Finding Laila: Some Changes are Necessary (25 page)

“Mom, can you send Ree and Bailey up when
they get here? I need some serious help,” I shout downstairs.

I
run back to my vanity and look at my reflection.

My hair is a mess.

I
have yet to do the makeup thing and all I’ve managed to do is shower. My dress
is still hanging in the bag on the back of the closet door, and at this point
I’m thinking I was insane to ever be excited about this. Mom tried to get me to
do a manicure, but I hate people touching my nails so she gave up that fight and
pushed to have me get my hair done instead. I fought that one too, because I
thought I’d be able to do it myself.

“Bet
you’re wishing you listened to me, huh?” Mom asks when she walks into the room
and sits at the edge of my bed.

I
turn to face her and throw my arms at my sides in defeat. There is nothing
about getting dressed up for this that’s working out for me.

“Mom,”
I whine, “this is crazy, I have no idea what I’m doing.”

I
sit down next to her and throw myself back and stare at my ceiling and she mimics
the movement.

Her
hand reaches out for mine and she pats it, trying to calm me. “You’re fine.
It’s prom—every girl looks forward to it, and then freaks out when it
finally gets here. Would you like for me to help?”

“Yes.”

“You
realize you could wear your gym clothes and Haden would still look at you like
he always has.”

“Maybe
so, but I’d rather not test that one out.”

“Then
I suppose we better get moving,” she says as she sits up and drags me with her.
“Show me the look you wanted to go for and we’ll see what we can do.”

I
show her the image of what I found on Pinterest and she studies it for a few
moments and
sets
my phone down before righting me in
the mirror.

“You
need to sit down, this could take a while,” she laughs. I’m a couple of inches
taller than her, and seeing how much is going into the style, I do as
instructed. She brushes my hair and starts to comb and part sections, pinning
and curling when appropriate.

“Do
you think you can do it?” I ask since she has my back to the mirror.

“Believe
it or not, Laila, I’ve done your hair before. Granted, you were younger and
didn’t sass me so much, but yeah, I got this.”

“I
don’t want it too poufy or perfect,” I tell her. “I mean, I want it to look
nice, but I don’t want to look like a princess.”

“Will
you just relax and let me do this? And what’s wrong with looking like a
princess every once in a while? It wasn’t too long ago that you got dressed up
for Haden’s gallery opening, so something tells me you like this a lot more
than you’re willing to admit.”

I
can feel my neck getting hot and my face flushes.
No I don’t, but I did it for my friend.

“Whatever,”
I mutter, trying to change the subject. “Anything special going on?”

She
doesn’t answer right away as she continues to piece the style together. Her hands
stop moving and she moves in front of me and squats so that she’s at my level
and looks at the progress before standing up to resume working.

“I’m
taking Luka to Grandma’s house after you leave, and then your dad and I are
going to set up for your after-party. I think the
Jamesons
’
are going to come over for a little, but that’s about it.”

“I
still can’t believe y’all are letting everyone come over here and stay the
night.”

“Why?
I love those boys. Besides, if you’re not here, then there’s a chance for
trouble. Dad and I will stay out of your way, and I think he’s heating the
pool, so go wild.”

“Yeah,
you know us,” I wave my hands around wildly, “we’re crazy!”

She
tugs at my hair and I wince from the slight pain, but she only laughs.

“Are
you nervous?” she asks.

“I’d
lie and say no, but I think you already know the answer—this just isn’t
my thing, but at the same time, I’ve always dreamed about prom.”

She
puts a few more pins into my hair, and then pulls out the hairspray and puts an
ungodly amount into my hair. I start coughing from the fumes and try to fan it
out of my face, but she keeps spraying.

“Enough!”
I cough-laugh. “I think you may have just clogged my lungs or something.”

“All
right,” she smiles, “turn around.”

My
eyes widen in awe when I see the look she created. It’s better than I expected
and I turn to give her a hug but stop when I see the tears in her eyes.

“What’s
wrong?” I ask, pulling her to me and hugging her firmly.

“Nothing,”
she lies, wiping a tear away.

“It’s
just prom, Mom,” I remind her.

“Yeah,
but then it’s graduation, then your road trip, college, marriage and kids,” she
adds. I know the road trip is the one that worries her the most right now.

“Whoa,
hold up! Now you’re marrying me off? Can I get through tonight first?”

She
nods and laughs, but our time is interrupted when the doorbell rings.

“Okay,
well, call me if you need me, I’ll be downstairs.” She kisses my cheek and
disappears before the girls get to my room. It’s strange that all this time,
the guys have been my only friends and the girls they’ve dated have been
fleeting,
yet that’s not the case with Bailey or Ree.

They
come laughing into my room but both are frozen the moment they see me.

“Wow!”
I gasp. “You both look amazing! Ree, I had no idea you were such a fashionista
and Bailey -”

“Why
aren’t you dressed yet?” Bailey interrupts my compliment and drops her
overnight bag on the floor with a thud.

What the hell? It’s not
something I do very often and she’s totally ruining the moment.

“This
is
me
. Dressed,” I look down at my button-down shirt
and give her a turn.

“You
realize they’re going to be here in like thirty minutes, right?” She rolls her
eyes to make sure I know how annoyed she is with me.

“Back
off.” I try for nonchalance, but I don’t think it’s working. “Mom just finished
my hair. All I have left is my dress.”

“And
makeup,” Ree adds.

Yep, forgot that part.

“I
got it,” Bailey says walking over to me. “Get her dress out of that bag, will
ya?”

Ree
nods and sets to doing her task while Bailey makes me her project—
now
.

“I
can do my own makeup,” I remind her.

“Yeah,
well apparently you can’t because it’s still not done so sit still and shut
up,” she orders.

“Damn,
you’re bossy. No wonder Joey’s so hung up on you—you’re just like his
mom,” I tease with a straight face, and I’m rewarded with a finger to my side.

“I
will cut you,” she says with eyelash curlers in hand.

“Not
with that you won’t,” Ree tells her.

She
figures that she’s not getting anywhere so she starts to apply my makeup, and
once again I don’t get to see a damn thing—except Ree in a dress I didn’t
think was her style. It’s a purple and blue strapless flowing gown with a
bedazzled empire waist. Her hair is curled in long flowing pieces and her rich
olive complexion has only a small hint of makeup. The dress was gorgeous at the
store, but on her with full hair and makeup, she looks amazing.

“Has
Cole seen you, yet?” I ask her.

“He
saw the dress, and said he’d find something to match, so we’ll see.”

“You
left it in his hands?” I laugh but stop and turn serious. “Good thing I like
you. He called and asked me to help him pick something that matched purple.
That’s it—all the details he gave me.”

“Great,”
she groans, and sits on the end of my bed.

“I
took a picture of your dress, remember? I got you covered,” I laugh.

“Can
you stop talking and shut your eyes?” Bailey orders.

“Fine,”
I mutter, not liking her much at the moment.

“Has
Haden seen your dress?” Bailey asks.

I
drop my shoulders and exhale before opening my eyes and staring at her.

“Talk.
Don’t talk. Make up your mind already,” I say, standing up to look in the
mirror. I don’t care that she’s not finished—I never asked her to do it
anyway.

“You’re
nervous,” she teases, joining me to look in the mirror.

“Yeah,
well, so what?”

“I
think it’s cute.” She grins. “C’mon, sit down, I’m almost done.”

I
sit back in the chair because she’s done a good job so far. Considering that
she hasn’t actually seen the dress yet, she’s done my makeup perfectly. She adds
some blush to my cheeks and hands me a tube of mascara.

“Here:
eyes. Lips. Then dress.”

I
do a single nod and finish up the look, and then take in my appearance.

Aside
from the shirt, I look really nice. Ree silently holds the dress up, telling me
to get a move on, and I disappear into the bathroom. When Mom helped me pick
the dress out a few weeks back, she said it was the one for me. The
off-the-shoulder pinkish-nude chiffon number gathers over my chest and is
supposed to be secured with a sash around the waist. I do my best to zip and
tie it up before stepping out. I love how it flows freely to my feet and I
guess the girls must like the dress, because neither says a thing, but their
beaming smiles speak volumes.

“Can
someone make sure I got it zipped all the way and tie this damn thing?” I laugh
nervously.

Ree
walks over and secures everything before grinning appreciatively. “Looks
great.”

“Thanks,”
I answer and then look to Bailey. “And thanks for the makeup.”

Bailey
walks over with her phone in hand and holds it out. “Prom selfie, girls. Let’s
do it.”

We
squish our faces together, smile, and wait for the click before relaxing.

“All
right, let’s get downstairs,” I tell them as I grab my clutch and turn off the
lights after they leave.

It’s
still amazing how much everything has changed this last year—
just like Joey said it should
.

We’re
downstairs all of two seconds before Mom comes in with her own camera, snapping
pictures of each of us alone and together—and of course I can’t take a
serious picture, so she’s not too thrilled with me. I can tell she’s about to
give me the mom-stare, but she isn’t able to shoot the look because Dad opens
the door to let the guys in.

“Party’s
here,” Cole shouts and gives my dad a handshake and my mom a hug. Each of the guys
follows the same routine before walking over to see us.

Haden
looks perfect. He cut his hair, despite my objections, and if I thought he
couldn’t get any cuter, I was wrong. We opted out of the matchy thing, because
black is his thing—yet here he is in a gray fitted suit with a white
shirt and a tie that
does
match my
dress. His shy smile sends tingles down my arms and I feel suddenly very aware
that everyone is looking at us.

“You
look amazing,” he whispers in my ear as Mom snaps pictures of us together by
the fireplace.

Ree
and Cole take a few pictures together before Mom drags Joey and Bailey in for
theirs. Braxton and Scot finally show up and look awesome in their black tuxes
with complementary ties. Of course, Mom wastes no time running them through the
same song and dance as the rest of us.

“I
want to get everyone together for a group shot, and then I want one of the
gang,” Mom orders. The guys start acting like idiots, making up hand signals
for gangs, and Mom rolls her eyes, but they finally straighten up to take the
obligatory prom picture.

As
everyone makes adjustments to their outfits and poses for the picture, Haden’s
phone rings in his pocket and he darts out of the shot before Mom can take it.

“Dude,
put the phone down so we can get this over with,” Cole bellows.

Haden
waves him off and walks toward the window so he can listen to whoever is
talking on the other end. Everyone goes about their business and Mom continues
snapping a few more shots before Haden finally walks over.

“Hey,”
he says, reaching for my hand and pulling me away. “I’m gonna have to meet you
there. Mom just called and she’s upset because my grandma isn’t doing so well.
But I won’t be long, I’ll meet you there.”

“Do
you want me to come with you?” I ask, trying to meet his eyes, but he avoids
making eye contact.

“No,
you go have fun. I don’t think I’ll be long.” He kisses my cheek and takes off
without another word.

“Everything
okay?” Joey walks over and asks so no one else hears.

“I
don’t think his grandma is doing well, but he said to go on without him and
he’ll meet us there,” I tell him.

He
wraps an arm around my shoulder and hugs me. “Then he’ll meet us there.”