I nod, staying silent. She continues painting my face, occasionally giving me instructions, but otherwise leaving me with my thoughts.
I’ve been alone so long, living from day to day, hoping to survive that I never once even considered what might come after. Would it all be over? Or would I find a better place? On the other hand, if I choose to believe in Heaven, does that mean there’s a chance I’d end up in Hell?
After a while, she steps back. “I have one more thing I want to do. I’ll need you to look up for it.”
“Okay.”
I look up, staring at the ceiling. I feel the cool brush glide across the skin on my neck and collarbone.
After several moments, she steps back.
“One last thing. Close your eyes.” I do as she asks as she sprays my face and neck. “All done. Take a peek while I pull your hair back.”
I turn and freeze. I still look like me, but better if that makes sense. I look badass. Like I could kick ass and take names without hesitation. Bright red lipstick pops out with smoky eye shadow completed by a tribal style design surrounding my neck and collarbone.
“You should be a makeup artist. You’re a miracle worker.”
“I’m not that good.” She waves off my compliment.
“Lies. You tell yourself lies. You need to look this badass too. I need you to do your makeup like mine.”
“Oh, no. I can’t pull off that vibe.”
“Oh yes, you can. Girl, you’re a bombshell. Come on, do it. It’s one night.”
She lets out a sigh. “Fine. One night. Now stop moving so I can finish your hair.”
She pulls my hair back, spaying product in it until it’s just right. Then she hands over a couple of bracelets.
“You’re all done. Now let me throw some makeup on and we can go.”
I jump off the counter, leaning against the wall to watch her start her own makeup.
“You miss your mom, huh?”
Hailee nods. “Yeah. She was my best friend. I told her everything. Not only did I lose her and my dad, but then I was moved here. So I lost my friends too,” she mumbles under her breath. “Not that they were that good friends in the end.”
I bristle. “What do you mean?”
The thought of anyone doing this girl harm doesn’t sit right with me.
Because you care.
“I shouldn’t blame them, really. No one knows what to say to someone who has lost one parent, let alone two. Then to know I was going to be put in foster care?” She shrugs. “They all tapered off until I had no one. When I first moved here, a couple tried to keep in touch, but time and distance changed things. We weren’t in the same world anymore. All they cared about was going shopping and boys while I was struggling to deal with my grief and all the changes.” She looks down, running a brush over the palate in her hand. “One, Rebecca, even came and visited me once. Harry hit on her and was being his normal creepy self. Add in the fact that this trailer park is a bit of a nightmare, and well, she never came back.”
“That’s really shitty. If they were real friends, they would have put in more effort.”
She pauses, meeting my eye in the mirror. “Exactly. As much as it hurt losing my parents, I learned something from it. Not everyone who calls you friend is a friend. Not everyone is in it for the long haul. Sometimes, they are just acquaintances masquerading as friends. When it comes time that you need them, you find your circle isn’t much of a circle at all.”
“Is that why you have no friends here?”
She snorts. “Pot meet kettle. Where are your friends?”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I whisper.
“I know. Sorry. That was shitty. I have a friend. You. I decided I would be more selective of who I would let in my life.”
“That makes sense. I never really had any friends. By the time I was old enough to realize what a friend even was, I was the pariah. No one wants to be friends with the spawn of the town whore. It’s like by being friends with me, her dirtiness would rub off on them.”
