Gavin read the text from Dylan.
Dylan: What are you up to? Wanna hit the cages?
Gavin: Can’t tonight. Busy…
Dylan: Oh?
Gavin: Hanging out with Lila.
Dylan sent a GIF of a man pulling out popcorn, and Gavin laughed.
“What?” Lila asked, shaking the bottle of color.
Gavin shot off a quick message saying he’d explain later then turned on some music before tossing his phone on the bed beside him. “What do you need me to do?”
Lila set the bottle on the nightstand. “I need a towel. Something your mom won’t mind getting ruined.”
He got up and walked to the bathroom attached to his room. He left the light on when he returned, knowing they’d use it soon. Draping the towel over a shoulder, he pulled open a dresser drawer and grabbed an old t-shirt.
When he handed both over, she looked surprised. “I didn’t think about my clothes. Thanks.”
As she changed in the bathroom, he read through the instructions again. It seemed pretty straightforward if she planned to do all her hair the same color. The door opened, and the sight of her in his old baseball shirt stirred feelings he’d fought off for so long. Clearing his throat, he grabbed the pink bottle and stood.
She wrapped the towel over her shoulders, pulling her long hair out, then took the bottle and used the mirror above his sink to start at her roots. He leaned against the door with crossed arms as he watched her soak piece by piece with the dye. After getting the front and sides, she met his gaze in the mirror. “Help me with the back?
Pushing off the doorframe, he moved to stand behind her. He took the bottle and mimicked how she had done the rest of her hair. The pink looked a lot darker than it did on the box, and he wondered if it dried lighter. Once the bottle was empty, he threaded his fingers through her hair, making sure it was all covered.
He looked up to find her squeezing her mouth shut. “What? Am I doing it wrong?”
Her laughter echoed in the small bathroom. “Gavin…”
“What?”
She bit the corner of her lip, hesitating. “Your hands.” When he didn’t respond, she added, “You’re supposed to wear gloves.”
Realization struck him. He hadn’t even thought about her gloves before diving in. She stepped to the side as he turned the sink on with his wrist and stuck his hands beneath the water. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
His hands were pink. Really pink.
Lila laughed and walked out to his bedroom while he scrubbed his fingers. Even his nails were pink. She returned with the plastic grocery bag. “It’s dye, what did you expect?”
“You couldn’t have told me before you asked for help?” He turned off the water and faced her.
Her face lit up with a smile, and he shook his head fighting his own amusement. She simply shrugged. “Since your hands are already pink, help me with this bag.”
He looked at her with a raised brow. She explained that she needed to let it sit for twenty-five minutes, and the bag would stop it from dripping everywhere. He did as she said, pulling the bag around her hair and head like a cap, and let out a burst of laughter as she tied it in place. She looked ridiculous.
“Where’s your phone?” he asked.
She pointed to the nightstand in his room, and he quickly grabbed it and ran back. He swiped the lockscreen over to the camera, flipped it to selfie mode, and stood next to her.
“Time to capture the memories,” he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. He held that hand up by her face to show the pink color, and they both grinned as he took a picture.
Lila walked out of his bathroom, toweling off her new pink hair. Well, it had a bit of a pink tint, but it looked a lot darker than the box. He lifted it up from the bed and glanced from her to the picture. “It’s not the same color.”
Her nose scrunched up for a second. “My hair was too dark. You have to bleach it first to have the light color appear right.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“No, it’s fine.” She shrugged and moved to hang the towel up. “It’s pink-ish, and I actually really like how it turned out. We’ll be able to tell better when it’s completely dry. Do you think I could use your mom’s dryer?”
“Definitely.” He led her down the hall to his parents’ room and to the adjoining bathroom.
Lila grabbed the dryer from the counter and got to work. He watched for a couple minutes before turning to the bedroom. It was much larger than his own, with a cozy warmth to it, but it felt off with his dad’s constant absence. Gavin didn’t fully understand his dad’s job, something about flying around to different corporations and helping them with their marketing strategies when they were on the verge of going bankrupt. Apparently, he was important in the business world and good at his job.
Gavin walked to the short dresser and picked up a picture frame. He and Lila sat between his parents at the Scoop—all smiling at the camera with genuine happiness. That was before the yelling started. He barely remembered the time before his dad cared more about random businesses than his own family.
A hand touched his arm, and he looked down to Lila at his side. He hadn’t even heard the hair dryer turn off. She nodded toward the photo. “He’s gone a lot now, isn’t he?”
Of course, she knew. She might not have had a huge part in his life the past seven years, but Lila worked with his mom nearly every day for the last three of those. It made sense she knew about his dad, but that didn’t make it easier. Gavin hid that part of his life from everyone at school. Only Dylan had an idea of the situation. But he didn’t know the full extent.
“I miss him,” Gavin whispered. “I know it’s better this way, but…”
“He’s still your dad.” Lila took his hand, and he looked at her in shock as he set the picture down. She didn’t let go though. Instead, she squeezed his fingers and said, “You’re allowed to miss him. It wasn’t always bad.”
“She’s right.” They both turned to find his mom standing in the doorway with a sad smile as she added, “I miss him too.”
Lila let go of him to move to his mom. She didn’t hesitate to wrap the older woman in a hug. Gavin stepped closer, putting a hand on his mom’s shoulder. They never really talked about it, and he didn’t know where to begin.
Before he could say anything, she straightened. “All right, so what are we doing up here?” She raised a hand to Lila’s hair. “Did you just do this?”
“Yeah, I was using your hair dryer. I hope that’s okay,” Lila said.
“Of course,” his mom said. When she turned to Gavin, none of the previous sorrow filled her eyes. Amusement replaced it, growing as she burst into laughter and grabbed his hand. “Oh my God, Gavin. Why didn’t you wear gloves?”
He shot a glare at Lila, who’d joined in to laugh at him.
“Well, I love the color,” his mom said, glancing back to Lila.
It had lightened but still wasn’t the color on the box. He agreed though, the redder hair looked great on her.
His mom flipped off the bathroom light. “Come on,” she motioned for them to get out of her room, “let’s go downstairs, and I will make us all some popcorn.”