Destiny's Whisper (24 page)

Chloe sat quietly for a moment and Dani was unsure if she’d been heard, so when Chloe quietly asked her, “You were so calm.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t have my hair twisted around that moron’s fist!” she stated casually.

“I couldn’t move, I couldn’t scream. I could barely breathe,” she whispered, tears filling her blue eyes.

“That doesn’t matter–I could!” Dani offered, reaching her hand across the table and taking Chloe’s, frowning at how cold her friend’s hand felt.

“Would you have really done what you said?” Chloe asked, her eyes wide.

“I said a lot of things, exactly what
thing
are you referring to?”

“Scream down the roof?” Could she really have the nerve to embarrass herself that much for the sake of another?

“Oh that. No, I would have screamed down the
fucking
roof!” she stated forcefully, her response eliciting a wide smile from Chloe and an agreeing nod. “You ready to head home?” Dani asked gently.

“Not just yet, I’ve one more stop of make,” Chloe stated seriously and rose shakily to her feet.

Dani helped steady Chloe. “Can’t it wait? We can come back another time,” Dani encouraged.

Chloe’s negative response squashed that idea and with a surrendering shrug, Dani picked up the bag holding the cinnamon rolls, handed Chloe’s drink to her, and grabbed up her own. In silence, Dani followed Chloe back through the crowds, concern creasing her brow when Chloe stumbled a couple of times as the two retraced their footsteps toward the section of the mall they had originally entered.

Dani was busy looking at an outrageous outfit in a window when she suddenly bumped into Chloe’s unmoving body where she had stopped in the doorway of a hair salon. Dani’s questioning look turned to one of disbelief when she watched Chloe enter the salon, talk to one of the hairdressers and then allow herself to be led to the shampoo basin. It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out what was coming next.

“Exactly how much are you thinking of having cut off?” Dani asked casually, looking at the long, waves of honey and gold the stylist was busy running her hands through. She already knew what Chloe’s answer would be, she only hoped if Chloe heard herself say it out loud she might change her mind.

“All of it!” Chloe answered firmly.

“I was afraid of that,” Dani grumbled, casting a look heavenward and hoping for some sort of divine intervention. Nothing came. “Are you sure you don’t want to just start with a trim? You don’t want to do anything drastic; you’ll wind up hating yourself for the next three years while it grows back!”

“You cut your hair!”

“Yeah, and you wouldn’t believe the flack I’ve had to live through because of it. Besides, I did it because I
wanted
to,” Dani stated.

“And I’m going to cut mine because I
don’t
want to?” Chloe asked in confusion.

“I think you want it gone because of what just happened with Andrew,” Dani offered quietly.

Chloe’s blue eyes flamed to life and she lifted her chin a little higher in a show of defiance. “I will admit, part of this is about Andrew. I don’t ever want to feel that helpless again and if having short hair means that jerk can’t ever trap me the way he did, then that’s an added bonus. But, Dani, please try to understand. I’m so tired to being afraid of my own shadow it’s making me crazy. Maybe if I change the look of the shadow a little bit, I won’t be so afraid all the time.” Chloe tried to explain.

A small smile of understanding lifted Dani’s lips. “Chloe, do you remember Lindsey Williams?” Chloe nodded in acknowledgment. “You remember how shy and quiet she was, except, of course, while she was skating? Well she once told me that the only time she felt really comfortable with herself and just as important as everyone else was when she was on the ice performing. She said when she was wearing a gorgeous costume and her hair was all done up and she had on her favorite lipstick, she was a completely different person: confident, happy, and important. So I asked her why she didn’t wear her favorite lipstick all the time if it made her feel so good about herself? She gave me this funny look and that was the last time I saw her without lipstick. Who would have thought something as simple as a tube of lipstick could hold such power?”

Chloe shoulders lifted in a small shrug.

“I believe that if you think cutting your hair will give you a sense of freedom and power it shows you’re at least
thinking
about standing up to the bullies of the world and thumbing your nose at them. It’s certainly different than automatically lying down and letting them run over the top of you. At the same time, this is a major change and not one you can really reverse if you absolutely hate it.”

“Do you hate your hair?”

“Only first thing in the morning–there’s something about short hair and bed-head that can’t easily be fixed. At least, when it was long, I could twist it up into a clip and get it out of my way. With it short, every morning I wake up looking like Don King!” Dani bemoaned.

Chloe’s burst of laughter at the image Dani’s words brought to mind made Dani smile widely. As long as she lived, Chloe would never believe that Dani ever looked like the infamous boxing manager whose hair seemed to be forever standing straight on end; she was gorgeous, a smaller replica of her mother. Still, the image was priceless and soon both the girl’s eyes were filled with tears from their laughter.

“So are we cutting your hair or not?” the forgotten hair stylist finally asked in a peeved tone, having reached the end of her patience. What was it about teenage girls? It took them forever to make a decision and even then, they changed their minds a dozen times.

Dani and Chloe exchanged glances, Dani’s easy shrug and her
it’s up to you
look left the decision in Chloe’s hands. With a quick look at the hair stylist, whose questioning look was quickly turning into an impatient frown, Chloe was up and out of the chair and thanking her for her time. “Maybe next time,” she offered quickly, before grabbing Dani’s hand and pulling her from the salon.

The two raced for the exit, the bag containing the cinnamon rolls rustling noisily and Dani was sure they were going to resemble absolutely nothing even close to what they were by the time they actually got to sit down and enjoy them. “Hey, I forgot my drink,” Dani suddenly complained, noticing Chloe was minus hers also.

“I’ve still got our books!” Chloe grinned, holding up the bookstore bag. “We can go back for the drinks,” Chloe offered.

“And drop back in on that friendly hairdresser–no thanks. We can hit a drive through on the way home.”

Chloe pushed through the exit door and into the bright light of the sunny afternoon, and came to an abrupt halt, her failure to move forward causing Dani to run into her, the cinnamon rolls crushed between their bodies.

“Chloe, quit screwing around!” Dani laughed, just before her attention was drawn to the sound of screeching tires and a blur of bright red as a car sped away from the curb directly in front of them. They watched the erratic driver speed through the parking lot, narrowly missing other cars and pedestrians before it finally entered the street that headed away from the mall. “I’m calling Sergei,” Dani stated seriously, reaching for her purse and searching for the cell phone within.

“NO!” Chloe gasped, grasping her friend’s hand, “Let’s just get security to walk us to the car,” Chloe suggested, a hopeful look in her fear-filled eyes.

“Sergei needs to know about this,” Dani stated firmly.

“And we’ll tell him when we get home. But what can he do about it this minute? We’re forty-five minutes from home, and we don’t even know if it was Andrew in that car for sure,” Chloe argued.

Dani’s look that clearly said
get real!
stated blatantly she didn’t agree and she shook her head back and forth in frustration. “That has got to be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth! Denying it isn’t going to make it any less true and until you stand up to that bastard he’s going to keep playing games with you!”

“Please, Dani, let’s just get security to walk us out to the car. We can talk about it there. I just want to go home. Please…” Chloe entreated.

Knowing better, Dani agreed and within ten minutes they had offered as simple an explanation as possible to, thankfully, the same security guard from the food court and he had graciously escorted them through the packed parking lot and back out to Chloe’s bright yellow VW Bug.

The guard kept the conversation light as he surveyed the scene around them, taking comfort that all was quiet and insuring the girls of their safety. Chloe’s sudden gasp of surprise had the security guards eyes widening in disbelief, reaching for his radio and calling for assistance.

The bright yellow vehicle, Chloe’s pride and joy, was now sporting four flat tires, it looked as if a can opened had been taken to the car as a jagged cut encircled the entire car and what appeared to be blood dripped down from the gash. Dani enfolded Chloe into her arms, whispered words of comfort and tried to remain calm.

Within minutes, more of the mall’s security force arrived and shortly thereafter, the local police. Initial questions were asked; answers jotted down and after what seemed like an eternity, the two girls were escorted back into the mall and to the safety of the Head of Security’s office. More questions were asked and Dani freely offered her suggestion as to who she believed might have perpetrated the vandalism. When Chloe was asked if she agreed with Dani’s statement, she simply shrugged her shoulders and stated she couldn’t be sure.

“Bull shit!” Dani’s voice rang firm and angry, causing several heads to turn and look her way. “He did it, you know it and you’re going to let him get away with it–again!”

“Dani, please,” Chloe urged, casting nervous glances at the law officers surrounding her.

“Ms. Spenser, if you have any idea as to who would do something like this, it would be in your best interest to let us know. We can’t protect you, if you don’t help us,” one of the police officers stated, his tone calming, reassuring.

Chloe looked into the officer’s earnest eyes, knew the truth of his words and yet could only shake her head back and forth, “I’m sorry officer, I really can’t help you.”

The officer ran a hand over the back of his neck in an attempt to rub away some of the tension. “Miss Spenser, I understand how upsetting all this is. I want you to take a moment to relax and see if you can’t remember something that might assist us in finding the person who did this to your car,” the officer stated hopefully before leaving the girls in his office.

Dani watched the officer close his door quietly and walk a short distance away. “Can’t, or won’t?” Dani growled, sending a furious look at her friend.

“Dani, please…”

“I don’t want to hear it, Chloe! I’m sick to death of listening to the excuses you keep making for that scumbag. You’re enabling him to keep torturing you because you won’t admit what you know and ask for help. You’re not helping Andrew by not pressing charges; you’re giving him permission to continue his reign of terror.”

“That was never my intent, I just wanted to forget everything that had happened,” Chloe tried to explain.

“Well, obviously, Andrew’s not going to let that happen. It’s time to take a hard look at things,” Dani stated, reaching out to take her friend’s hands and giving them a supporting squeeze. “Andrew’s abused you, both physically and emotionally and walked away without a backward glance. You heard him threaten me not more than an hour ago, and he’s even threatened to slander Sergei. How much more do you intend to let him get away with?”

“What do you mean
slander Sergei
?” Chloe asked sharply, a tiny glint of anger flaming to life in her blue eyes.

“I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“But you did, so answer my question,” Chloe demanded quietly.

Dani’s frustration at herself had her running her hands through her short hair. “Sergei told me about some phone call from Andrew in which he threatened to have Sergei thrown in jail on rape charges,” Dani quickly spoke the words, casting an embarrassed look at the officers milling around them.

“Sergei’s never touched me-you know-in that way,” Chloe answered haltingly, her cheeks flooding with color as the image of them entwined on his bed sprang from her memory. They had been so close to making love. In fact, Sergei had been the one to finally find the strength to pull away from her. She still couldn’t decide if that had been a good decision or the most stupid one ever made in history. It certainly had left her having to deal with a constant restlessness that seemed to be growing stronger every day.

“I believe you. But think of the damage to Sergei’s reputation if Andrew actually followed through with his threat. His father holds a lot of ears in the judicial field and true or not, Sergei could wind up losing his reputation, his credibility, possibly even his right to compete. The Skating Federation frowns on participants they don’t deem ‘worthy’,” Dani stated solemnly.

“Why didn’t he tell me?”

“Because he wants to take care of things himself. Because he doesn’t want to burden you with anymore than you already have to deal with. Because he loves you and Rocmanov men take care of the women they love,” Dani finished softly, smiling as she watched a soft smile appear on Chloe’s lips.