Lydia

"Where did you hear that?" Lydia questioned, throwing her phone on to the bed.

Spencer ran her hands through her hair, her demeanour became restless as she regarded her daughter.

"That's not important. Did he do that?"

"Yes." Lydia murmured and for the first time since the break up, her pain was for someone else instead.

Her mother had always been close with Riley. The two of them were friends and she had a deep respect for her daughters boyfriend. Lydia hadn't wanted to tell her mother what happened out of fear for Nathan finding out, but she brushed over how much the betrayal could hurt Spencer.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Spencer asked, her bottom lip began to quiver and her voice hitched. The raw emotion hit Lydia right in the heart and tears soon began to pool, spilling over the edges as much as her words soon did.

"Because I knew that Nathan would be pissed!" Lydia sobbed. "I knew that out of loyalty to me he would want to kick Riley off the football team. But that would be unprofessional. So he couldn't do that! And then he'd feel guilty that he couldn't do it and he'd get all frustrated and mad that he couldn't do what he really wanted to and he'd feel like he wasn't supporting me and I didn't want that!"

"Oh honey." Spencer stretched out her arms and walked forward, pulling Lydia into a fierce and protective hug. "I understand all of that. I do. But I would never, ever, want you to go through something like that alone!"

Spencer leaned back and gripped Lydia's shoulders, tears ran down her cheeks just as they did on her daughters young face.

"I've been hurt like that. And if I was still a teenager I'd break Riley's fucking neck," Spencer told her with a more menacing tone before she faded back to despair. "I know how painful it feels, Lyds. I feel so heartbroken that you had to go through that."

Lydia watched her mother break down, perhaps in more pain than she'd seen her before. Spencer always spoke about how indescribable and strong a mother's love was and while Lydia couldn't relate, not having children of her own, she felt as though she was seeing a glimpse of just how deep that love goes.

"I'll be okay Mom." Lydia pulled her back into an embrace, the two of them holding on in a strong embrace. "I had an amazing mother to show me what strength is."

—

Fine? Maybe where you live. It's snowing here and I'm sooooo over it.

😉

Sweet talker.

I'm at the hair salon by the way.

Lydia sat in the chair staring at her reflection. The foils and cape always made her feel like a troll. But she couldn't wait to see the outcome of the colour that was processing. She had a free period before first morning break so she decided to skip home room and hoped to make it back in time for English.

The smell of hair chemicals made her feel mildly light headed. The sound of hair driers echoed through the open salon. The chime of bracelets on the wrists of stylists jingled as they combed, chopped and washed clients hair. She loved the salon. There was something soothing about the constant of it. No matter what day it was, the atmosphere was always the same and there was something oddly satisfying about that.

Spicing up my colour a little. I'm not quite sure actually. We'll see once it's done.

Yeah I suppose. Like how guys after a break up start screwing a two when they had a ten. We all cope in our own ways.

My step dad and uncle have proven that they're not all the same. So na. But Riley Hart can chew on cyanide for all I care.

When it's done. 😉

😁

Lydia decided not to respond again until she could send him a photo of the finished product. The hairdresser rinsed the colour out, gave her a blow wave and some curls. She left the salon feeling renewed and fresh and while she still had a gaping hole in her heart, she was surprised to find how much a new look actually helped.

Ready to lay eyes on these new locks?

Okay. Hang on, here we go..