“If you had anything to do with this, I’d recommend you keep your lips sealed,” I warned him. “It’s gonna be hard enough to keep her from skinning your brother.”
Phoenix mimed zipping his lips shut, then he did a salute to all of us and turned around, closing his bedroom door behind him.
“We’d better go check to see if our children are still breathing.”
* * *
An hour later,Brax and Dimitri drove their sons to school, while Hunter and I stayed back with our daughter.
It wasn’t our usual strategy, but we had to take a subtle approach in order to make our daughter deescalate. We’d thought of bribing her with a shopping trip, but decided she probably didn’t want to be seen in her current state. So we ordered in breakfast from her favourite restaurant and let her order some things online.
It wasn’t in us to spoil them rotten, but in times like these, it was the easiest way to diffuse the bomb.
After all was said and done, we pulled some strings and offered a hefty sum of money to the photographer so they would come to her house for a private photoshoot when she was feeling better. Nik had evidently been clever enough to acquire a temporary dye, but he hadn't taken into consideration that her hair had recently been lightened.
The bleached highlights she’d added to her blonde hair seemed to take to the blue rather well.
A month later, when it was time for our sons to have their school pictures taken, they were left with bald heads, their hair having inexplicably fallen out.
When they both decided to go ahead with the photos, I could almost hear the sound of wheels turning in Bentleigh's mind. I wouldn't be shocked if she waited for them to let their guard down before exacting her revenge.
I had always taught her that if something didn't work out the first time, come back with a vengeance.
