Free Slowly We Trust by Chelsea M. Cameron Page A

And she loved her brother with a fierceness that she would deny if asked.
    I finally made her stop changing the radio stations because it was giving me a headache, but she still wouldn’t tell me where we were going. We didn’t head for the highway, so it couldn’t have been anywhere that far. But fifteen minutes later we pulled into the parking lot of what appeared to be a tattoo shop, judging by the sign and neon lights promoting tattoos and piercings.
    “Uh, Trish?”
    “Yes, Audrey?” She turned to me with an innocent look on her face. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a guy wearing a leather vest with nothing underneath smoking while leaning against the building.
    “What are we doing here?”
    “Well, I am here to get another hole punched in my body and you’re here to hold my hand and make sure I don’t pass out.”
    “But you have a million piercings. Aren’t you used to it by now?”
    Trish grinned and opened her door.
    “You’d think, but no.”
    “Then why do you keep doing it?” I reluctantly opened my door and stepped out, but I was ready to bolt at any moment.
    Trish stopped and thought about it for a moment.
    “I have no idea.”
    I braced myself on the hood of the car as Trish just kept walking.
    “Come on, Aud. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” She went to the door and held it open for me.
    Once again, I had two options, but I was pretty sure Trish could outrun me. She might be shorter, but I was wearing heeled boots.
    “Come on, come on. Aren’t you just a little bit curious?” I sighed and stepped away from the car.
    “Fine. But I’m not getting a tattoo or piercing anything. No matter what. I mean it.” I pointed my finger at her to make my point.
    “You’re just here for moral support. Got it.” She nodded and I walked slowly into the shop. Okay, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The floor was tiled in black and white squares and it was surprisingly bright, like a doctor’s office. A girl with black and blonde hair filed her nails as she sat behind the desk right next to the door. She looked up at us as the door closed.
    “Can I help—Oh, hey Trish. What can we do for you?” Obviously, Trish had been here before, which I knew had to be true.
    “Hey Madeline. Um, I think I’m going to do my tragus. Is Magnus in?” A man poked his head from the open doorway right behind the desk.
    “Did I hear my name?” He smiled when he saw Trish and she walked behind the desk and gave him a hug.
    “And you brought a friend! You know you get ten percent off when you refer someone.” He wiggled his black eyebrows, one pierced twice. I couldn’t count the amount of other piercings that adorned his face, and his t-shirt showed sleeves of tattoos. He was quite a spectacle. I tried not to stare too much.
    “Not this one, she’s a virgin.” Trish came back over and put her arm around me.
    “Um, standing right here,” I said. Trish thought I was a virgin, based on the stories I’d told her, but that didn’t mean I wanted her telling anyone within hearing distance about my sexual history.
    “I mean a body modification virgin. Single holes in your ears don’t really count.” I reached up and touched my earlobes. My mom had gotten them done when I was a baby, so I didn’t even have any memory of it. Still, that didn’t mean I wanted a needle going through my body just for the sake of adornment.
    Magnus was still staring at me and then he cleared his throat.
    “So, what can I do for you, Trish?”
    “Tragus?” she said, pointing to her left ear. “I want to do both, but I don’t want to do them at once.” Magnus stepped around the table as conversation from the other side of the room and the buzz of a tattoo machine distracted me for a second.
    Magnus inspected Trish’s ear and then led her into the back of the shop, where there was a room with what looked like a dentist’s chair in it, along with a case of various rings and bars for piercings. Some