Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

There was that bullshit with Jude and of course Colton, but it was nothing like this.

I’ve always valued my hair. I’m not one of those girls who is obsessive over makeup. I don’t need to look perfect every second of the day, but I’ve always loved my hair. It was long and beautiful. It fell in thick waves and tickled the top of my ass. It was my signature thing. When people mentioned my name, the first thing they thought of was my long, dark hair.

Now it’s a rats nest and falling out in chunks.

I get into the mansion and I listen out. The first thing I hear is the sound of the vacuum and I follow it, knowing it’s bound to be my mom. The closer I get, the faster I walk as the devastation seems to harden against my soul.

I break through to the massive kitchen and find mom in the media room, vacuuming her life away as though she doesn’t have a care in the world.

I run to her.

I throw open the door of the room and seeing me in her peripheral vision, her head whips around. She takes me in and as she does, her eyes widen in shock but she doesn’t have even a slight moment to ask me what happened before I crash into her and she curls me into her arms.

I cry into her shoulder as she holds me tight. “Oh, honey,” she says, heartbroken. “What happened to you?”

“They … they …” I struggle to get the words past the rapid sobs and I give up. I’ll try again once the pain has begun to ease.

“Shh,” mom soothes, running her hand up and down my back, no doubt able to smell the grease wafting from my hair despite the bucketloads of shampoo I’ve already scrubbed through it. “It’s going to be okay. Calm down, sweet girl.”

I rub my already sore eyes against her shoulder and despite the pristine way she’s expected to keep her uniform, she doesn’t pull away.

“I thought this week was going to be better,” I cry.

“I know, I thought so too,” she says, moving her hand to the back of my head and then pulling back with furrowed brows. “What is this in your hair?” she questions, horrified by the slimy feel coming off on her hand then gasping when she sees the missing chunks. “Who did this?”

I shake my head as she draws back to see me better. “A group of guys,” I say, dropping the bag with my destroyed uniform to the floor. “They cornered me in the student parking lot and tipped grease over my head. They’d put acid in it and all my hair started snapping off and my skin …” I take a sniffly breath. “It burned, mom. My skin is all red and sore and my hair … it keeps snapping off.”

Fury fires from her eyes. “This school has been nothing but trouble since you first started,” she says, beginning to pace the room, her arms flailing around. “I’m going to have a meeting with that … that … dean first thing in the morning. Those boys are going to see justice. They will not get away with this. Acid? ACID! Who does that to a young woman?” Her head starts shaking as the outrage builds within her. “I should call the police. Their whole futures will be taken away from them in seconds. That’ll teach those privileged little bastards.”

I drop down onto the wide couch and watch as mom continues to pace. ‘“What am I going to do? I’ve already washed my hair a million times and every time I touch it, more hair snaps off. It’s not coming out.”

Mom stops pacing and looks back at me, looking just as lost as I feel. She lets out a heavy, broken sigh. “I don’t know, honey. I wish I had the money to send you to a salon. Maybe after my shift, I could have a look and see what can be salvaged.”

I drop my face into my hands knowing that’s our only option.

My phone burns a hole in my robe pocket. I’d do anything to call Nic and have him come and handle this. He’d drop everything and be here in no time, but his version of helping will result in bloodshed and I’ll still be left looking like this. While it’ll help me feel a little better, it’ll do nothing to fix the devastation left behind.

Mom steps into me and I feel her hands in my hair. “I wish I could do more for you, sweetheart.”

“I know,” I murmur, knowing this is killing her just as much as it is for me. After all, a direct attack on her daughter is a direct attack on her. I stand up and she instantly pulls me back into her arms. “I think I’m just going to go get dressed and then I might just chill out with you while you work. Is that okay or do you think that might cause shit with Harrison?”