Page 71 of Unbearable

“Yeah, okay. That sounds good,” I said.

“Yeah?” He sounded surprised.

“Yeah.” I bit my lip, his gaze too intense, causing me to stand and walk to my bedroom door.

“Good night, Trent.”

“Good night, Dotty.”

The sun started to dip in the sky, and I knew trick-or-treaters would start knocking on the door any minute. Halloween was not my favorite holiday as a kid. Although I had a sweet tooth, I never enjoyed going out and trick-or-treating. Not having many friends besides my brothers and Trent, and the anxiety of running into everyone from school, caused me to choose to stay home with my dad, passing out candy most of the time instead.

As an adult, Halloween was not a holiday I celebrated much. Noah and I would usually watch spooky movies and hope we would get trick-or-treaters. We rarely did, most likely because we lived in a high-rise in downtown Seattle.

Trent emerged from the kitchen, and I almost choked on my saliva.

“What, don’t like my costume?” He gestured down his body. I avoided looking at the skintight superhero spandex that hugged all his muscles.

“I didn’t take you for the type of adult who dressed up,” I said, lounging in my comfy joggers and Beatles band tee.

“Gracie always comes by, and one year, I wasn’t dressed up as anything. She said I lost uncle points, so now I make a point to dress up every year.”

“Makes sense. She’s got everyone wrapped around her finger.” I chuckled.

The doorbell rang, and Trent went to grab the bowl of candy, handing some out to the first set of kids. We settled on the couch and started a classic Halloween movie in between handing out treats. Each time the doorbell rang, we took turns with the candy duty, barely getting through a few minutes of the movie before it rang again. After fourbowls of candy, the doorbell chimed once more, and Trent stood up.

“You sit. I got this one.” He rounded the sofa, and I tried not to watch how his ass looked in the skintight costume.

From my spot on the couch, I could still see the costumes of the trick-or-treaters as they approached. A little girl stood at the doorway, dressed as a princess.

“Thank you, mister. Oh, and here you go. A man back there asked me to bring this to you.” I could see Trent’s body tense.

“What is it?” I asked, concerned.

He turned back, giving me a wary look. “It’s a note.”

I was on my feet before I had fully processed what was happening. I grabbed the note from him as he ran out the front door.

“Wait!” he yelled after the little girl. Taking a deep breath, I glanced down at the note.

I have to tread carefully now, but just because my messages have become scarce doesn’t mean I have stopped thinking about you. Every moment I am consumed with thoughts of us together. Soon, very soon, our worlds will collide, and everything will be as it should. Just you and me, forever.

My stomach turned, and I ran to the bathroom barely in time to empty the contents of my stomach.

I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when Trentcame to my side, pulling my hair back and rubbing small circles on my back.

“Sorry,” I peered up at him, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“No need to apologize. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve seen you lose your cookies. I called Colt, and he is on his way. Dorian said he is still out with Gracie but is going to end the night here soon,” he said.

“Did you find out anything from the girl?”

“Yeah, I talked to her mom too. She didn’t know what happened. The girl said some guy in a masked costume came up to her and asked her to bring the note to this house before she came up to the door.”

“Trent.” My voice was pleading. “This is not good.”

“I know, sunshine.” He kissed the top of my head.

It was so frustrating, finally feeling at home for the first time in years, while yet constantly have to look over my shoulder.

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