All Rubber Duckies Go To Heaven

Chapter Eighteen

["When Did Your Heart Go Missing"-Rooney]

When I woke up it was nearing five and Aerin was gone.

I took a moment to stretch and yawn before switching on the television and rubbing sleep from my eyes. My hair fell into my eyes, tickling my nose, and I blew it out of the way.

Repeat.

Repeat.

This went on for a while (or atleast until the Fairly Odd Parents rerun ended) before I bolted up and stormed into the bathroom. I knew Cal did his own hair for the most part so he had to have scissors and such in here somewhere.

I found them in the medicine cabinet along with one of those razor used to thin out hair. Temptation seized hold of me as I weighed each choice in my hands.

“I can do it.”

I jumped and the scissors fell to the ground. As I bent to pick them up I sent Vanessa a fake glare.

She was leaning against the door with her arms crossed over her chest. Dark denim skinnies seemed black in the dim light and her teal shirt reflected the yellow of the light. The laces of her navy Vans were coming undone. Since I had last seen her she’d dyed the tips of her blond hair a fluorescent pink.

With a sigh, Vanessa took a step closer and held out a hand. “I need the scissors first.”

I handed them to her, handle side first, as I stood up.

She frowned. “Damn J…. You got tall. Kneel down. I’ll get a towel.” She ducked back out.

I sat for a while, fiddling with my thumbs, and waited for her return.

Which she did.

With hair dye.

Please?” she pleaded. “It’s blue black. Your school should allow it.”

My mouth twisted as I contemplated the action, not speaking. Her blue eyes looked to me expectantly, twinkling like Christmas lights.

Okay,” I answered, shrugging.

She squealed and took the box from me, jumping excitedly and somehow wrapping me in an old towel in the same motion. She set her iTouch on the counter and hit play.

“When did your heart go missing?

When did your heart go missing?

I treated you like a princess…”

I was a little nervous as she lathered the dye into my hair. I just kept thinking I won’t mind if something goes wrong. The dye actually smelled good.

When she was done with that she put a shower cap on my head and I followed her into the living room. She sunk into the overstuffed couch with an exasperated sigh.

“You want a soda?” I asked, easing into the kitchen and flicking the light on.

“Sure.”

I grabbed two out of the fridge and shut it with my hip before heading back into the living room. I put the sodas on the coffee table and slid to the floor with my back against the couch and my legs under the table. After a moment of silence I asked how work had gone. "Eh," her voice had a shrugging edge to it.

So let’s clear this up.

Vanessa is Cal’s younger sister. She lives with him (that was established when one of her ex-boyfriends started stalking her). She’s how I met Ca.

When I was a freshman she had been assigned my mentor by the counselor. Cal sort of became a big brother to me.

Vanessa is off in her sophomore year of college. She’s working towards a degree in journalism and hopes to land a job at a music magazine.