I find him sitting on his bed, legs curled up in front of him with his arms wrapped around them. He’s got his chin resting on his knees, hair flopped across his forehead from where it hangs down slightly, and his right leg is shaking in the same rhythm as his hand.
He still has papers scattered across his bed, but they appear to be in the same place as earlier—like he hasn’t done a damn thing since our call. And that makes me feel giddy—the control I have over him already.
“The fuck’s got you so distracted today?” Kaser says as they come up behind me. I jerk and nearly drop my phone.
“Nothing,” I mutter and lock it. I shove it into the drawer before reaching for my contacts to put those in before gluing my teeth on.
“Mhm,” they hum, eyeing me through the mirror. I refuse to catch their gaze because I don’t like lying to them, and this feels a little too much like lying, even though it’s technically just an omission.
But I want Madison all to myself.
I don’t want to share him, and frankly, I don’t think I should have to.
“You seem to be in a whole other world,” Kase says after a minute, propping their hip against my vanity.
“I’m just a bit distracted,” I mumble as I finish with the teeth glue. I swipe my tongue over the front of my teeth, over the points at the ends, pressing hard against them until I feel the sting.
“No, shit, man. I’m asking why.”
I pull back from the mirror with a frown. “What do ya mean, why?”
Kaser scoffs. “You’re joking, right? You haven’t been yourself lately. You’re late for work, which you never are, and that’s crazy to even think about because you love scarin’ mother fuckers more than anyone,” they finish with a huff, their accent thicker than it’s been in a long time, which tells me exactly what I need to know—I’m getting off track here, and everyone can see it.
But what else am I supposed to do?
I need Madison…
I pull in a deep breath and let it out slowly before pushing to my full height in front of Kaser. I turn to face them. “Look. It’s just…” I pause, trailing off as I try to come up with some excuse that makes sense.
“Who are they?” they ask, and I freeze.
“What?”
“Who. Are. They?” they ask again, enunciating each worddeliberately, never taking their eyes off me. And that’s when I realize I’m fuckin’ stupid to ever think I could hide from Kase.
“I don’t know if I should tell you,” I tell them honestly, dropping my head slightly.
“You’re fucking joking?—”
“All right, everyone! Time to get out there and scare some bitches!” Kierra comes through the door with a booming voice and a beaming smile, shattering the conversation between me and Kaser.
Their eyes narrow as they pull their latex mask over their face. “This conversation isn’t over.”
I can’t help it. I roll my eyes and smile.
“Wouldn’t fuckin’ dream of it, baby.”
“Fuck you.” And then, they turn around and disappear through the door, following behind everyone else. I wait an extra minute to gather myself, waiting until I hear resounding screams, and then, I pull in a breath, force a grin on my face, and get my ass out there and hope this brings some sort of rightness back to my life.
“Come out,come out, wherever you are…” I taunt the newest group in a sing-song voice, scraping the blade of my axe on the floor as I walk so it creates the most grating noise that sends goosebumps erupting.
A small whimper escapes, and I stop and cock my head. I know they can see me, so I give them a show.
“Oh…Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.” I click my tongue.“That was a bad move…” I drawl as I near a girl cowering in the corner. My face splits into a grin the closer I get, and when I round it and the sound of her whimpers and cries increase tenfold, I let out a loud cackle that makes her scream brutally—and I haven’t even touched her yet.
“Gotcha.”
“Fuck!” she screams and tries to scramble away from me, but I reach out and clasp her ankle, keeping her pinned in place.
