CHAPTER SIXTY THREE
{Lexi}
"Bayou Crest?" I pondered for a minute.
"About that," Axle started. "I don't know if it would work."
Honestly, I didn't think it would work either.
"Uhuh," I said, supporting Axle.
"I'm staying here for a while, I want to get to know my family, all of my family." She spoke, and I understood how she felt.
She was probably lonely without ever having any real family, and now that she had found us, she didn't want to let go so easily.
"I could get to know Lex at school, you could introduce me as your best friend. I could meet your mom during dinner and sleepovers. I say it can definitely work." She said, and for the first time since I had met her, she cracked a smile, and it wasn't a small one, it was a big grin.
Now, I couldn't say no to that, could I?
"Okay, yeah, it does sound like a great idea," I said. "We'll give you a makeover, and since you kind of live with Axle and Mina, they could introduce you to everyone as their cousin. You have black curly hair, it could definitely work, and we could meet at school and become friends."
I didn't say "best friends" because I only had one best friend, and that was Isla.
"It works for me." She smiled and then stared at Axle pleadingly.
"Okay, I'm in too." He smiled. I do not think anyone can resist her grin or her puppy eyes.
Or wait, have we just been bewitched?
"No, Lexi, I didn't bewitch you, I don't have that kind of magic." She said,
Wait…. Did I say that out loud or did she hear my thoughts?
"You didn't say it out loud." She said again.
Yeah, she definitely read my thoughts.
So cool.
"You can do that too, you know, and many more, you even have bewitching magic, you just have to learn your spells." She said,
"You mean I can read people's thoughts and make green screens and bewitch people and disappear and reappear and turn people to frogs and—" I rambled on.
I was super excited and active like a child who had eaten too much cotton candy.
"Yes." She laughed, interrupting my ramblings.
"So you're okay with all this?" Axle asked.
He was so caring, and he always touched my heart with his words, that is, if they were kind or romantic words, though.
I still remember the hurt I felt that day at the supply closet.
"Yeah, it's a lot to take in, and I need to process it all, but I am okay with all these. I am glad that I have a cousin." I smiled and I hugged Reyah, she froze for a while before she responded and hugged me back.
"I've never been hugged before." She said, and she smiled and hugged me again.
I did not want to imagine the kind of life she had been living if she hadn't even been hugged before.
"You know what?" I asked and got up from the couch. "If you're going to school on Monday, then you've got to get a makeover," I said and clapped my hands together.
"Makeover?" Her brows furrowed. "What's a makeover?" She asked.
"Don't worry, you'll love it," I smiled. "We'll get you some clothes, some makeup, we'll go to the spa, do our nails, go to the salon, and do a lot more fun stuff," I said.
"I don't know what those are. Why do you need more clothes?" She asked.
Where she comes from must surely be the planet of the apes, really!
"Okay, I'll leave you to it." Axle got up and touched my cheek softly before leaving.
"He likes you, you know that, don't you?" Reyah said. "And I know that you like him too, I can sense it." She added. "But what I can't understand is why you two are not together."
"It's complicated," I sighed softly.
She was right, we liked each other, but the world was just bent on keeping us apart.
"Let's go," I said, and then I looked at her outfit, it was a no-no.
Checking through my closet, I found a pair of jeans that she could wear and a crop top. I also gave her some hair clips to hold her wild hair in place.
She was adamant about not wearing the clothes because she said they made her look ridiculous, but I managed to convince her at last.
If this was how she was going to be, her makeover would be really tedious, not only for me but for the hairstylist, nail artist, and others like that too.
"Come on, you look great, let's go," I said. She did not want to leave the house.
"I can't go out like this, I look ridiculous." She complained again.
"No, you look amazing, Reyah," I said.
We had connected immediately, and after spending barely an hour together, I felt like I had known her all my life.
I finally convinced her, and we both left the house together. We had a lot of disagreements concerning her hair, her nails, and her clothes, but I managed to win every time.
But boy was it exhausting to argue with her.
After shopping, we had lunch at Lanny's. The food there was so good, even Reyah loved it. It was the one place we didn't have a disagreement.
Reyah looked like a totally different person, her hair had been styled beautifully, and it was resting atop her head with some curls left to wander around her face.
She had a touch of light makeup, and her skin was practically glowing.
She looked like an angel, and she got a lot of compliments. She even got an offer from a photographer for her to model, but she rejected it.
I saw Elric at the corner of a restaurant when we left Lanny's, and I watched in shock as he kissed a man.
I could not believe that he was cheating on my mother and that too with a man.