Page 23 of Them Bones

He’d seen how girls dressed on Halloween. Little maid outfits, slutty nurses, playboy bunnies… Unable to tear his eyes away from her, he almost wished she was dressed like that instead.

She was wearing tight black hot pants tucked into calf-high shitkickers with silver buckles. Her loose black shirt seemed to have been cut in half because he could see at least four inches of flat, pale skin between the rise of her pants and the hem of her shirt, a silver chain ending in a large, tear-shaped ruby red gem dangling from her belly button. And she was wearing a tightly fitted women’s leather motorcycle jacket, with the collar popped like that damned Dracula cape.

“Laney,” he choked out while turning to face her, his voice hoarse, “you can’t wear that.”

She frowned. “Why not?”

Because you’re going to kill me.

“Because it’s too cold.”

She shrugged and zipped up the coat.

Not. Helping.

“You ready Dusty?” she called, brushing past him.

His hands were shaking.

Dustin bounded down the hall, cloaked entirely in black with a scythe over his shoulder, and she yanked the door open before calling behind her “You coming?”

Probably. Later. In the shower.

He felt like such a fucking dick, but trailed after them, shutting the door behind him and wishing – for the first time – that he’d never followed her home.

DUSTIN

Dustin loved Halloween. Nobody looked at him funny, or looked at him at all. Tucked behind his dark mask, he didn’t have to make eye contact with anybody. Death didn’t speak, so the ladies in the doorways just chuckled when he held out his faded pillowcase, not saying trick or treat.

Laney didn’t bring a pillowcase, this time, but she had an extra bounce in her step. He thought it probably had something to do with the way Shane couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from her, but she was ignoring him so maybe not.

The other kids didn’t pay them any attention, but some of the dads seemed to notice Laney. They stood on the sidewalk as small kids ran up and down each driveway, breathing clouds of air on their hands as they tried to keep warm. Everywhere they went, their eyes followed Laney. And Shane didn’t like it.

Shane didn’t say anything, but he’d stand between Laney and the dads with a scowl, his arms folded across his chest, as Dustin walked up to each front porch and held out his bag.

One of the dads leaned around Shane to get a closer look at Laney, and Shane dropped his arms, fists balled at his sides, and stepped right into the man’s chest. The dad chuckled, at first, but the look on Shane’s face had him raising his palms and shakinghis head. When his son in the skeleton suit toddled down the driveway, the dad picked him up and put him on his shoulders, and they skipped a few houses ahead, so they weren’t standing beside Shane, anymore.

Laney wasn’t visibly reacting, but Dustin could tell she was pleased.

When his pillowcase was too heavy to hold anymore, Shane took it from him and produced an empty one from his back pocket so they could keep going.

By the time they headed home, Dustin’s feet hurt, and his nose was running from the cold, but he was grinning ear to ear. He wished he could wear his costume every day. He wished every day were Halloween. He knew Laney was just as happy as he was, even though she didn’t get any candy.

As they made their way up the driveway, he was so happy thinking about sorting all his candy that he didn’t even notice the lights on in the garage, or the music pouring out of the house.

LANEY

Laney was used to men’s eyes on her, but nobody had ever looked at her the way Shane had been looking at her all night. It reminded her of when she’d first met him, his eyes glinting with something wild and unpredictable, half-starved and dangerous. It made her toes curl.

She could feel him beside her, watching her, as they walked up the driveway. She’d been ignoring him all night, pushing him to the edge of… she wasn’t sure, exactly, but something delicious had unfurled in her lower belly, and she was luxuriating in the heady feeling of his unwavering attention, hot and dark.

They paused at the end of the driveway, their arms almost-touching, Dustin bouncing ahead of them and up the concrete porch steps.

“Laney...” he said. He sounded like he was in pain.

She waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t. Instead, he just turned slowly towards her, reaching up with his hands and resting them on her shoulders, moving her to face him.

He was staring at her, that look still on his face, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks and she was a giant, juicy peach. And for once, he wasn’t tensing up, or stepping back, or looking away.

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