Like Rapunzel, but Not Really ✔

Chapter 20

"I'll pay you now," I told her without thinking and proceeded to bunch my hair at the side of my left shoulders and snipped them off in one go.

Shit.

I released a breath I didn't realise I was holding when I chopped my locks off and looked at the gold strands of hair in my hand with a mixture of disbelief and awe.

I was crazy.

But I smiled because this was the first time I was actually doing something to save myself without anyone else's help and feeling like a helpless damsel-in-distress. A small surge of pride welled. And so I decided that whatever the outcome may output from tonight's actions I was not going to regret it.

I smiled bravely at Rum and handed over the metre's worth of golden lock. I watched her eyes gaze longingly at the sight of my hair and spied the restraint in her movement to all but grab the hair from my grasp. It felt weird watching Rum cradle my hair so lovingly but it was even weirder to see her sniff it.

My smile faltered.

I mean, I knew my hair was a unique shade of gold that could turn heads on the street but was it worth being creepy over?

Apparently yes to Rum because she looked at me and grinned almost manically and said, "Did I tell you I love gold?" She then snapped her finger and immediately one of the men from her shirtless harem ran towards her. "Give this to the wigmaker."

O-kay.

"I... Uhhh... I think I'll go now. I'll come back in one hour to get that passport," I stood up from the chair awkwardly, silently seeking her permission to be excused. Thankfully, she waved me off, her eyes still eyeing my thick mass of hair greedily as it got carted off by one of her henchman.

I made my way to the door to quickly scram but then halted as I thought of another favor I needed. "Hey, would you guys mind lending me a phone? I need to call someone." I bit my lip and looked at the nine guys standing at the side. All of them turned to look at Rum who flicked her wrist in a gesture of consent. I watched this dynamic with slight fascination and a lot of horror.

This woman. What was she?

One of the men handed me the phone and I quickly dialled in Penny's number.

"... H-helo?" she answered after what felt like ages. Honestly, it was really uncomfortable being stared at by nine guys as I made the call.

"Penny!" I brightened up in relief. "Okay, so I know this is ultra crazy late. But I need your help."

"Riri?" I could hear Penny shuffling on the other side of the line and the flicking of a switch - probably her light. "Are you okay? Oh, my God. Are you in trouble? Did Connor kidnap you? Should I call the police?!" Penny's frantic voice got louder with every question she asked.

I tried to calm her down. "Hey, Penz, no! No, really, I'm fine." I chuckled nervously as I realised that I had just disturbed this blonde's beauty sleep. "But I do need your help though. Can you meet me at the airport in three hours to help me buy tickets to London?"

A pregnant silence fell between us.

"WHAT?!"

I winced as I pulled the phone away from my ear.

"Penny, I swear I'll pay you back. Can you just help me buy the tickets, though? I can't do it because if I do it with my card then my Dad will know that I'm leaving the country."

I could feel Penny rolling her eyes from the other end. "I will kill you if you pay me back. But that's not what I mean. Why are you going to London? You are so bad at giving me context, you know that?"