Page 4 of What Haunts the Heart
2
Eden
"Hey Chess, look! I'm Jack the Pumpkin King!" I waved my arms excitedly up and down.
Chester’s head popped up. He looked around for a moment before rolling his eyes at me. I knew that look so well, I could practicallyhearhim groaning.
I grinned and pulled the rubber mask off my face, then held it out at arm's length so I could get a good look at it. Not that I had any intention of buying it, mind you. There was a reason it was only ten bucks and besides, what good was an epic Halloween costume if you hid your face behind a mask?
I was far too gorgeous for that. Vanity, thy name is Eden.
Halloween had always been my favorite holiday. Growing up, it was the one day a year I was free to be my flamboyant, outrageous self without any fear of my parents' judgment. I could dress up in gaudy rainbow costume jewelry and Mum wouldn't even bat an eye.
From the time I was six or seven, I'd roam our neighborhood on Halloween night, my pumpkin-shaped candy bucket in tow, going from house to house to collect treats. When I ran out of houses with their porch lights on, I'd scuttle off to my room and stuff myself with fun-sized Reeses and Snickers until I felt sick.
Fun times.
Giggling to myself, I hung the mask back on the shelf and meandered towards Chester. He was kneeling on the floor next to the Halloween decor, comparing two different kinds of fake spider-webbing. What he was comparing, however, was lost on me. They looked exactly the same. Leave it to Chester to second-guess everything.
I nudged his arm with my knee. "Babe, spider web is spider web. Isn't it going to be hanging in your barn? As in, where therealspiders live? So long as it's webby, who cares what it looks like? It'll be dark and everyone will be too busy chowing down on treats to notice."
He pouted at me. "I just want it to be perfect, that's all."
"It will be perfect," I assured him. "Trust me. By the time we get done decorating, your place will be the spookiest place to ever spook."
Chester snorted a laugh, then tossed both sets of spider web into the cart. They landed on top of a myriad of other things, including two blow-up pumpkins, several skeletons, a package of realistic but blessedly fake spiders, a handful of rubber bats and a couple of pumpkin carving kits, no doubt for the massive pumpkins and gourds that Kinsley had brought home. Oh, and six boxes of purple and orange LED lights for the front of the house.
"What next?" I bounced on my heels, then craned my neck to one side until I felt a light pop. Mmm. Much better. I eyeballed the rack of costumes, which were mostly for little kids and/or parents who were humoring their little kids by trick-or-treating with them.
Not that I'd know anything about that. Mum was usually passed out drunk by evening, so I always went alone or with some friends. It was a miracle I was still alive, come to think of it. There was no way in hell Chester and Kinsley would let one of their kids go trick-or-treating alone, and Vale Valley was as safe as they came.
"Well, we should probably get some face paint for the kids?" He scanned the meager amount of cheap-o makeup with a frown on his face. Grabbing a palette of red and black off the shelf, he turned it around to read the back. "Do you think this stuff would be safe for Angel? I don't want her to get sick."
Angel was Chester's 3-month-old daughter and, despite having two kids prior, Chess seemed especially protective over his youngest. He was always fretting over her. It was adorable, but honestly? The kid was pretty much bullet proof.
She was the easiest baby I'd ever met. She rarely fussed and she was so happy all the time. Compared to Khloe, who screamed non-stop and was like a bull in a china shop? Chess had nothing to worry about with Angel.
I wrinkled my nose and pointed to the packaging. "It says right here it's non-toxic."
"But non-toxic doesn't mean—”
"Chester." I planted one hand on each of his cheeks, forcing his gaze to mine. "Angel'll be fine. She'll only be wearing it for a handful of hours. After the party, she'll get her bath and it'll all be great. Right?"
The other Omega pursed his lips, then smiled. "You're right. You're right, I'm a worry-wart."
"I love you anyway," I singsonged back, snagging the makeup out of his hand and tossing it unceremoniously into the cart. I smirked and cocked my hip, then gestured to the rest of the aisle with a sweep of my arm. "Anything else, oh warty-one?"
"Screw off!" But he laughed. That's all that mattered.
“So have you decided on a costume yet?” I asked, walking alongside the cart as we traipsed through the store at a leisurely pace. “Please don’t tell me you and Kinsley are gonna get all matchy-matchy and do a couples’ thing.”
His jaw fell open, which told me that wasexactlywhat he'd planned to do. “Why not?”
It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Babe, that’s so last year. Halloween is the perfect time to give your carefully-constructed safety net a little push, if you know what I mean. Here, I’ll help you spice it up a little bit. What were you thinking of?”
Wrinkling his nose at me, he shrugged. "I don't know. I have a few ideas, but nothing is really jumping out at me."
"We're kind of running out of time, Chess. Halloween is less than two weeks away."
