The Awakening (Daray Hall #1) Page 12

  Part of it looks familiar to me. The eyes are the same dark blue with the familiar circle of gold around the iris and the thick, black lashes. The only difference is the swollen bruise around one. My bottom lip, usually full and soft, is marred by a split down the middle. My slightly angular face is puffy and swollen, and there are a couple of nasty red patches.

  It’s the hair that catches my attention first. My hair is a dark, midnight brown color, and it normally flows down past my shoulders. Now, most of it is gone. In fact, I almost look like I could pass for a boy, and as I reach up to run my fingers through it, only one thought goes through my mind.

  Oh, god, it’s so ugly!

  “Kylie, sweetheart, are you ok?”

  I realize that I’m crying, and I use my sleeve to wipe away the tears. “I look like a dark-haired Billie Jean!”

  Tara laughs weakly. “You always loved that movie, and her haircut.”

  “That doesn’t mean I want that hairstyle for myself. I could pass for a boy.”

  The urge to burst into tears is there, nagging away at me, and I fight to keep myself calm. Carlos unexpectedly intervenes. “Kylie, you have to realize that in our line of work, scars are often a part of the package. Your hair will grow back with time. But there may come a time when you’ll lose something that won’t.”

  I let his words sink in, and they instantly calm me down. He’s right. Someday I could lose a limb, or even my life! Hair is nothing.

  I nod, and wipe my eyes one more time, before throwing back the covers.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where do you think you’re going?” Jillian asks, moving forward.

  “I’m going back to my room to shower and change, and then I’m going back to the gym to show whichever Protectors attacked me that I’m not going to give up and go home. I’m doing this, and nothing they can say or do will stop me.”

  Carlos smiles. “Alright, I’ll let Kaven know that you’re back on for training.”