“Can you make my nasty snake of an ex go away and leave me alone?”
“Probably not, but I can listen if you want to talk. And I won’t tell a soul. Not even Sawyer, if you ask me not to.”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “We’ve been together since I was fifteen and he’s been my agent since I started modeling. Because I was so young when we got together, the contract I signed is stupid. Beyond stupid. And so far, my lawyer can’t get me out of it. He doesn’t want to give up anything, and on top of that, he threatened to go after Lars too.”
Annie winced. “How?”
“By having female friends of his say that Lars assaulted them or some such bullshit.” I slammed my fist on the steering wheel. “I fucking hate him!”
“Make sure you document all this stuff,” she said softly. “Tell your attorney everything. Like, write down the date and time of the call, along with the duration. I was prelaw in college.”
“Thanks.” I pulled a tissue out of my purse and dabbed at my eyes. “I appreciate it.”
“Do you still want to go to the game? We can go inside and just hang out instead?”
I shook my head. “You’re sweet to offer, but I promised Annalise and some of the WAGs I’d do their hair.”
She peered at me. “Oh, I just noticed what you did. That’s pretty.” She patted her purse. “I have a wig in here…do you think you could do a little bit with that?”
“Sure.” I took a deep breath and pulled back onto the street. “Sorry to vent to you with my problems. How are you feeling?”
“I’m drugged up on anti-nausea meds and we’re done with chemo for three weeks, so I should have a good week or two until we start the next cycle.”
“That sounds awful. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. But I don’t want to talk about that tonight. I just want to feel normal. That’s why I was hoping you’d help me with makeup and to get my wig on right, so people don’t see me and immediately think, ‘oh, shit, cancer.’ It gets old. Anyway, tell me who Annalise is.”
I filled her in as best I could on the drive to Wes and Hadley’s place in the suburbs and by the time we got there, I was in control again. Hugh always sent me spiraling, and I was going to have to find a way to keep from letting him upset me. Marian was hoping to get a restraining order, but it was hard to get a judge to sign off on one when we never knew what to expect from him.
“Hi, Sheridan!” Annalise opened the front door. “Are you doing my hair? Oh, will it be like yours? It’s so pretty.” She reached for my hand, which shocked me, but I gave Annie a grin as I let Annalise pull me inside.
“Someone’s excited,” Hadley said as I walked into the room.
There were half a dozen women already there, including Nina and Hadley. Introductions were made since I only knew a couple of them and Annie didn’t know any. Hadley had explained to everyone sitting with us tonight that Annie’s health was fragile, without going into any details, and that she would be wearing a mask during the game. We’d figured it would be better to mention it ahead of time rather than have Annie face a dozen questions, and so far, it was working.
I wove red, black, and white ribbon into Annalise’s two braids and then put a little blush and lip gloss on her. Her eyes shone as she twirled around the room in her Mavericks jersey.
“Mommy, look!” she said to Hadley.
“I see, baby.”
“Will you do braids like me so we can be twins?”
“Sure.” Hadley met my gaze and I nodded. I braided her hair, added the ribbon, and she went to finish her makeup while I worked on Nina.
“So, blond or brunette?” Annie asked, coming out of the bathroom. She had on a wig that gave her a short dark bob, while she held another wig in her hand that was honey blond and a little longer.
“Maybe the blond,” I said thoughtfully. “The dark is such a contrast to your pale skin and eyes. I think it emphasizes how tired you are.”
“Blond it is.” She disappeared back in the bathroom and Annalise watched her curiously.
“Why is she wearing hair?” she asked.
“Because the medicine she takes made her real hair fall out,” Hadley told her. “So until her hair grows back, she doesn’t want to be bald.”
“But the medicine will make her better, right?” Annalise asked hopefully.
Me, Hadley, and Nina exchanged glances before Hadley said, “Absolutely. Now go eat your snack.”
I finished everyone’s hair and makeup, laughing and joking as we had a glass of wine. I left Annie for last so I could focus on her. She was so pale and the bags under her eyes were huge and dark, but I was prepared. I took her into the bathroom and covered her face with the heavy foundation I often used for photo shoots, adding false eyelashes that attached with magnetic liner since she didn’t have any eyelashes left of her own.