15. The Salon

I blinked awake to the low hum of the weak-ass air conditioner and the whir of the ceiling fan rotating lazily above me. I thought a nap would help, give me some clarity—maybe even shake off the heavy fog of dread that had been thick in my head all day.

But then I saw him.

Victor. Sitting across from me.

Not scrolling his phone like a normal person. Not reading or even pretending to be distracted.

Just... watching me.

His elbows rested on his knees, eyes locked on my face like he'd been studying me the entire time I slept.

His eyes lit up the second I stirred.

‘She's so quiet when she sleeps and so calm," his thoughts whispered. "She's safest when she's like this, with just me. I should be the one to take care of her when she's tired. I'll make sure she never needs anyone but me again.’

My palms broke out in a cold sweat.

I forced myself to sit up, wiping them discreetly on my pants. "How long have you been waiting there?"

"Not long at all," he said with a smile, that smile. "I just wanted to be here when you woke up. You looked too peaceful to disturb."

‘I'll always be there when she wakes up,’ he was thinking, ‘She just doesn't realize how loved she is yet.’

I glanced toward the nurse's desk.

Empty.

Of course.

Because why the hell would I get a single break today? The adults were useless. The counselor believed him. My dad welcomed him. Even the nurse had vanished. I was on my own.

The story had already been written.

I just didn't know what my next lines were supposed to be.

So I smiled. "Thanks for staying."

Victor's face lit up like I'd handed him a ring instead of a sentence. He reached across and grabbed my hand.

'She's coming around! She's definitely starting to understand! We're almost there!'

But I wasn't.

I wasn't even close.

Because while Victor was busy scripting our perfect life together, I was planning something entirely different.

How to get away.

Where I'd messed up was trying to deal with a crazy person using normal people methods. But Victor didn't want to be near me—he wanted to erase the space between us.

And if I wasn't careful, he'd do it before I even noticed.

***

Victor and I left the nurse's office just as the last bell rang, and I walked away with a new plan. Nothing dramatic, just a small test to see how far he'd go if I wasn't looking.

'I get to walk Anne home again today,' he thought. 'Maybe I can ask her on a date and stop for coffee. Maybe we can sit even closer. She won't pull away. Not now.'

Perfect.

"Hey," I said, casually as I could manage, "I think I'm going to walk home with Katy today."

His smile didn't drop, but I felt the chaos inside him hit like a freight train.

'What?! That stupid bitch! She doesn't need Katy! She needs me! Katy's unreliable and... maybe Anne's just confused. She can't mean that.'

"Walk with Katy?" he repeated.

"Yeah. I think it's a good chance to talk about girl stuff and, you know... be a girl for once." I added a nervous little laugh. Play the role. Be the sweet confused girl, not the cornered animal.

He stared at me for a second too long before nodding slowly. "Of course. It makes sense you'd want to spend time with a new friend. You deserve that."

But his thoughts? His thoughts were vibrating with venom.

'Why the fuck now? She's never wanted to hang out with anyone before! Did someone tell her something? Is Katy feeding her lies? I'll need to have a conversation with her about boundaries.'

"I'll text you later," I said, turning away.

"I'll be thinking about you," he said behind me.

'I'll just watch her from a distance. It won't be any different from any other day, I guess.'

He didn't scream. He didn't grab me. He didn't cry.

He adapted.

Quickly.

And that terrified me more than anything.

***

The salon Katy brought me to smelled like burned nerves, cheap vanilla candles, and hair dye. Mine mostly.

I hadn't even agreed to the makeover—Katy had just smiled and said "Trust me," before booking it with her mom who ran the salon. Apparently, today was all about being "bold."

And bold meant bangs.

"Okay, don't freak out," Katy said as she trimmed away like she was born to do it. "After your bangs are done, we're going to clean up your brows. I mean, no offense, but those are thick bushes, girl."

She grinned ear to ear while her mom snipped away at my ends.

I didn't argue. Not because I liked the idea—but because something else had caught my attention.

Or rather... someone.

That suffocating presence. That familiar crawl up my spine.

I didn't have to see him to know.

Victor had followed me.

Shit.

'Why is she letting Katy change her? Why is she just sitting there while they're turning her into a clone of them? What is Katy doing to her?'

Victor's thoughts crackled like static in the back of my mind. I couldn't see him—he hadn't shown himself yet—but I knew he was here. The intensity of his presence made it impossible to miss. He had to be inside the salon somewhere. Watching. Breathing down my neck from behind a shelf or a mirror or something I didn't dare look at.

The best option was to act oblivious.

Katy didn't notice a thing. She and her mom were too busy bickering about which hairstyle I should try based on a dozen P*******t screenshots. They were both so deep into their beauty war, they didn't realize my skin was practically buzzing with anxiety.

Then came the waxing.

And the regret.

And the oh my god this is why people wax less often than they lie to their dentist.

I winced as another strip got ripped from my leg.

"Can't believe you actually went through with all this," Katy grinned, wiping my teary eyes with a tissue. "I thought for sure you'd chicken out after the first wax strip."

"It's not imposAAAHH!!" I screamed as another one came off. Torture had to be easier than this.

"This is why you shave, Sasquatch," she teased, laughing.

'She's mocking her. She's trying to make Anne feel insecure. She's poisoning her. Pulling her away from me. I'll kill her—'

"I just wanted to look better," I said quickly, forcing a shrug through the sting. "I feel like it'll impress Victor."

Katy blinked, surprised, then smacked my arm like I'd told her I had a crush on a celeb. "I totally get it! It's easy to feel like you're not shining when you're next to Victor."

"I knew it was about a boy," her mom chuckled as she plucked my brows like she was tuning a violin. "Girls your age never do this unless it's for a boy."

They kept chatting—something about lip gloss and an outfit I had to try on—but I wasn't really listening anymore. Victor's thoughts had softened.

'Anne is doing this for me? She wants to be perfect... for me? She's finally thinking about me. No wonder she wanted to go without me. Katy's just helping her because she has the tools. That's... fine.'

I exhaled slowly. That one line really did it, huh?

"Wait until he sees you on my I*******m. He's going to drop dead," Katy gushed.

If only, I thought. Then my problems would die with him.

***

When I stepped out from behind the curtain, the whole salon went quiet.

And I got it.

Because staring back at me in the mirror was someone I didn't quite recognize. Someone who looked... put together. Controlled. Powerful.

My long hair had been straightened, sleek and black like ink, falling past my shoulders in glossy waves. The bangs curved softly across my forehead, perfectly framing my face. My eyebrows were cleanly shaped. My eyeliner subtle but sharp. Katy had even picked out a black top and miniskirt for me—nothing wild, but just enough to feel like a completely different girl.

"Mom, I think this is our best transformation yet," Katy said proudly.

"Anne, you look seriously hot," she added.

"I swear you should be in a hair commercial," her mom said, snapping pictures of my hair with her phone. "That shine is criminal. I've outdone myself."

Katy yanked me into the glow of a ring light and grabbed her phone. "Okay—smile. No, smirk. There you go. Yes!"

The shutter clicked again and again as she kept pulling me into pose after pose so I didn't just stand there awkwardly.

And weirdly, despite everything—I was having fun.

'She's perfect. Everybody should see it now. She's more than I imagined. So beautiful no one will question it anymore. Now they'll all understand why she's mine.'

Victor's thoughts were calm. Gentle. For once, he wasn't seething with jealousy. There was no possessiveness. No anger at Katy. Only... admiration.

'I've never seen her look so free before. I hope I can keep that going for her. She looks so beautiful.'

Was that one line I'd dropped really that convincing?

I smiled for the next photo.

"You look amazing!" Katy beamed. "Let's change you into another outfit. You can totally fit into my closet. C'mon!"

'Maybe I'll just stay and watch the fashion show,' Victor thought softly.

And weirdly...

I was actually excited.

Maybe because it felt like—for once—I had a friend.

Maybe because Victor, for now, had stopped trying to smother me.

Or maybe because, right now, looking in the mirror...

I felt beautiful.