Page 48 of Rematch
Audrey
Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.
When I was younger, it was the only one my mother would put effort into. She loved the grotesque decor, over the top costumes, and of course: taking me trick or treating. Her favorite part was dressing up in the most outrageous pair of costumes.
From what I remembered, she was very eccentric. Her dark curls were usually highlighted with vibrant colors, and bold eyeshadow always outlined her light brown eyes. At night, she’d reach for a Tim Burton animated film before a classic Disney one to keep me occupied. Sometimes she snuck in a cheesy horror movie with effects so bad it’d make me laugh instead of cry.
Halloween was the one night of the year she was able to embrace the parts of herself she was often shamed for. The same parts she’d passed down to me.
This year, Carter told me he had a very special Halloween-themed date planned. After the week of radio silence I’d punished him with, he swore he was going to use the holiday weekend to make it up to me.
I spent the second half of the afternoon locked in my room, perfecting my costume-like makeup and putting final touches on my outfit. When I’d dug through my closet for inspiration,I flipped through all of my old outfits. Harley Quinn. Bride of Chucky. Emily the Corpse Bride. Starfire. Catwoman.
All missing their better halves.
Eventually, I picked one of my favorites and asked Carter if he’d be willing to dress up along with me. The best he said he’d do was an all-black ensemble to stay somewhat true to the other character’s outfit.
At the moment, I lied and said it was fine, but truthfully, I was disappointed. Dressing up was one of my favorite parts of Halloween, and he barely wanted to do that.
I didn’t let myself wallow in the disappointment for too long. I wasn’t going to let anything ruin my favorite night of the year.
“Oh, ho, ho,” Dad yelled as I walked down the steps, finished with my look and on my way to meet Carter outside. He and Papa were sitting on the couch, watching a movie as they waited for Trick-Or-Treaters. “Don’t you look stunning?”
Papa nodded. “It’s like you stepped right out of Tim Burton’s mind.”
I’d decided to be Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas. I sketched stitches along my mouth, collar and arms. Painted my lips in red and applied long, dramatic eyelashes atop a smokey eye. I threw on the dress from an old costume and tucked it in at some places to outline my figure. Topping it all off, I styled a long, straight red wig on top of my head.
I grinned at the compliment. “Thank you!” I gave both of them a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back later!”
“Have fun!” Dad yelled, contrasting against Papa’s “Be safe!”
I skipped out the door and down the path towards Carter’s car.
He glanced up from his phone as I climbed inside. “Oh, you were serious about dressing up, huh?” He asked.
“What made you think I wasn’t?”
He shrugged. “You say a lot of things you don’t necessarily mean.”
I sighed.Here we go again…“We don’t have to go out tonight,” I told Carter. “I can stay home and hand out candy if you’re going to act like this.”
“Like what? Like my hurt feelings are being ignored? Like the woman I’m dating isn’t claiming me?”
I almost scoffed. “I hurt your feelings by hanging out with my friend, someone who I’ve known for years? Are you serious?”
“I told you I didn’t like you around him.”
“And like a good little doll, I’m supposed to listen, right?” I shook my head. “You know what, forget it.” I reached for the door handle.
Carter’s hand darted out and grabbed it. “Wait, wait,” he said. His voice was soft, but his grip was a bit too tight. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I really like you. You’re beautiful and smart and kind and unique - one of a kind in all the best ways. And I don’t…I don’t want to lose you.”
“I am right here,” I assured him. “And I don’t plan on going anywhere. But, you’ve gotta stop with the jealousy and possessive shit.”
“Alright, alright. I will. I promise.”
“And if you’re so worried about me claiming you, why don’t you just ask me to be your girlfriend?”
“I just remembered you said you had a lot going on and wanted to keep things casual. I didn’t want to overstep your boundaries.”
