Page 2 of Welcome to Carnage

My thighs clench at the memory. And then the man left, like a ghost. He was gone. I didn’t see him again that night, but I remember the mask he wore. It was a Ghostface mask from the movie Scream.

“What do you think, Av?” Nyx asks eyes fixated on me.

His question snaps me back to the present, and I heat. “Yeah, it sounds like fun. Maybe it’ll be a nice distraction.”

My brother and I have always been close and hung out with each other’s friends because we’re in the same school year. My parents had Pierce ten months before me. It was like growing up with a best friend, even though he’s become wildly protective of me since I turned eighteen three years ago. Any guy who would try to talk to me if we went out, he’d chase off, so when I turned twenty-one, I insisted he back off, and he agreed reluctantly.

And then my first disaster of a date occurred, not because of how the date went but because... I can’t dwell on it anymore.

The thought of picking out a costume gives me anxiety, but I force a smile. “What are you guys going to go as?”

“I’m going as the joker. Can’t beat a classic,” Pierce says.

We all groan.

“You can’t dress up as him every year!” Luna protests.

Pierce shrugs. “Why not? No point changing something that works.”

Luna shakes her head. “You can’t go as the Joker, as I’m going to go as Harley Quinn.” She wrinkles her nose. “And I don’t want anyone to think I’m with you.”

Pierce laughs. “You’d be lucky for anyone to think I were with you.” He winks. “Face it, Luna. You want me.”

I shake my head as Pierce is always messing around. “Don’t be an idiot. You’re not Luna’s type.”

Pierce frowns at me. “What about you, sis? What are you going to go as?”

I shrug. “I have no idea.” I tug my bottom lip into my mouth before plucking up the courage to ask Nyx. “How about you, Nyx?”

His dark eyes land on me, and I instantly regret asking. “Who said I’m going?”

Piece claps him on the shoulder. “Don’t be a downer. We’re all going.”

The line of his jaw hardens. “Well, you’ll have to wait and see then.”

I sigh heavily, wondering if he’ll go in a mask. Despite how quiet and brooding Nyx is, I’ve had a crush on him for as long as I can remember. And seeing him in a mask might just kill me.

“Seriously, Pierce. Pick a different costume, I’ve already got Harley Quinn down, and I’ve got all the makeup to make me look as bat-shit crazy as she does.”

Pierce laughs. “You don’t need the makeup to pull off crazy.”

Luna throws a pillow at him, which makes him laugh more. “You’re an asshole.”

He smirks. “And you love it, Moon girl.”

She growls then and charges for him, and I watch, laughing but shaking my head. He calls her moon girl because Luna means moon, and he likes to wind her up. You’d think they were the siblings with the way they bicker.

When I glance over at Nyx, my heart skips a beat. He’s staring right at me with a dark look in his eyes I can’t decipher. He hasn’t even entered the room as he leans against the doorframe.

Pierce straightens up, dusting himself off as he glances sidelong at Nyx. “Hey, Nyx, don’t just stand there. Back me up with Luna here.” There’s a hint of playful desperation in his voice.

Nyx remains impassive, his eyes never leaving mine. He raises an eyebrow slightly at Pierce’s request but doesn’t move from his spot against the doorframe. “If you can’t handle a chick tackling you, then I’m not sure why we’re friends.”

“Screw you, man!” Pierce says, throwing a pillow at Nyx.

A flash of something dangerous enters his eyes as he forces his gaze to his best friend. “I’m not sure you thought that through.” A lethal edge to his voice makes my hair stand on end.

Pierce laughs it off, but I see a slight flicker of fear in his eyes. “What are you going to do? Smother me with it?”

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