“I don’t think I want to talk about it,” I reply, because I honestly don’t know where to start.
“So you came home for Halloween then?” She sounds doubtful. “From where I’m standing, it looks like you hopped on a plane to California to get away from something. And for a guy who feels nothing, that’s kind of a huge deal.”
When I say nothing for a moment, only staring at my shirtless reflection, Carrie sighs. She doesn’t press any further, but I can feel her presence and her curiosity burning through me from the other side of the curtain.
“That guy,” I say quietly. “The one I slept with?”
“Where you cried?”
“Shh!” I hush her, my face flushing from the privacy of my changing room. “But yes. That is the guy I went on the date with.”
“Oh, damn,” she breathes. “So you really did feel something. It went bad, then?”
“No. It actually went really well, I think.” I line the Velcro up and close the fake police shirt, attaching the flimsy badge. “It’s what came after that’s the problem.”
Opening the curtain, I place the half-deflated hat on top of my curls and present myself to my sister. She bites her lip to hold in a sudden burst of laughter and gives me a thumbs up.
“This is the one,” she mutters, before shoving me back into the changing room.
I continue. “After we got back to my place, he told me he didn’t want to come in because he didn’t want to hook up every time he saw me. That he was serious about me and didn’t want that to be the vibe of our relationship.”
Carrie makes a cooing sound as I strip from my costume and return it to the clear bag it comes in.
“That’s very sweet of him!” she gushes.
“I thought so, yeah. He said he’d see me later, kissed my cheek, and left. Only, I then barely heard from him for a few days, and when I went to his house to surprise him with dinner, there was a girl there in his clothes fresh from the shower.”
Exiting the changing room, Carrie guides me to the prop section, where she then begins to pick out a pair of flimsy handcuffs.
“So he was cheating the whole time? How did you let a man pull the wool over your eyes like that, Eli?” she prods, and I groan, watching her rack up my costume bill by the second.
“He wasn’t cheating. For one, we never agreed to be exclusive. For two, he came by my house later and said that she was his friend visiting from out of town and that he’d been busy with work and housing her.”
Carrie heads to the register, and I pay a ridiculous amount for the cheap costume and props that were picked out for me.
We walk across the parking lot and load the two bags into the trunk of her Honda Civic.
“Okay,” Carrie begins as she starts the car. “Then I’m confused again. What’s the problem? You’re mad he prioritized his long-term friend and his job over the guy he just met a few weeks ago?”
She’s making me sound like an angry teenager, holding Rowan to unfair standards.
“No, dipshit. The first time I slept with Rowan was athishouse. Yet, the next time I came by, he said he doesn’t let people inside because he likes his privacy. Butshecan go in? And if he’s so serious about me, why doesn’t he trust me in his space? I also feel like no matter how busy you are, you should make time for the people in your life who matter.”My tone is snarky as I speak.
Carrie snorts in response, as if to saythe pot is calling the kettle black,but I don’t get any further argument as she pulls up to a Starbucks across the street from where we were shopping.
“Can I get a venti White Chocolate Mocha, hot? And—”
“A tall Vanilla Latte,” I add.
“A tall Vanilla Latte,” she concludes.
The speaker crackles as the worker on the other side responds. “That’ll be twelve dollars and ninety-eight cents, please pull forward.”
“Thanks.” Carrie pulls her wallet from the middle console between us, effectively shoving my elbow away in the process. “If I’m honest, Elijah, it sounds like you’re making excuses.”
“What?!”
The barista who has just opened the sliding drive-thru window startles at my outburst, but Carrie just wordlessly hands the woman her card with a gentle smile.
