Terror

Chapter Eleven

Bella stared down at an old pair of scissors she'd found in Jason's trailer. The blades were dull, rust crawling along the edges, and the handles were bent out of shape.

She tugged a strand of her thin hair between her fingers, pausing at the uneven ends, singed and broken from the fire Ashley had set when she torched the car. She knew she had to trim the damaged ends, even if the rest of her hair could still be saved.

There was no mirror in trailer—not that it mattered much. Looking good had stopped being important the moment survival became a top priority. Styling, grooming, and appearances had faded into the background, replaced by scraped-together meals and knowing how go stop a sound from bleeding.

Last night, she and Jason had slept together. It was her first time driven by a whirlwind of aching need. Seeing him again after everything had opened something inside her, something she realized was still broken. For a moment, it felt like safety. Like the way things used to be.

But even the warmth of his arms, something felt incomplete. Like they were only pretending to be the people they once were.

"I don't believe we were getting ready for the runway," Nevaeh said with a smirk.

Bella turned toward her, unsurprised by her interruption. Nevaeh stood casually on the steps, completely unfazed. Her black hair was neatly braided, with a faint touch of smeared makeup still clinging to her cheeks.

Bella hesitated, glancing down at the scissors in her hand.

"Can you cut the burned pieces?" she asked, holding them up.

Nevaeh wouldn't have been her first choice—probably not even top five—but Bella couldn't deny that she knew what she was doing.

"You really think I'm going to chop off all your hair?" Nevaeh laughed, shaking her head. "I'm not one of those crazy people running around here."

Bella blinked, briefly wondering how Nevaeh had known what she was thinking—then remembered. Someone had mentioned that Nevaeh's ability was a form of mind reading. Which meant Bella couldn't really hide much around her anymore.

"I guess so," Nevaeh said smugly as she crossed the small space and took the scissors.

Bella sat herself down on the cushioned bench, straightening her back straight, silently playing that Nevaeh wouldn't butcher it.

"You've missed out on quite a lot," Nevaeh said, snipping casually. "Did you know Bryce and Emma are officially together? Total bummer because he's so hot. Esme and James have this fling, and apparently Jade is actually in love with Esme."

Bella barely heard the words. Her mind was still on Jason, trying to process how something so familiar now felt so distant. They were together again, but it wasn't the same. The love was still there—burning and real—but buried beneath it was heavy, dragging guilt.

"There," Nevaeh said, holding up a small makeup mirror.

Bella took it. The scorched sections were gone. The rest of her hair, though a little uneven in places, fell cleanly down her shoulders. She let out a quiet sight of relief. Shorter hair would've brought black memories she'd rather forget—like disastrous haircut back in the sixth grade.

"Do you know about this situation with Divina?" Bella asked quietly, her eyes drifting to the scars a long her hands.

"From what I've heard," Nevaeh began. "Divina needs to take over a body to stop Ashley with Cassandra's help. Then we gotta deal with those followers, which seems easy enough."

Followers were those mindless dead people who obeyed Ashley, doing whatever she commanded without question. Bella knew Teagan was still one of those followers, but apparently she was switching sides due to Cassandra.