Saving Simona (Alone In The World Trilogy) Read Free

off a crate that rested along the wall. She winced as the boar bristles pulled at the tangles in her hair, the dust matting her curls. She pulled harder as the brush became stuck, the strands wrapping around the wood. She groaned as she let go of the handle, the brush hanging limply in her hair, shaking her head to try and loosen it before reaching back up.
    Molly laughed and set her brush down, reaching over to Gia. She gestured for the other girl to remove her hands so that the other girl could help. “It will be,” the blonde agreed, slowly pulling Gia’s hair away from its entrapment as she went quiet. After a few minutes, she spoke again, repositioning her hand on the newly-removed device in order to properly brush Gia’s hair. “God knows it is cold enough in here without the additional wind chilling our bones. It might even be snowing, for all we know.”
    Gia shook her head before she was scolded by Molly for moving. “Sorry,” Gia apologized, sighing. “I hate the snow.”
    Molly nodded and agreed before going silent.  Gia let her eyes wonder around the rest of the room, at how the other girls were getting ready. A few of the younger girls had trickled in from the adjacent room so that their elder sisters could assist them with their look for the night. It always amazed Gia just how adult some of the women were able to get their younger counterparts to appear, although she could remember being made more mature when she was that age.
    The police would question any woman who appeared to be under the age of sixteen and in the streets late at night and by now, most the girls knew to stuff extra bits of cloth into their chemise and pantalets to fit the shape of the corset better and therefore make themselves appear more womanly, mixed with longer dresses and more elaborate hair styles. Currently, though, everyone was still in their nightclothes: their unstuffed chemises, pantalets and, for those who Leander was pleased with, thick woolen socks that bunched under the hem of the pantalets and blocked out the December chill.
    Gia was pulled back to herself when Molly tugged on the ends of her hair playfully, handing her the brush. “There. I did yours, now will you do mine? Then we can help each other pin our hair up, just like we did when we first arrived here,” Molly asked, shyly.
    Gia smiled at her sister. “Of course,” she answered, gently turning the blonde around and beginning to run the brush through her hair. Unlike Gia’s chocolate hair, Molly’s locks were like spun gold, and had the consistency of silken thread. It was much easier to manage then Gia’s matted mess. It also took a third of the time, which meant that within a couple of minutes, Gia was able to pull Molly’s hair back, braiding it into a singular plait, which was then wrapped tightly around itself several times in order to form a wheel-like shape against the back of Molly’s head. Gia instructed the girl to hold her hair in place while the brunette went to Rhody, the eldest of the women, to gather a few pins to secure the wheel in place.
    Once Molly’s hair was complete, Gia turned back around so that her own hair could be pinned up. However, as it was, there were not any mirrors in the dingy room, so Gia was unable to see what Molly’s final work looked like in comparison to what Gia’s hair would have looked like if she had done it herself, like she had done for so many nights over the years. Leander had become so particular with his luxury girls’ appearances that the brunette had been forced to learn what it was that he expected of her. She ran her fingers lightly over her hair to see if it felt correct. Fortunately, it seemed as though Molly had taken notice of what Gia’s hair had normally looked like, and was able to recreate it almost perfectly.
    “Get dressed, everyone!” Rhody exclaimed. The red head glanced at the pocket watch sitting beside her, her eyes growing wide. “If the time is  true, then Leander should