Bea had asked Brandon to keep an eye out for shampoo on their supply trip. Knowing her brother the way she did, Leah couldn’t see this as anything other than a bad sign. With Kori’s, Lilah’s and her friends combined over the years, there was a two in five chance that Brandon would set his sights on them. Inevitably that always led to said friend not being a friend anymore, for one reason or another (usually because of Brandon). Leah hoped that wasn’t the case this time. Bea may have been a new acquaintance, but Leah already liked the other woman and that was a rare thing. She wanted a friend.
Early on in the trip, Leah had bitched about Brandon hovering too closely to her. Pride won out over practicality, mostly because she didn’t like being seen as a weakling. It was her own fault, though. She knew that. She hadn’t been outside Sing Sing’s walls in… too long. Marigold had been keeping her busy, and even though Leah was keeping up with her yoga, she hadn’t taken much time to do more than that. Which meant her defense skills were a little rusty.
The more she realized this, the more she silently admitted that she needed more of her brother’s hawk eye, and the less she bitched. When they got to the salon, she was hardly complaining at all, for a couple different reasons; one, it was amusing watching the epitome of masculinity wander around a lady’s hairstyling shop and, two, she wasn’t feeling her best. The latter wasn’t worth mentioning aloud, though. Just a little lightheadedness. Nothing life-threatening or bothersome enough to cut the supply trip short for.
Leah wrinkled her nose when she caught the strong scent of lavender. Many women liked that scent, but not her. The flowery scent was overpowering and made her sneeze. “As long as you bury that shit at the bottom of the bag. Ugh. I don’t get how people think lavender is calming. It stinks.” She waved her hand to try and chase away the aroma.
“As long as it’s a pig, horse or penguin, you’re guaranteed an excited response,” she spoke fondly of Marigold. “I don’t know where that fascination with farm animals came from, but I’m not complaining. Just means I’ll have to work harder at sneaking in cute safari animals. It’s a hell of a shame there aren’t any functioning zoos around anymore. Would’ve been fun to take her.” Sing Sing was crawling with dogs and cats, though, so that would have to do.
Nodding when Brandon asked if she was ready to go, Leah slid out of the salon chair she’d been sitting in. Her head swam with the sudden movement and she planted her hand on the counter nearby, closing her eyes until the dizziness passed. She hadn’t slept a whole lot since the fight with Evan. Whenever lack of sleep was an issue, so was the feeling of lightheadedness.
“Yep. I’m ready.” She spoke in an offhanded tone, hoping Brandon hadn’t noticed. Knowing him, he’d make a comment that would start up her bitching again.