A little bit of change won’t hurt

Emmett and Alex arrive in two days. That's the only thought that's been on Colleen's mind since she exchanged a few words with her brother's friend. She doesn't have any pictures of this so-called Alex - probably short for Alexandra... or just Alex - and she has no idea what she looks like. Emmett doesn't respond to messages and sending one to Alex when they don't know each other at all would be very appropriate.

His ceiling is probably tired of a young woman in the middle of a breakup staring at him for hours and hours and also, if Emmett comes and finds her in this state, he's going to be very disappointed. He never liked Aidan, it was very apparent, if he knows she feels this bad, he would be able to go after him in the hole he's in and he gives back.

Emmett and Alex are coming in two days. Oh my goodness. Does she want to move? No. To fix up her apartment that's falling apart by the way? Not at all.

His phone hasn't been above 80% for a while and his computer is collecting dust among his sheets in the living room. Is it possible to get back to a more or less normal state in two days to avoid the wrath of his big brother? Possibly.

With a final effort, she rolls over onto her stomach and lets out a grunt of frustration. Why did she have to let herself go so much?

As she works up the courage to fix what's left of her apartment, her phone rings, signaling the arrival of a message.

Aidan: Hi. I wanted to ask you how you are. I don't run into you at Jean-Pierre's anymore. Maybe we can have coffee sometime. Kisses.

Her heart reacts painfully to the message. Of course it did. But still... what a bold move! Damn. He really thinks he's the hero of the story? Damn. His ego is much larger than life. This new sense of anger that wasn't there a few weeks ago gives her the motivation she needed to prepare for her brother and Alex.

She turns on a small green speaker she had in a drawer and chooses a playlist that seems to fit her current state of mind. Do I wanna Know by Arctic Monkeys starts playing in the room and she gets to work.

How did Aidan manage to inflict so much pain on her? They weren't married; she'd be lying if she said putting a ring on his finger hadn't crossed her mind. Right now, a noose around her neck would do more good than harm.

That day, the washing machine worked until it almost gave up the ghost. The room that smelled like faded flowers had the good smell of lavender now. The living room that used to serve as a second sleeping area has returned to its original role and is ready for any family gathering.

The kitchen was cleared of anything stale, reheatable, or that reminded her of her ex. The water that wouldn't stop running in the middle gave her anxiety but there was nothing she could do about it. No?

Colleen decides to send a simple message to Jack asking him what could possibly fix something that is leaking in a wall but is cheap. The poor guy calls her directly, worried that she's in danger or something alarming. She reassures him and after many sweet words from her big sister, Jack tells her that plaster might be able to fix things. Plaster? Not wanting to give him another fake panic attack, she thanks him and hangs up. That will be an assignment for tomorrow, when she goes shopping for everything she needs to give her apartment a better life.

The night is fast approaching and she orders something to eat, having nothing in her cupboards or in the refrigerator.

The sun rose after Colleen that day. Nightmares of her being chained to Aidan outside the hotel woke her from her fitful sleep. She remembers Aidan having a fixation on her hair. He kept touching it and calling it a bird's nest. She gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom. After her hot bath, Colleen cleans the fog off the glass and looks in the mirror.

She has always been the same for years and years. Never a haircut, never a coloring. Even when she was younger and accompanied Ida in her wildest ideas like changing her hair color at three in the morning or cutting her bangs in the middle of exams, she never wanted to change anything in her home. Maybe it's time?

Colleen finishes getting dressed and comes back into the bathroom with her phone. She searches the closets for the sink and comes across a box of dye that has been there for who knows when, a comb and a pair of scissors that looked to be in good condition. Will she do it? Oh no, she won't. Why should she?

The adrenaline that had been pumping through her body this morning was gone in a flash at the sight of the scissors. She remembers Aidan's fingers massaging her scalp, telling her that she had a little too much hair and that it was still a mess. Why had she never noticed these microaggressions? He wasn't kind or affectionate. He always found a way to put her down but with words covered in kindness.

Now that the anger has returned, she grabs the scissors and looks at the length of her hair. Her mother would probably have a heart attack, her father would find words to reassure his wife and daughter of course. Jack would be speechless and Elena would open a bottle of champagne. Misha and Ida would just visit her to talk about her feelings. They are very good at expressing their emotions and how to channel them.

Giving herself courage, she untangles her hair and approaches the scissors of the wick which hides her sight. She shakes her head, puts the object down and picks up her phone. YouTube will do a better job than she probably will.

After six different videos, Colleen finally decides to give up this impossible mission. As she closes the door to the bathroom, she remembers that one of her neighbors, Raquel, if her memory serves her right, works in a beauty salon not far from there.

Searching in her phonebook, she comes across the name of her dear neighbor followed by the emoji of a pair of scissors... ah. Should she call her or send her a message? Wouldn't a message be better? Maybe she's busy. Unfortunately, fate chose otherwise, her finger hits the phone button instead of the envelope button. Crap. It's too late to back out now.

~ Hallo. Colleen?

~Hello Raquel! Yes, it's Colleen!

~Hello my beautiful, how are you? Are you feeling better? Your brother told me that you were not feeling well.

~Me? I'm... I'm better thanks!

Really Jack?

~I'm glad to hear it. What can I do for you?

~I... uh... Actually, I... I don't know if you're busy. I can text you later.

~No, no. I'm here. Talk to me. While we're at it.

~Are you sure? I don't want to waste your time.

~Yes. I'm all ears. Talk to me. You need my help, right?

~Indeed. I... I want to cut my hair.

~...

~Hello? Raquel?

~Your hair you say?

~Yes.

~Are you sure? They don't grow back right away, just know that.

~Yeah, I'm sure of it. I spent the day working up the courage to do it myself and when I noticed I couldn't do it well on my own, I called you.

~I see. Listen, do you want to come to the salon or do you want to drop by your place?

~Where I live it would be better, right?

~It's up to you my dear. So, it's decided at your place. Tomorrow night, is it ok?

~Yeah. Beautiful.

~Great! So see you tomorrow night, dear neighbor.

~Thanks again Raquel! I owe you a debt of gratitude.

~That's why we're neighbors, right? Also, my husband wanted to know if you still make the cookies you gave us last Christmas. He has been dreaming ever since.

~The cookies? Ah..Oh..

Since she left her job to take care of Aidan, she hadn't touched dough or anything sweet. Except for that one time when he went to LA and, being alone, Colleen took the opportunity to bake some cinnamon cookies and gave some to her family and Raquel.

~If you can't, I can find more at the supermarket, it's just that they were so good!

~No, it's that I haven't made them since then. I'm a little afraid they won't come out like they did last time.

~Ah my Colleen. Don't worry about it. You have such a way with pastry. I've never tasted anything you've made that wasn't good. Have you ever thought of opening your own store? You'd be a hit in the building first! And I could sell some here at the salon. Ah, but I'm rambling. I'm not forcing you to do anything, of course.

~Thanks for the support Raquel. Thank you very much.

~Oh but it's nothing my dear. See you tomorrow.

~See you tomorrow.

As she closed the phone, Colleen felt a new emotion come over her. Not like her anger toward Aidan, but it gave her the same energy boost. Her own business? Not working for one person anymore? She'd never thought about it before. Was it a good idea? God only knows. She put the idea in a corner and in the meantime, she had to finish cleaning her apartment, make a list of all the things she had to buy... and tell her friends that she was coming back to Earth.

Colleen: Hi girls. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I will never know how to thank you. But I'm better now. Much better. Do you want to come to the house tomorrow night?

A few seconds later, three new messages appear in the conversation she shares with Ida, Misha and Elena.

Elena: Wine and tacos?

Ida: Oh my God. YESSSSSSSSS. I've been waiting for this moment for weeks!

Misha: We're staying over of course.