Page 22 of Pretty Monsters

From behind the bench seat he pulls out a hat and a hoodie. He shoves both into my hands. "Put those on. When we go in keep your head down. Don't look up. I don't want anyone seeing those freaky ass eyes of yours."

"So, you want me to stare at the ground? Won't that make me look like something is wrong? That's not going to hide anyone getting suspicious."

The sharp bite of motor oil, the musky smell of marijuana mingle with the scent of leather and something spicy cling to the material of the sweater. Pulling the material up to my nose, I inhale deeply. It's an odd mix unique to Sin.

"Put the hat on, and do something to hide most of your hair."

I pull half of my hair through the loop in the back of the hat, tucking the stray pieces inside to obscure the length. There's nothing I can do about the color, but it's far less unusual if not combined with the waist length of it.

Sin grunts. "Good, you look fourteen." He tosses his phone in my lap. "This should go along with a bratty teenager vibe. Just do whatever normal teenage girls do and pretend you're my sister."

"How would I know what normal teenage girls do?" I try not to let it sting that he thinks I look like a barely pubescent girl. Try, but fail. It won't be hard to glare at the phone and act like I'm insolently ignoring an annoying older brother.

In an act of defiance I open a text to his number and start sending messages for him to find when I give him back his phone.

If I look like a little girl, why can't you keep your eyes off of me?

Sin grabs a cart, and I follow behind engrossed in my imaginary conversation.

Why did you cling to me the other night in bed?

I'm playing with fire, and the burn is going to be torture. Still, I can't stop myself from being drawn to the flames.

He moves through the store and after a little meandering, finds the tools. He loads a drill, a set of screwdrivers, and a few locks into the cart.

Next, he moves on to the cleaning supplies and goes straight for the oxygen cleaners. I stop texting when I realize the box advertises, among other things, it's ability to get rid of blood.

I raise one eyebrow at him, and he murmurs, "You never know."

Right, I'd forgotten the world I'd stumbled into. Or, I guess it was the world I've always lived in, just unknowingly. I grab an all purpose cleaner, toilet cleaner, air freshener, cleaning utensils, and paper towels.

Sin grabs a few other items, and I move toward the household goods. I knew he'd follow behind me, so I keep my head down and focus on his phone.

The aisle is filled with duvets and decorative pillows. Sin groans seeing the lace and frilly bed coverings.

"Not man enough for a little lace?" I mutter.

"Just hurry up, that lady has passed us three times," he urges. "I told you, we can't get noticed."

"This place is filled with bored housewives. You're like cougar catnip."

"Just tell me what to grab so we can get the fuck out of here, princess."

"Pillows, towels, two sets of sheets for full sized mattresses, and a vacuum. I saw pots, pans, and dishes in the cupboard, so I think that will cover it."

He nods, and moves to the end of the aisle where he randomly grabs a few of the items on the list I dictated. The older woman makes another pass by where we are loading our cart.

"Need help shopping? It must be hard," she moves close enough to reach out and brush her hand across his forearm, "for a single man to set up house."

The muscle in his jaw clenches, but otherwise he lets no sign of his irritation show. "We're fine."

He reaches behind me, planting his hand on my back and tries to encourage me to move forward.

"The things you chose are quite plain, I'm sure your younger sister would like something pretty. I know how hard it is to get them off their phone to help."

"I said, we're fine." His teeth clench and he applies more pressure to my back to push me forward.

Cougar bait.I fight a smirk while I continue playing the part of a self-absorbed teenager.

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