Page 30 of Are You Gonna Run?

Rowyn in labor, once again cursing me and my audacity for even being a man.

Rowyn becoming a mother.

Rowyn becoming my wife.

Yeah, I’m definitely okay with this.

Most would say it’s too soon — hell,Iwould say it’s too soon if I was on the outside looking in — but sometimes youjust fucking know. And this is just one thing I know. She’s the one.

Fuck timeframes and how people would view us. Fuck societal norms and the fact that my brothers would probably cut my balls off. Fuck everything that isn’t whatever the hellwewant.

We’re happy, and isn’t that really the goal of all of this? Isn’t this why people date at all?

Bringing her hand up to my lips, I kiss her knuckles and glance over at her, finding her looking at me like I’m an alien.

“I was kidding. I’m on the shot.”

Multiple emotions bubble up inside of me at her words, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say one of them was relief. Yeah, I’d be just fine with it if she was pregnant, but I’m also not mad at waiting a little while.

The last few minutes of my life have been far too confusing, so I immediately try to play it off. “Duh. I knew that.”

“You are constantly surprising, Eris Shaw.”

“You are,” I toss back, zoning out again as I repeat her future name in my head a few times.Rowyn Shaw.

I think it sounds great.

It starts pouring down rain the moment we pull onto our street, making Rowyn grin wider. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you planned this too.”

“You give me way too much credit and I like it.”

After I park, I lean in and kiss her deeply, the sound of falling rain and the dance of our tongues all we hear for a while, and after we get out of the truck we take a couple moments to play in the downpour.

We dance around Ralph like a bunch of nerds, and by the time we get all of our shit inside, we’re soaked to the bone. Neither of us mind though, because after a hot shower we get into Halloween pajamas and become one with the couch.

It’s time to cupcake the night away.

Fifteen: Welcome to Helltown

Butterflies threaten to eat me alive as I park in Helltown. I’ve never been here by myself, but Eris made sure I knew exactly where to go, which house to park at, and which door to go in.

He really does take care of me.

He’d have come with me himself, but we’re playing a fun little game tonight. I’m wearing a skirt, and he’s wearing a full body costume with a mask and didn’t tell me what it is.

I either have to hope he’s the only one coming to this party anonymously or that I recognize him quickly, because my nerves are sky high right now.

I love it.

Bracing myself, I lock my car and head in, taking in all the Halloween decorations and some of the naturally occurring creepy aspects of the house. It’s practically falling apart on the outside, but whoever threw this party did a damn good job of cleaning things up and doing some interior remodeling. It still gives very haunted vibes though, so as I make my way through the kitchen to the living room, I keep my eyes open.

There are already dozens of people here in costumes and getups — some identifiable, some completely obscured — but I don’t see anyone built quite like my Eris.

The spooky playlist puts me at ease as I grab a drink and head out to the dancefloor like I was told. His instructions were clear, he just failed to mention how long he’d make me wait.

One idiot dressed like Superman tries to dance with me right away, but he’s too short to be Eris. Another guy built similarly to my man tries next, but there’s no finesse here. He didn’t set all of this up just to come face-to-face with me so soon.

I don’t think so, anyway. But what if he knew I’d think that? What if—

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