Cruel Abandon by S. Massery

Author:S. Massery [Massery, S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Goodreads: 52705365
Published: 2021-02-04T06:00:00+00:00

23

Sky

Someone drops into the chair beside me.

“Hey,” Taryn says, grinning at me. “Happy Halloween.”

“Happy Halloween,” I echo. “What are you doing?”

“We saw you come up here.” Taryn motions behind us.

I follow her gaze to a girl and guy, immediately recognizing the latter. Jeff is in all silver, carrying a little can.

“Tin Man?” I ask Taryn.

“Indeed.” She frowns. “I think Nat was supposed to go as Dorothy.”

I wince. “That’s…”

“I feel bad for him,” she says. “He’s sort of lost without her. He’s smart, don’t get me wrong. But she gave him a good direction to go in.”

“Where are you guys going?” I have no desire to go to a party, but I’m curious. I twist around and focus more fully on the girl he’s with. She’s familiar—one of Whitney and Natalie’s friends, I’m sure—but I can’t recall her name. She wears her long dark hair in two braids, barely any makeup, and a black button-up dress with a white collar. Wednesday Addams.

It brings a smile to my face. Maybe not the most original costume, but Wednesday’s darkness speaks to my heart.

She glances over at us and waves.

Huh.

“See?” Taryn nudges me. “No one hates you or anything.”

I roll my eyes. “Right.”

“Anyway, I think it’s one of the parties over at Lenox Bluff University. Do you want to come?”

“No, thanks.”

She takes my hand. “Skylar.”

“Taryn,” I parrot.

“I realize that Halloween isn’t your thing, but no one would care that you’re not in a costume. I think we can hunt down some white paint and say you’re a zombie or ghost…” She grins. “What are you wearing under that?”

I pull at Liam’s sweatshirt. I can’t believe I picked this to go outside in. In public. On campus. The white lettering of Ashburn College Athletics stands out almost too brightly against the black fabric. Beneath it is a white tank top, and I’m pretty sure a black lace bralette.

When I tell Taryn that, she grins. “Perfect, you can go as a cheerleader. Can we mess with…” She motions to my face.

I frown, then nod.

Gothic cheerleader… sure.

I pull off the sweatshirt and keep it in my lap as she messes with my hair, runs her fingers under my eyes carefully, and finally turns her attention to my shirt. She knots it high, showing off my stomach.

My stomach, which is currently full of snakes. It’s the anxiety of going to a party, compounding with Halloween.

But Taryn is nice. She wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.

While she’s focused on my outfit, I try to piece together what Taryn’s costume is. Her hair is in two high ponytails, and her outfit is crazy electric blue and pink. It seems familiar, but I can’t place it.

I focus on my breathing until Taryn tells me I’m all set.

A second later, I’m hit with a flash. I blink away the white spots and glance at her phone.

Yeah… I’m not sure how she managed to make me seem normal, especially with the gray hair. She put it up into two space buns, tamed my crazy eyeliner, and the white tank and black leggings actually look like I chose them on purpose.

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