36. Short hair
Lucy
“Lucy?” He asked, pulling me up against him. “Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said softly.
He leaned closer. “Is it the poison? The doctor said you would be affected for a little while longer.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe.”
“You’re probably also still hungry.” He sighed. “Let’s get out of here and get you something. Maybe a nice steak or something will help.”
He paid for the jewelry and carried the bags out. As soon as we turned out of the jewelry store, the two women who had been following us blocked our path.
“You ended it with me for this nobody?” The woman shrieked. She sneered at me. “She’s not even half as pretty as I am! Who is this girl?”
Matt let out a long sigh. “Are you really going to cause a scent in the middle of the mall?”
“Who is she anyway?” She hissed. “You never bought me anything! We were seeing each other for months! “
She glared at me. “You little—”
“That’s enough,” Matt said, pulling me closer. “I told you we were done.”
“Not for something like her!”
He stepped between us, growling at her. “Show up in front of me again, and you’re going to regret it. Go away.”
She narrowed her eyes and then glanced at me. “You think we’re done. We’re not!”
She and her friend stomped away. Her friend looked back and glared at me as they headed further into the crowd.
Matt sighed and looked down at me. “Let go.”
I followed him out of the mall and back into the car. He seemed even angrier than before we came.
“I’m sorry, you weren’t supposed to run into anyone like that.”
“It’s okay,” I said, looking out the window.
“It’s not okay,” he said. “All this is probably making you think the worst of us. We’re not doing a good job of making a good impression.”
I glanced at him and looked out the window rather than saying anything. His eyes were focused on the road. His jaw was clenched, and I relaxed in my seat as he drove us back to the Estate.
Tony was outside when we got there, talking with someone in their pack. Matt pulled up in front of the door. Stopped the car and got out. He pulled my door open and helped me out of the car before tossing the keys to Tony. He put the bags from the mall in his hands and walked inside.
“It’s your turn,” he growled. “Hope you have better luck.”
Tony grimaced and looked at me. I looked down, shuffling my feet. Tony sighed and came towards me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t mean to make things difficult.”
“It’s not your fault, so don’t apologize,” Tony said, leading me inside. “Why don’t you head up and change? I already picked something out for you. We leave in an hour.”
“Okay.”
I walked up the stairs toward my room only to find it still taped off. Then, I went to Tony’s room. There was a dress laid out on the bed, a new set of underwear, and heels too.
Tony came up just behind me. “We should take care of your ears.”
He tugged me into the bathroom and sat me down on the small bench inside before washing his hands. He sat beside me.
“It didn’t hurt too much, did it?”
“I’m okay.”
Tony sighed. “If you didn’t want your ears pierced, you could have said something.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Tony paused. “Of course, it matters.”
I looked away from him. “Okay.”
Tony set his jaw. “I can see what Matt means.”
I flinched at that. He took my hand and made me face him. He lifted my face so our eyes met.
“You are our mate,” Tony said. “And we’re trying our best to take care of you. Don’t you understand that?”
I pressed my lips together, staring at him. Tony’s eyes flashed.
“Is that a no?”
“You paid a lot for me,” I said. “It makes sense that you would.”
Tony blinked at me. “What… What are you talking about?”
“I—” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
He growled. “Now is not the time to say nothing, Lucy. Out with it. What are you talking about?”
“The auction,” I said. “You bought me.”
“And?”
I looked at him and looked away, shaking my head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Lucy, what do you mean?”
I glanced at him. “You don’t think it matters, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Why would it matter?”
I shrugged. “I’ll deal with my ears later.”
Tony set the bag aside. “Lucy, you’re going to have to tell me what it is that’s bothering you. We can’t go out with you like this.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Tony said nothing for a long time. “What does that mean?”
“Nothing,” I said. “I’m fine.”
“You’ll feel better once you’ve gotten out for a bit. Matt told me what happened at the mall. I’m making him deal with all of his exes properly, so you won’t have to worry about it.” His phone started ringing, and he stood. “We’re leaving in an hour. Shower and get dressed.”
With that, he was gone, closing the door behind him. I got up to shower and change. I didn’t bother with anything extra. Tony or Matt would decide if I was wearing perfume or jewelry. I applied some of the ointment the clerk gave me to my ears. They still hurt, but it wasn’t the worst thing. I left Tony’s room.
He was standing at the end of the hallway, staring out the window. Then, he turned to me and shook his head. He turned me back in the room, spritzed me with perfume, and put jewelry on me. I guessed it was all platinum too.
“You could have done something with your hair.”
“There weren’t any scissors.”
He blinked. “What?”
“There weren’t any scissors,” I said again.
“You don’t have to have short hair anymore,” he said. “We have enough money for you to take care of it.”
I looked away. “Okay. What do you want me to do to it?”
Tony let out a frustrated huff. “It’s your hair. Style it how you want.”
I didn’t move. He blinked at me, and he groaned. “That’s not a style, Lucy.”
“So, what do you want me to do to it?”
Tony looked at me strangely. “What do you mean?”
I flinched at his tone. “Never mind. I’ll just---”
“Stop. I asked a question. Just answer me.”
“I mean, what do you want me to do with it?” I said.
Tony took a deep breath. “I can’t tell if you’re doing this on purpose or you just don’t understand.”
I dropped my gaze. His words hurt. “It’s not important.”
“It is important. I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t!” I flinched and stepped away from him. He let out another long sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
“It’s---”
“Finish that sentence, and I swear….” I shut my mouth. He groaned again. “Lucy… I am trying to understand you, but you’re not helping.”
I looked up at him. Tony’s eyes widened. He blinked and blinked again before he frowned.
“You… don’t believe me.”
I looked down. “What do you want me to do it?”
“Stop,” Tony said. “Just stop. Answer me. Do you believe me or not?”
I said nothing. I didn’t want him to get angry again. I shifted my weight and kept my gaze down.
“Lucy,” he said, taking my hands. “You don’t believe that we’re trying?”
“Trying?” I asked and bracing for what he would say. Fear churned in my stomach.
“Trying to take care of you?”
I nodded. “You paid a lot for me.”
He growled. “What does that have to do with anything? You’re our mate. Who cares that we bought you from an auction? It doesn’t matter.”
My eyes started to burn with tears. “What do you want from me?”
“We’ve told you. And what does that have to do with you not believing that we’re trying?”
“Nothing, I guess…”
He sighed in relief. “Well, at least we’re on the same page about that.”
I turned away. “I’ll… put it up or something.”
I went back to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I didn’t have the first clue about what to do with it, so I pinned half of it back with a few bobby pins and hoped it would hold. I missed having short hair. I came back, and Tony seemed happy enough with it and put a different hairclip in my hair.
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