Page 263 of The Invite
I fold over at the waist and cough as I gulp in oxygen. Fighting back tears, I straighten and face the mirror. Red fingerprints form on the pale skin of my neck. Shit. I cannot let Augustus see. Even he didn’t hate me as much in the beginning as Scarlett does. Once she learns of my betrayal, it’ll pour gasoline over her hatred for me.
“Nessa?” yells Augustus from outside. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I yell back. My voice comes out scratchy. “Just one sec.”
My jacket thankfully has a high neck and I zip it up to the top, concealing my throat. I free my hair from the bun, letting it fall down in waves and bring them over my shoulders for further coverage.
A second later, the door shoves open and a hulking Augustus steps inside.
His eyes look possessed as they land on me and soften immediately. Coming closer, he inspects the slight changes in my appearance. My heart thuds as I smile at him. “The bun was giving me a headache,” I explain.
Concern darkens his face as he cups my cheek. “Want me to take you home?”
“No. It’s gone now.”
My stomach knots when he runs a fingertip over the high neck of my jacket, toying with the zipper.
Please don’t pull it down. Please don’t pull it down. Please don’t pull it down.
“Cold?”
“A little,” I lie.
Pressing his palm to my forehead, he checks my temperature. The stark worry across his handsome face makes me want to cry with joy. Why is he so perfect?
I curl my fingers around his wrist and kiss on the inside before reassuring him, “I’m not sick, August. Just hold me close against your body and keep me warm.”
Curling one arm around my shoulders, he presses my face against his chest, and murmurs against the top of my head, “If you aren’t well, you’ll tell me?”
“Of course.” I loop my arms around his waist and squeeze. “I will.”
“Don’t leave my sight from this point on. All right?”
A foreboding feeling rises in my gut and I nod. I put on my butterfly mask and we both stroll out. Once we glide out of the tented room and reach outside, I’m blown away by the atmosphere.
Mist permeates the sky, giving the illusion we’re walking on a cloud. The dark tempo of the music echoes around us, coming from the obscured speakers.
Even at the end of the streetlights is a slit human head or a skull illuminated by the bulbs. It feels like we’re strolling down a medieval city where civilization didn’t exist. The decorations are unmatched.
Every inch of space is filled to the brim by people dressed in colorful costumes, ranging from slutty to Gothic.
Then there are humans masquerading as monsters and creatures from lores and fairy tales, scaring the onlooking crowd. They appear from out of thin air and shaded corners, making their poor targets gasp in fear and laugh.
“Is… is that someone…?” I trail off, screeching to a halt as bile rises in my throat.
On a raised wooden platform in the middle of the street, a man kneels on the ground, his arms tied behind his back with his tongue out and nailed to a bench.
“It’s fake,” Augustus assures.
“But it’s so real.”
I stare at two oblivious girls taking selfies in front of it while a freakishly tall man cloaked in a black coat with a skull jaw covering the lower half of his face stealthily stalks toward them. They’re smiling into the camera, still unaware. The blood in my veins thrums with adrenaline as the man keeps coming closer and closer and—
“Boo!”
“Ahh!!!!” I scream in horror and jump at the gnarly masked man who appears in my face out of nowhere. Whipping around, I glue myself to Augustus and bury my face against his chest.
“Cut it out, Ace,” grunts Augustus, rubbing circles on my back. Kissing my head, he coos, “You’re safe, honey.”
