Better Than Before

Chapter Twenty

      "Sorry I'm a little late. Susan wanted me to give an in-depth detailed handover of my shift." Sadie said, walking past Kelsey and dumping her large bags down on the floor beside the bed. "What's there to handover? Nothing ever goes on here."

   Closing the door after her, Kelsey made her way back of to the vanity.
      "Milly, this is Sadie. Sadie this is my best friend, Milly." She introduced, pointing back and forth between the phone and the disgruntled receptionist.
      "Hey."
      "Hi."
      "Sadie's offered to do my hair for this evening." Kelsey explained.

      "Oh right, have you had the joy of meeting this mysterious Sean yet, Sadie?" Milly asked, wiggling her eye brows. The stress and frustration of Sadie's shift seemed to melt away at the question.

     "Yeah I have." She answered her eyes wide and glistening. "He's fit as fuck."
Milly leant back in her chair, hands clapping together as a laugh ripped out of her.
     "You absolute minx, Kelsey. Cameron's going to lose his mind when he hears about all this."

  Sadie pulled over the chair and gestured for Kelsey to take a seat.
      "Would you mind just quickly zipping me all the way up? I couldn't quite manage it on my own." Kelsey asked, smiling sweetly at Sadie. Pulling her hair to the side Kelsey felt the fabric pull taught against her body. "Thank you."
Taking her seat she stared at her reflection in the mirror whilst Sadie rummaged through the bags behind her.

      "You seem in a much better mood than earlier." Sadie said as she pulled hot pink hair straighteners out of a bag.
      "Yeah I am thank you. Had one of those 'lose track of time' type showers and every worry seemed to go down the drain." Kelsey said. Looking down at Milly in the phone screen, who was reaching back for the stack of papers and a highlighter. "Sadie was a godsend earlier, really helped talk me down from an anxiety attack."

      "Thank you for being there for her, Sadie." Milly responded, her eyes burdened with the guilt of not being present but her words heavy with attribution for the woman who was.

       "It was nothing really." Sadie said walking back over and unplugging something beneath the vanity table to plug in the straighteners. "But if you want to know more information on the guy I can tell you this." She leant forward over Kelsey's shoulder to direct Milly. "He's got Money. I'm talking one of the metal credit cards, type of level of money."

   Milly's mouth dropped, her eyes flickering back to Kelsey who was hiding her head in her hands.
      "Guy's come on now. Sean's so much more than just his looks and his financial status."
      "But it doesn't hurt though." Milly shrugged.
      "He's also incredibly thoughtful and can keep up with my level of jokes. Not to mention he was a complete and utter gentlemen when I was being a drunken nuisance." Kelsey said, listing off Sean's qualities. "How many guys do we know that are like that, huh."
       "Fair enough." Sadie said, spritzing Kelsey's hair with heat protector. The mist of tangerine fragranced product filling the room.

      "Well I must love you and leave you." Milly said, shuffling the papers in her lap and pulling the glasses back down onto her face. "It's been an absolute pleasure to meet you Sadie." She smiled.
       "Likewise." Sadie responded, giving a small wave as she began to section Kelsey's hair.

       "Now Miss." Milly grabbed Kelsey's attention, her gaze piercing. "Have a lovely time, just don't leave it nearly 24 hours to check in with me!"
       "No worries, mum." Kelsey laughed, blowing Milly a kiss. "I Love you."
       "Love you too."

   The phone screen went dark for a second before returning to Kelsey's Home Screen. Sadie combed through Kelsey's hair delicately, clipping back segments and untangling the ends.
      "So, what would you like me to do exactly?" Sadie asked. Kelsey met her eyes in the mirror.
      "You have full control. You do what you think will look best."

    Kelsey stared at the woman before her. Her usual wild waves of red hair were pinned neatly behind her and the rest of her hair curled down over her shoulders. Her make up looked dewy and fresh, a light coral blush over her cheeks and her lips painted a deep red. Her thick eyelashes highlighted by mascara as a neutral eyeshadow glossed over her eyelids. Sadie stood proudly behind her, admiring her own work.

       "Thank you." Kelsey breathed. "You are insanely talented."
Sadie turned back tying her hair loosely in a bun atop her head, her cheeks speckled in a blush.
      "Nah mate, I'm nothing special."
      "Oh shush, you. You are amazing, Sadie." Kelsey said pulling her into a big hug. Her eyes clocking the time as she did so.

  18:16

  Pulling back but keeping her hands on Sadie's shoulders she decided to test her luck.
      "You said you drive right?"
      "Yeah, why?"
      "Can I trouble you for a lift? I want to start taking things into my own hands. Have control over a situation for once."

     The two women stared up at the looming house before them. Two cars parked neatly on the gravelled driveway in front.
Sadie leant forward, her chin practically hitting the steering wheel as she stared mouth agape at the property.
      "I told you. This man has money, Money!"

  Kelsey laughed, her nerves calmed to see the Sean's car was still parked up and that she hadn't missed him leave.
       "Thank you for the lift."
       "Anytime. At least I know an address to target if anything goes wrong." Sadie said holding her fist out. Kelsey bumped it with her own as she gathered her bag and adjusted the strap of one of her heels.

       "Be safe, alright." Sadie said, a knowing smirk spreading across her face.
        "Always." Kelsey responded with a wink and pushing open the passenger door. Stepping out onto the path, Kelsey shut the door softly and waved as Sadie pulled away down the road. Taking a deep breath she turned towards the door, the scratch in the paintwork still prominent from the night before. A warm feeling rose up in Kelsey's chest at the memory. Reaching the door step she raised her hand, hesitating momentarily before pressing the doorbell.  Stepping back she smiled at her feet as she heard the approaching footsteps.

  The door opened, Martha Henderson stood wide eyed.
     "Kelsey?" She said. "What a pleasant surprise." She moved to the side to allow Kelsey to enter, holding the door wide open for her.

     "You look positively radiant." Martha added, a white toothy smile across her face. The sound of more footfalls rumbled from above them as Kelsey stepped inside.
       "Thank you Mrs. Henderson." Kelsey said leaning to kiss her gently on each cheek. "It's lovely to get a chance to see you properly today." Martha's eyes welled up with tears, letting go of the door she pulled Kelsey into a hug.

       "Please call me Martha, sweetie. It's so great to see you again." Pulling back both Kelsey nodded and squeezed Martha's hands tight.

     A couple of figures emerged on the staircase. Kelsey turned to see Jake pause as he got halfway down it, his eyes like saucers as he took in her appearance. Kelsey swallowed and stood up a little straighter, no longer intimidated by his presence.
   Sean appeared behind him, his hair neatly pushed back off of his face but his shirt not yet buttoned all the way to the top. He had a navy suit jacket slung over his shoulder, held loosely in his grasp. Shaking his head his shocked face grew into one of adoration.

     "Kelsey?" He breathed, his smile pulling to the side. Pushing gently past his younger brother he took the stairs slowly in his stride. His crisp white shirt tucked into his navy suit trousers. Kelsey caught her breath in her throat as he approached her. His eyes dazzling as they held her gaze.
     "Kelsey, you look breathtakingly gorgeous."

  The warmth from her chest spread up her neck to her cheeks. 
      "Surprise." She sang quietly to him as he stopped before her, his eyes taking her all in, slowly travelling up and down her body. She watched as his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed before meeting her gaze once again. Her heart pounding hard against her ribcage. His teeth grazed his lips.

     "A very pleasant one at that." Sean smiled, pulling his jacket round and onto his arms. "I guess we should be going." Sean slipped his shoes on, grabbing his car keys from the hook and slipping them in his pocket. Turning back he held his hand outstretched towards her, a devilish grin gracing his features. Kelsey felt the same smile spread across her lips as she placed her hand in his, a current of electricity flowing through them both from the contact.

      "After you, Miss Owens." Sean whispered in her ear, sending a pleasant shiver up her spine as they exited the Henderson household.