Take My Past And Burn Me Down

Chapter 2

"Honey, get up so you can take a shower," Martha said in my ear. I groaned and rolled over so that I was facing the wall.

"No," I mumbled into the pillow.

She laughed. "Sweetheart we need to be on the plane in an hour. If you get up now we can leave in twenty minutes just make sure you wear thongs and bring a blanket."

"They're called flip flops, Martha."

"I call them thongs. That's what they were originally named."

"Yes I know."

She patted my leg. "Despite what they're called, we have a flight to catch. Get up and let's get cinnamon rolls."

She had me at cinnamon rolls.

I groaned again and made a show of getting up and getting a towel. I whined the whole way to my bathroom but took my shower quickly so we could leave and get heaven in a pastry.

By the time I got out there were leggings and a tank top and a thin sweater laid out on my queen sized bed along with my favorite travel blanket and comfortable shoes.

I quickly dressed and grabbed my blanket and bag. I didn't need extra clothes because they were already in my dressing room at the company.

We stopped for our cinnamon rolls and went through security before boarding the plane. I had been on countless planes but the lift off never ceases to terrify me. After half an hour or so I was getting comfortable and almost fell asleep but the flight attendant woke me up and offered me coffee. Martha was offered cheap champagne which she traded me for my coffee with a smile.

We touched down an hour later and immediately left the airport for the Lancôme studio.

We checked in at the front desk and were personally escorted to a dressing room where Carmen and a young shy girl waited for our arrival.

"Nina! Darling! I'm afraid it's been too long," Carmen said as she walked over to me using her hands to make exaggerated gestures. She kissed me on both cheeks and sat me down in the chair. "Nina, this is Renee. She is fresh out of beauty school and she wishes to be a tattoo artist." There she goes telling me everyone else's business. I'm thankful though because if it hadn't been for her I never would have met Emmett who was her nephew. "Show her, Renee."

The girl walked over and lifted her sleeve to show me a beautiful half-sleeve with hibiscus flowers and ocean water surrounding an intricate layered flower. I smiled at her. "It's beautiful. Did you do this yourself?"

She nodded. "My dream is to open a joint salon and tattoo shop a little farther North towards Oregon."

I smiled. "I love that idea. If you have any openings call me."

Martha put her hands on my shoulders. "You know, a couple tattoos might not be too bad for publicity."

I looked at her. "I've been asking for a tattoo since I turned fifteen."

"I know dear. I was just think that if we do decide to do photo shoots for some of the edgier companies where your clothes show a bit more skin, tattoos would be a good point of interest."

"Well you know what ones I want. Maybe Renee could do them for me."

She looked up from her case of styling products and grinned at me. "I would love that!"

Martha clapped her hands. "It's settled then. We will stay the night here and get them done tomorrow."

I held back a laugh. She was getting too excited as she paced around the room talking to herself about my tattoos. Whenever I tried to talk about it she shut down without even discussing it. "I'm fine with it Martha. I just want to get this shoot over with."

With that, Renee set to work on my hair and makeup with very little assistance from Carmen. I must say I was very impressed.

The shoot ended a bit early so Martha and I grabbed dinner at a Chinese place before heading to the vintage boutique that I had fallen in love with. I ended up walking out with seven bags in total.

We checked in at a fancy hotel each with our own rooms and bid each other a goodnight before parting ways.

I took a shower to clear my head. She was finally agreeing.

That night I stayed up until four in the morning drawing exactly how I wanted the tattoos to look.

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I know this is only the second chapter but it's kind of a filler. I promise to have a better chapter three. Anyway thanks for reading 💋