Very Bad Things by Ilsa Madden-Mills Page A

gave
me a packet about caring for the piercing. I signed a release form.
    “Is it gonna hurt?” I asked, watching as she set out her
instruments.
    “God, Nora, you’re putting a needle in your boob. Of course,
it’s gonna hurt,” Mila muttered.
    Shayla nodded. “Yep, it will, but the worst is only about
five seconds, then it eases up. You can do anything for five seconds, right?”
    I scoffed, thinking about those measly five seconds. I’d
endured much more pain, for a lot longer. So yeah, nipple piercing, not a big
deal.
    I nodded, and Shayla pulled out the forceps and needle. Mila
gave a little squeak and scurried out the door. She wouldn’t be back.
    Shayla cleaned my breast with a cold cotton ball, and I
watched as she tugged and extended the nipple and then marked it half way
between the top and base with a black marker. Once she had the mark on, she
clamped it firmly with the cold forceps. I sat tense as she pushed the needle
through, quickly following with the jewelry. A stinging pain hit me, and I
clenched my teeth, trying to hold my breath until it passed. Instead, I thought
about Leo, and how he said he saw the strength in me. She wiped the blood off
my breast and gently attached the silver angel wings on either side. I let out
a deep breath, thankful it was over.
    “I’m not gonna set off any metal detectors, am I?” I said,
staring down at my breast, liking how the florescent lights glinted off the
silver wings.
    She patted her chest. “I haven’t yet,” she said, grinning
broadly, and I saw she had a cute little space between her two front teeth. An
imperfection like that would drive Mother insane. “You’re a happy person,” I
commented without thinking as I got up and carefully pulled my shirt on. I
stuffed my bra in my purse.
    She eyed me strangely. “Just because I have a lot of
piercings and tats, doesn’t mean I’m a bad person.”
    “No, no. I just meant, I watch people a lot, and ever since
we came in, you’ve seemed peaceful and—” I stopped talking and looked down
at the floor. “I’m sorry, my mouth has no filter today.”
    She shuffled around, cleaning up the gauze and paper.
“That’s okay,” she said a few moments later. “I am happy. My boyfriend
and I just got engaged this week, so I guess, maybe you saw that.”
    I laughed nervously, glad the awkwardness had faded
somewhat.
    We walked out together and back to the front of the store
where I found Mila, sitting on a leather couch peering at a tattoo book.
    “Is it over?” she asked, her eyes focused on my breast.
    “Yep, all over. Too bad you missed it,” I said with a smirk.
    She rolled her eyes. “Thank God.”
    As we walked back to the shop, I got a text from Sebastian
asking if we could meet him at the park. In a strange way, meeting him and Leo
the other night felt fortuitous, like I’d caught a break for once in my life. I
texted back and said I would meet him there.
    Mila had to go home, so we said our goodbyes at the shop.
After she left, I went inside and grabbed a towel from the closet and strolled
the two blocks over to White Rock Lake, a thousand-acre lake and parkland.
Although Aunt Portia’s shop wasn’t located in the premier area of Highland Park
where I lived, this part of Dallas still featured million-dollar homes and
plenty of imported cars. Even former President George W. Bush played golf
sometimes at the exclusive course within the park.
    Huge oak trees and pink crepe myrtles lined the entrance I
walked through, and I inhaled deeply, taking in the scent and feel of late
summer in Texas. Only a few more days of this and I’d be in school, studying
like a maniac and getting ready for Princeton.
    With BA on my mind, I headed for the center of the main
grassy area, where I saw several guys playing football. When I got closer, I
recognized Sebastian and Cuba Hudson, one of the other football players from
school. Cuba, also known as Hollywood among his friends because of his pretty
boy good