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"I'll grab us some tea."
I went to a friend's apartment. Tessa, who was also my coworker, was obsessed with tea. At first I thought it was the classic Brit thing, but I soon realized just how obsessed she was.
Tessa managed to turn me into a tea drinker. I didn't mind tea, but I maybe had it twice a year at best. Even when sick, I'd opt for medicine instead of tea and herbs.
It was easier. Antibiotics and painkillers were invented for a good reason.
Tessa served the hot beverage in front of me, as we sat on her terrace. It was a sunny day, yet it was windy.
I came to Tessa for a reason today. On the weekends, she was an amazing bartender. We worked closely for a long time, and she was the one who taught me little tips and tricks and how to make the job easier on myself.
But, during the week, she was a hairdresser. A talented one, at that. She loved doing my hair. I couldn't count how many times she'd dyed it, styled it and cut it when I needed to.
However, she refused to take off more than an inch of my hair. It had grown over the years, and it was reaching my but. Not only was it high maintenance, but also, it was suffocating me.
The ends were split, damaged beyond repair.
Tessa was currently pissed at me, despite preparing me tea. I was given silent treatment.
I came by her house, took the first pair of scissors I saw and cut off a big chunk of my hair. It took her fifteen minutes to recollect herself.
It was the only way to persuade her to cut my goddamn hair.
''Oh, come on,'' I stared at her angry face. Quietly, she sipped on her tea, legs crossed as she looked straight ahead. I rolled my eyes. ''It's not that much of a difference.''
Tessa gasped. ''Not much of a difference? It's barely below your shoulders. Do you not regret it?''
''No, it's just hair.'' I sighed.
Tessa's shoulders slumped. ''Well, you'll regret it soon.''
I associated my hair, and hairstyle with bad things that happened to me in life. It was stupid, for sure, but back in the day, whenever Milo appeared in my nightmares, I had the urge to switch the hair color, or get a haircut. And at the end of every appointment, it felt as if a big weight had been lifted off my chest.
After seeing Cora and Luka... I wasn't in a very good space. It was hanging over my head quite a lot. I knew that I was being selfish with my decisions. Neither one of them was to blame for what had happened, and I never blamed them.
But my life got too complicated, too dark way too quickly. I didn't know how to deal with these emotions.
I blinked, and the thoughts got pushed to the back of my mind. Luka wasn't going to reappear anytime soon, and well, Cora hated me too much to bother, and that was exactly how I wanted it.
