WHISPERS IN THE DARK

Chapter Ten

It was finally the day of my mother’s annual Charity Gala. At 9 a.m., she stormed into my room. “Callie, get up! We have a hair appointment in an hour,” she announced, flinging open the curtains and letting the sunlight flood in.

I groaned and pushed myself out of bed. “I’m coming, give me half an hour,” I called after her. She nodded and left, and I sat on the edge of my bed for a few moments before dragging myself to the bathroom. After freshening up, I slipped on a pair of high-waisted black jean shorts and a hoodie and headed downstairs.

My mother, Naomi, Steph, and Olivia were waiting by the front door. “Hurry up, Callie! We’ll be late if we don’t leave now,” my mother urged, stepping out. Olivia followed, making a face.

“Great, we have Miss Attitude with us today,” I muttered as I approached Naomi and Steph. They both laughed, and Naomi nudged us toward the car. “I’m surprised she managed to leave Luca alone for more than five minutes to come with us,” Naomi joked as we made our way over the stone driveway.

As we walked, I recounted the events with Luca from the previous night. “What’s his problem? I never thought he’d get physical,” Naomi gasped.

“Honestly, I think he’s just jealous of how well Mal and I get along,” I shrugged. We arrived at the hair salon shortly after.

My mother and Olivia went first for their hair appointments while Naomi, Steph, and I waited on the sofa. After an hour, they finally left, and I took in Olivia’s tight chopstick curls—Naomi quipped that Olivia looked like she had stuck her fingers in a plug socket.

“Okay girls, I’ll meet you back here in two hours, then we’ll head home to meet the makeup artists,” my mother said with a smile before leaving with Olivia.

The hair stylists brought in extra help, and soon the three of us were getting our hair done. Naomi opted for straight hair with half pulled up and crystal clips. Steph chose loose curls with a sparkly headband, while I went for loose curls with one side pinned back with a crystal clip. The rest of my hair flowed down my back.

Once done, we thanked the stylists and met my mother outside. “You all look beautiful,” she gushed, handing us each a box with a pain au chocolat. We hopped into the car, and it wasn’t long before we were home.

“Let’s go get our faces painted,” my mother laughed as she got out of the car. Olivia followed closely behind while Naomi, Steph, and I trailed a little slower.

“How many more hours do we need to put up with her?” Steph groaned as we walked up the steps.

“Our mother or Olivia?” Naomi and I laughed.

Inside, we found five makeup artists ready for us. After an hour, Olivia and my mother had finished and were changing into their outfits. Naomi, Steph, and I wrapped up our makeup just in time. I went for a dark smoky eye with nude lipstick, Naomi chose a simple smoky eye with black winged liner and pink gloss, and Steph opted for a smoky eye with winged liner and bright red lips.

We headed upstairs to change. As I was about to close my door, there was a knock. “Come in,” I called, wrapping my black satin housecoat around me. Mal entered, looking dashing in a black tuxedo.

“Hello, gorgeous. I have a gift for you,” he said with a smile, holding out a small black gift bag.

I met him halfway across the room, and he gave me a hug and a quick peck on the cheek before handing me the bag. Inside was a black velvet box. “Open it,” he said nervously.

I opened the box to find a stunning silver diamond-encrusted necklace. “Wow!” I whispered.

Mal’s grin widened as I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. It’s stunning,” I said, pulling away.