Chapter 81: Chapter 81

Gerard hugs me and delivers really good news, “The salon is yours today! I had my receptionist reschedule all my appointments!” He says it with a wicked grin. He is wearing a black suit and he had his long black hair pulled back into a braid down his back. For lack of a better word, he looks cool.

“Oh, Gerard, that’s great! How do you want to do the makeovers?” I unzip my jacket and hang it up. Gerard appears to be thinking for a minute. “I think it's best we do one at a time. We’ll start with the men. The women can go to Starbucks and we’ll get them when it’s their turn.”

“Sounds great, Gerard. Did you hear that, girls? The men are getting done first. You can go to Starbucks for coffee and we’ll come and get you if you haven't returned in time.”

Rick is the first to volunteer and sits in the makeover seat. Gerard circles him, looking at his hair and touching it.

“What do you think?” I ask.

“He has a good cut. I think we’ll keep the style and take it down an inch. Add some gold highlights to lighten the brown. He's going to look sharp,” Gerard comments.

“Sounds good,” I agree.

They started working on Rick right away. An hour later, and he looks almost the same. I don’t let on what I think, the last thing I want to do is offend Gerrard. We act like it’s a big change and compliment him. If I hadn’t seen him getting his haircut and highlighted myself, I wouldn’t have believed anything was done to it.

Gerard looks up. “Who would like to go next?”

Brett jumps into the chair. “Here goes nothing!” he says with a hint of hesitation.

Gerard assesses his long blond hair that kisses his shoulders and looks at me. I told him what we had discussed in the meetings. “Our plan for him is to bulk him up a bit. He comes off on the ice as sloppy. We want to improve his image, increase his sex appeal and masculinity.”

Gerard shrugged. “Let’s shave it then.”

“Not bald, that doesn’t look good on the ice,” I add quickly. Scott is close so I’m hoping he didn’t hear.

“I heard that!” Scott teases.

“Heard what?” I play dumb. I don’t want to hurt his feelings.

Brett’s change is dramatic. His new cut is spiky on top and the back and sides were very short. It made him look exceptionally masculine and handsome. He is going to give Scott a run for his money in the looks department. His color was left alone. His blond hair looks good on him.

“Fantastic!” I comment.

Someone came to sweep up and then Gerard calls, “Next!”

Scott jumps in the chair. Gerard shrugs. Scott braces himself. I toss back my head and laughed.

“How can you improve perfection?” I ask. He is God’s gift to all womankind. “You’re dismissed,” I order. Scott sighs with relief. His shaggy brown hair is going to be left as is. It complements his facial features and never seems to bother him when he is on the ice.

Gerard calls out, “Next.” The females come back into the salon just after. They all flock to Brett. The words oh my and holy shit are being whispered by all the girls. There is an element of seriousness to the girls right after they realize that dramatic changes can also happen to them. Cautious optimism permeates the room. The last of the men to go to the chair, Gerard smiles at him, “This one is easy. We’ll darken his color to a sandy brown and crop it close on the sides and back. The front we’ll cut makes it look all chunky and rough. He has to have six o’clock shadow with this look to work."

They started dying his hair and following Gerard’s instructions. I didn’t give any input on this one because I trusted Gerard when he was this confident. The result was no less than trendsetting. All the men are being transformed into heartthrobs before our eyes, except for Scott who already had the honor. The girls are flirtatious while the cameras roll. They were running their fingers through the men’s hair and hugging them for absolutely no reason. This can mean trouble. I pass it off though, as it made for good television.

“Gerard, can we break for a while? I want to go pick up some food. It looks like we are going to be here at least four more hours.”

“Sure,” Gerard smiles at me. “Did you want a complimentary set to your hair while you’re here? It’s the least I could do for you with all the publicity you’re generating for me.”

“Sure," I reply, "after the girls are done. I insist on paying you though. Did you want me to get you something?”

“No, thanks,” Gerard answers. “I’ll go,” Scott offers.

“It’s all right,” I respond. I’m afraid if we’re alone he will ask me about the bald comment I made.”

“Can I come?” he asks politely. “Sure you can.”

Scott leads me out the door. “Where do you want to get food?” “There’s a pizza place around the block I saw it when the limousines circled.”

Scott takes my hand and I lead him to the restaurant. We come back with several pizzas and Gatorade. Lunch only takes about thirty minutes before all the pizza and drinks are consumed.

Now it was the girls' turn.

Gerard said, “Who’s first?” Sheena gets in the chair. I shrug. Gerald shrugs. “You’ve been dismissed, Sheena. I can’t fix excellence.” She glows with the compliment and quickly gets off the hot seat.

Gerard calls out, “Next!” It is quickly becoming his trademark. Petite five foot four Mira is in the spotlight next. Gerard raises his eyebrow and comments, “This young, beautiful woman needs a ponytail!” Her hair is black and the longest of all the girls. It cascades to her waist. Oh my God, I think. He’s going to cut off all her hair! Gerard takes her hair and ties it in a ponytail as he did to me, and to add to the dramatic effect, he holds up the scissors and asks, “Who wants to do the honors?” Mira gasps in shock as her eyes fill with tears.

The girls shriek and try to commandeer the scissors but Scott, being the gentleman he is, says, “Please allow me.”

Gerard instructs, “Cut just above the elastic.”

Tears well in Mira's eyes and Scott leans down to whisper in her ear something nobody can hear. I go over and offer my hand in support. Mira closes her eyes and Scott slowly cuts off her hair as instructed. He wipes her tears away before he steps back to allow the stylists to complete her new look. Gerard took the ponytail and said, “Locks of Love will be happy to have this one!”

Mira keeps her eyes closed as they gave her a Cleopatra cut, short fringed bangs with a bob that is slightly longer in the front. The change is dramatic but suits her face nicely. She is gorgeous! It’s obvious when she opens her eyes that she hates it. I hug her and tell her how truly beautiful she looks.

“Next!”

Brandy sits in the chair. She is Sheena’s biggest competitor. Isabella recalls what Michael said, advising us to style her hair like Sheena's so they looked the same. I like the idea of having the two top females look alike because they will stand out only by their performances and who skates better. They will fight harder than they already do against one another.

Gerard looks at Isabella and says, “I’d like to keep the length.”

“I agree. Let’s keep it Sheena’s length, and as a matter-of-fact, let’s dye it the same color, too.” Brandy’s eyes nearly pop out of her head.

“You can’t be serious!” she complains.

Scott speaks up, “If you look like your biggest competitor, then you are forced to stand out on your merits of skating... and skating alone.”

I call for the limousines to be waiting for the skaters in front of the salon. Gerard goes to work on Brandy taking a few inches off the ends and then stripping the color from her hair so that the blond will take and be as light as Sheena’s. When he is done, one has to look twice to confirm who is whom.

Gerard bellows, “Next!”

The last girl takes the hot seat. Nelly is dating Liam. Gerard shrugs. I shrug. The girls are catching on to the gestures.

“How can you fix such flawlessness?” I question. “You are released.” After a long day, all the skaters are beautified and allowed to return to the Village for the night. Scott hangs back with me so I can receive my complimentary style which I offer to pay for. Gerard went out of his way to pamper me. He has his receptionist go to Starbucks to get my favorite tea and styles away until he’s satisfied. He kept going on about how pretty my face was. If I’m honest with myself, no matter what he does to my hair, I still feel ugly, and the best hairstyle in the world can’t fix that mindset.

We said their goodbyes to Gerard, and then I ask Scott if he wants to take a walk with me before returning to the Village. He happily agrees. When we go around the first corner, Scott stops me and says exactly what I expect him to say, “I heard your comment about shaved heads and I can’t say that it didn’t disappoint me. I can stop doing it.” I don’t deserve him. Scott waits for me to speak. I answered honestly, even though it’s embarrassing for me to say what I’m truly thinking. “It took me a while to get used to it, but now it’s erotic to me. I love it. It's part of who you are.”

“You don’t know how much I wish I can take away your pain. I would do anything for this not to have happened to you. I want to love you so badly,” he confesses.

“Too scared,” I said timidly backing away from him.

Scott bridges the distance between us pulling my body to his. Shaken by his advances, I cower from him and start whimpering. It’s the same noise I made when Michael finished assaulting me. It comes back to me like a bursting dam. I sob uncontrollably like it’s happening for a second time. My heart is pounding and my body breaks out into a sweat. I’m in fight or flight mode.

Scott looks troubled, not knowing how to calm me, “I’m so sorry,” he whispers. “I’m so sorry.” He keeps repeating the sentiment as he has just hurt me. My legs give out from underneath me. He catches me just before I go down. I fight his embrace and try freeing myself from his grip. I hear myself getting hysterical, tears blind me, my devastation breaks me.

I thought I was getting better, but I’m crumbling. I can’t breathe. My heart races. This time I’m going to get away from Michael before he can do it to me again. This time I’m getting away. I struggle, kick, claw, scream with everything I have. I break free; I have superhuman strength and I run like hell. I’m certain I can hear Michael chasing me. I scream and try running faster feeling damp-from-sweat. My clothing is being pulled back away from me.

Trapped, I screamed louder. The next thing I feel is his arms grabbing mine. Damn it, I’m captured. I hear Scott yell, “Call an ambulance,” as he gasps for breath. I don’t remember anything else. Scott doesn’t let go of me until the ambulance arrives. I’m given a needle, a sedative. Then, I’m strapped to a stretcher so I can’t move. Was it Scott holding me or Michael, I couldn’t remember.

I’m taken back to the hospital where I was first admitted. This time Bianca isn’t working and I’m formed. I can’t talk to my nurse because I’m too heavily sedated. I sleep for what feels like a month.

When I wake up, I ask for Scott, then water. They tell me that Scott isn’t allowed to come and that I have to be more alert to have water. I remember being at the salon but nothing after that. I keep trying to go over what happened in my head but nothing makes sense. Did I see Michael? Why was I so afraid? I must have seen him. Maybe he was hiding and I’m the only one who saw him? I recall the people with me at the salon. I only remember Gerard, Justin, Scott, and the skaters. I’m losing it. I can’t let them know or they won’t let me leave. I fall asleep again. The drugs keep me drifting in and out.

When I wake up the next time, I see a nurse and ask her for water. She refuses to say that I can’t have it while under sedation. The nurse asks me if I remember what happened. I shake my head, letting her know I’m not sure. Then I ask, “Can I call someone from the Village to come to pick me up?”

“I’m sorry, but you can’t go anywhere, you’ve been formed.”

“Formed?”

“Yes, the doctor signed a Form One due to your history and the events that led up to you coming here today. Our staff psychiatrist deems you weren't getting the help you needed after the physical assault you suffered a few weeks back.”

“How long do I have to stay here?”

“Three days”

“Can I have visitors?” “It’s not advised.

“Get some sleep now, dear. There's nothing you can do but let the doctors help you.”