Free Temptation Island by Victoria Fox Page B

monstrosity?
    What on earth had she and Tom raised?
    Whatever it was, she knew they deserved every bad thing they got.
    Aurora’s first impression was that her mother could do with a visit from her own stylist: a recent dye job had rendered her hair the same colour as Barbie’s and she wore tight frayed jeans and precarious white shoe boots. Dated.
    She hitched herself on to a stool by the patio doors,making sure she could see the poolside arrangement and issue preferences if necessary, while Ramon, young with a Mohawk, plonked down his cosmetics bag and laid out his tools. He was so clearly gay that any notion of chaperoning was absurd. Still, Aurora adhered to the new rules—it was a novelty to actually be made to do something.
    ‘OK, honey,’ he said, running his fingers through Aurora’s blonde hair. ‘What are we doing today?’
    Sherilyn lit a cigarette and surveyed her daughter. Aurora noticed how her hands trembled with each puff. ‘How about some layering in the length …’
    ‘I want it all off,’ announced Aurora.
    Ramon was appalled. ‘Shaved?’
    Aurora rolled her eyes. ‘Not shaved . But nearly. Really short, like a boy’s.’
    Sherilyn blew out smoke. ‘Darling, no!’
    ‘Do you mind ?’ Ramon gestured to Sherilyn’s cigarette, then to his cosmetics case filled with mousse and sprays. ‘I’ve got flammable substances here.’
    ‘Yeah.’ Aurora nodded decisively. ‘Dramatic. You can do drama, can’t you, Ramon?’
    ‘Anything for you.’
    ‘We should dye it as well,’ said Aurora. ‘Bleach it. So it’s kinda white.’
    Ramon grinned. ‘I like it.’
    Sherilyn ground out her Marlboro. ‘Are you sure? It sounds extreme …’
    ‘I am extreme, Mom. And this is my party.’
    ‘All right, if that’s what’ll make you happy …’ She drifted out to the pool.
    ‘Is your mom doped?’ asked Ramon.
    ‘Probably,’ said Aurora as he began mixing the colour.‘I don’t blame her. I’ve been a bitch lately.’ And she did honestly feel bad about the pool-table thing, but the fact was that in its aftermath her life hadn’t changed at all . Some days she thought her mother could do with an electric shock, or a cattle prod, something that frazzled her; something that brought her back to life . But if that hadn’t done it, what would?
    Ramon applied the cold mixture to her roots and didn’t comment.
    Aurora was watching a shirtless guy string lights in the trees by the pool. So was her mom by the looks of it. Ew! Weren’t you meant to switch those bits off when you got married? An image popped up of Sherilyn and Tom getting it on. Maybe they didn’t any more, seeing as they were now, like, way old. But they must have—at least once. Yuck yuck YUCK.
    She spied a gossip rag poking out of Ramon’s bag. On the front was her so-called best friend Farrah Michaels wearing a solemn expression above the headline: BFFs AT WAR: ‘AURORA NASH SHOULD BE IN JAIL!’ It was hardly a war, thought Aurora, since it was entirely onesided: she wasn’t the one mouthing off to the press at every available opportunity, all for a bit of cheap publicity. Farrah was just bitter because she’d split with Boy-Band-Christian after he was found cheating on her with a dwarf while on tour in Vegas.
    She tossed the magazine down, pissed.
    ‘Hold still!’ commanded Ramon, swiping at her head with his brush. The dye stank and she told him so. ‘Your hair will stink too if you don’t do as I say.’
    Outside, Sherilyn was on the phone. She was frowning and nodding. When she came back in, Aurora demandedto know what was going on. Weirdly, her mother ignored her. Instead, she addressed Ramon.
    ‘How long will this take?’
    ‘Don’t hurry him, Mom, it’s important.’
    ‘So is this.’ Sherilyn closed her cell. ‘That was your father. He’s got some news to share with you.’ She took a deep breath. ‘He’s taking us for lunch at Il Cielo.’
    ‘Is it about the party?’
    Sherilyn hesitated. ‘Not