Never Again.

Chapter Five

"You're only supposed to work five days a week, you've worked everyday so far. How about you take today off?"

"And do what?"

"Hmm, I don't know, sleep in or walk around the town, you haven't seen anything yet. And although it's not much, there are a couple small stores. Maybe you can find some clothes, I'll give you some money and Kat will go with you!"

"Um, I have some money, it's fine. But I would like the company." I didn't want to be moving around alone, if he showed up I'd be useless against him.

An hour later I had picked out a couple pairs of jeans and a handful of shirts, they were all pretty much dark, except for one beige one. When I insisted on paying, Kat handed the lady money and told me not to argue. I gave a small smile to the lady working the register before grabbing the bag, thanking Kat, and walking out of the store.

"You didn't have to pay."

"Yes I did, Aunt Lily told me I had to. She said you would argue though. But I'm also paying for you to get a hair cut."

"It's okay, really." My hair hasn't been down, except in the shower, and it's choppy and jagged but I've grown used to it. She dragged me into a salon and talked to the person at the counter. They sounded like old friends and then I was pushed into a chair and the lady told me what she was going to do. "And no arguments," she added on the end.

"Okay," and I looked down. I looked up again as she finished washing and drying my hair. She cut about seven inches off and then snipped some more, before adding all kinds of stuff to it.

'It has been so long since my hair was cut' I thought. The last time he gave me a pair of scissors and told me to cut it off because it was a mess. It had grown out but it was still choppy.

"Ta-da!" she said as she removed the towel from my shoulders and called Kat over.

I looked in the mirror for the first time. My mouth dropped open a bit before I closed it again.

"You like it?"

I hadn't even looked at it. I was staring at my face, I looked so much older now, expecting to see the sixteen year old me in the mirror. "Thank you."

I sat staring at myself in the mirror as she and Kat chatted away.

"Oh, sorry, that was rude. Dani, this is Stacy, Stacy, this is Dani. She's living with us for a while until she gets back on her feet. She's working at the diner."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Dani."

"Likewise."

And they continued talking. I didn't mind, taking my time looking around the store, staring at every reflection of myself I found, continuously surprised by the image. I looked down the street, 'when am I going to move on?' I asked myself, 'one month, I'll give myself one month'. I could save up some money before heading home. 

And Kat walked up to me, parting ways with Stacy. We stopped at a couple more small shops before heading back to the diner for dinner.

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