Bride by Design

C H A P T E R 14

WHAT DO YOU KNOW

Karyssa

"How's it going?" I stood a foot outside the chaos that was Lauren's room, "you sure you want to be facing all that light? You'll be sorry the next morning you sleep in. Too bright and hot, I tell you."

Halting on pulling her single steel-framed bed to face the window, she straightened up and wiped the perspiration dripping from her forehead and breathed, "I'll hang darker and thicker drapes, that should help. Do you think I could set up my work station there? I'm shoving the bed over here and leave the wider side for it."

"Work station?" I've never had heard her refer to it as so before. "What happened to 'do what you love and you'll never have to work a single day in your life'."

"Bills happened," she continued to drag the bed.

Lending her an extra pair of arms, I went in and helped her accomplish the task boredom and her tangled thoughts brought, "Guess your days off didn't mean your genius gets to laze around."

"I'll have to make time to compose new songs later or Harper will chew my ears off."

"Good luck with that," we dropped our holds but it was still inches off the mark to where she wanted it, "you better not take a nap or you'll sleep through it. You're tired, aren't you?"

She gave it a good kick for the finishing touch and sat down on the mattress, "I am but I..."

"You think that after you've re-arranged and cleaned up here you'll declutter and silence the naysayers in your head?" I picked up her composition sheets-rough lyrics, but she swiftly took them from me and crumpled them.

'My love's a crime...'

"It's in the early stage. I can't have you looking at it," she covered her unease and-something else, with the guise of embarrassment, "they're not refined. I couldn't have you grading them, Teach. I wouldn't appreciate an F."

"You know what?" I couldn't stomach letting her drive herself crazy for another day so I reckon a distraction's in order, "why don't you come with me? Bianca and I are going bowling with her boyfriend and his cousins. You'll enjoy and she'll be glad to see you too. So? You up for it or would you rather lay on all this mess?"

Her weary eyes scanned her room and she winced, "Won't you stay and help me instead?"

"On a holiday? No."

"It's a public place. An hour tops and the paps would descend upon the bowling alley; I'll ruin everyone's day."

"A decent disguise would avert that," tilting her chin up with my forefinger, I moved her head from side to side and noted her asymmetrical pixie hair was done okay, "I've already been promoted as your hairdresser yesterday when you butchered this; I don't mind occupying the seat of your makeup artist too."

"You think it'll work?"

"Not a soul has seen you for more than a week so, unless they have hidden cameras installed here, no one would recognize you with a passing glance," I had trouble fixing her cut. New hair, new chapter but Lauren wasn't stopping at chopping off a few inches-she was aiming for the easy and low-maintain cut-bald style, "I'll try not to go too heavy on the makeup but you're gonna need to hide those chocolate brown eyes. Old-fashioned glasses or contacts? You got either? You're also sporting my clothes because your signature style would be no good."

"Do I really have to go?" Just listening to me highlighting what had to be done on her sucked the remainder of her energy, "I don't feel like socializing with anyone."