not consider just how much of a problem I’d have on my hands if, come midnight, I Shifted to Wellesley – and back into Dex’s arms – with short, shaggy black hair.
    By the time Maddie had finished drawing a family of bunnies I set about making us dinner, figuring Mom would work late. As for Dad, he’d taken one look at my hair when I’d walked in the door, picked up his keys, and said he’d be back later.
    I hadn’t been surprised. I knew he wouldn’t like it. Of course, that didn’t mean some part of me hadn’t held out hope – and wasn’t hurt. But I’d sensed he’d wanted to launch into one of his ‘we don’t do all this work for you to go around looking like a tramp’ lectures, so at least silence was better than that. And gone were the days when he could drag me backto the hairdresser and demand she fix it. He’d probably just come home drunk and crash. He didn’t get drunk that often – only when one of us disappointed him by not ‘being our best’. Hypocritical, much?
    After our macaroni and cheese, Dad stumbled in right on cue, went straight into his and Mom’s room and shut the door, leaving behind a waft of bourbon. I distracted Maddie until the banging around stopped. Despite my parents’ flaws, they never took anything out on Maddie. She was the sun. For us all.
    By the time Mom got home I’d read Alice