Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Next up, she goes to plug in my hair straightener when I shake my head. “No way am I letting you use that on me,” I tell her as a vision of charred hair and burn marks assault my mind. I tip out a packet of pins and slide them across the desk toward her. “I’m thinking half-up half-down.”
Hazel pouts, and as she works on my hair, I hit up the nail polish, going for jet black to match Noah’s soul. Hazel busily chats about the boys at school, and I zone out, my mind stuck on Noah, and before I know it, she grabs the armrest of my desk chair and spins me to face her. “Beautiful,” she says, her eyes shining so damn bright. “Dazzling. Stunning. A work of art. I didn’t know if I could pull off the impossible, but the great Hazel James has done it again!”
Gripping the armrests on either side of the desk chair, I hoist myself to my feet and strut across the room to check out the train wreck otherwise known as my face. As I step in front of the mirror and take one look at myself, my jaw drops, absolutely blown away. “Holy shi—”
“MOM! ZOEY SAID A BAD WORD!”
“ZOEY!” Mom reprimands from downstairs.
“Shut up, you,” I hiss at my smug sister, turning back to my reflection and really taking it in. She’s done my makeup flawlessly with the perfect smokey eye, liner, and even a few single false lashes to make my eyes pop. My gaze shifts over my face, and I’m lost for words, seeing how she’s even contoured my cheeks and jaw.
“Where the hell did you learn to do this?” I ask, positive I was about to find that a rainbow had thrown up on my face, but it’s the exact opposite. I’ve never seen myself like this.
Hazel shrugs her shoulders, and shyness creeps into her eyes. “I don’t know,” she says, refusing to meet my stare, sheepish for the first time in her life. “I guess I’ve been watching a few makeup tutorials on TikTok.”
“A few?” I scoff, turning to take in the cute twist she’s put in my hair. “There’s no way you learned how to do this just by watching a few tutorials. I can’t even do this.”
“Alright, fine,” she grumbles, throwing her hands up in resignation. “I watch them all the time and practice on Mom. I’m obsessed!”
I can’t help but laugh as I glance over myself one more time, feeling like a whole new me. I’ve always been confident in myself and felt beautiful, but I’ve never felt quite like this. I feel incredible. It even makes me consider going to Liam’s party, but that could only end in disaster.
“You need an outfit,” Hazel declares.
I roll my eyes and barely get to groan before she grabs my hand and hauls me across my room and into my walk-in closet. She starts throwing clothes at me, and I try not to get smacked in the face. “Do I really have to dress up? It’s late. What’s the point? I’m only going to get back into my pajamas afterward.”
“Don’t be silly,” Hazel says, stopping her riffling as she peers up at me, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “You’re going to Liam’s party.”
My eyes spring wide, and I gape at my little sister, momentarily lost for words. “I, umm . . . what? How do you know about Liam’s party? Wait . . . How do you even know who Liam is?”
Her smug grin widens, and I realize this has all been a ploy to get me out of the house. “Liam’s cousin’s best friend’s little brother is in my history class and couldn’t stop talking about it, and seeing as though Liam is like . . . the coolest guy in school, I figured that meant Noah was going, and if Noah is going, you have to go.”
I gape at her a little longer, trying to wrap my head around everything she just said. “First up, Noah outranks Liam on the coolness scale by a mile. Liam only tries to be cool, but he’s really not. And second, I’m not going to that party.”
“What?” Hazel shrieks. “Why not? I did your hair and makeup and everything. All you need to do is get dressed and go. Don’t even try to tell me that your friends aren’t going because I know Tarni, she wouldn’t miss a cool party.”
I shake my head, not prepared to tell her about the shit I’ve been getting from Shannan all week. She doesn’t need to bear the weight of that. “No, it’s a bad idea.”
Her face falls, her brows creasing. “I don’t understand,” she says. “Things were supposed to get better when Noah came back.”
“It’s complicated,” I tell her, desperately wishing she was right.