“Lexy, you look hot in that wig,” I exclaimed.

She laughed, taking if off. “Maybe I’ll be a sexy pirate or a devil.”

“How about this one?” I held up an angel costume.

“Hell no. I want to get the guys attention, Alex. I want to look like someone you want to sleep with, not someone you want to pray with,” she laughed, turning to the other rack.

“Do you know what Seth and Elijah are going to be?” Even though Elijah had told me he wasn’t dressing up, I thought there was a chance he was joking.

“Seth always dresses up as something really scary, and as for Elijah, he thinks he’s too cool to dress up. I’ve been trying to get him to dress up for the past I-don’t-know-how-many years. I just gave up. He’ll come as his boring self.”

“How about these?” I held up two costumes. “Why not be a superhero? Wonder Woman or Batwoman?

“Oh.”

That got her attention big time.

“Batwoman. I’ll try that on. Did you find something for yourself?”

“Yes, what do you think of this? I just need a curly blonde wig. Or I guess I could just curl my hair but it will be too long.”

“You’re going to look so hot. With your figure, you’ll look just like her.”

“You think so?”

“Come on, let’s try it.”

After grabbing a few costumes, we headed to the dressing room. I knew what I wanted, but Lexy tried on one after another, unable to decide.

“What do you think about this one?” she asked, spotting my phone in my hand. “Everything okay?”

“I don’t know. Liam hasn’t called. I told him that we needed a break, but all he cared about was that he wanted me to move out. He doesn’t get it. It’s like whatever I say means nothing to him. I was hoping he’d at least call to apologize, but it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m breaking up with him. I just need to do it face to face.”

“Oh.” Her tone took a dip. “Forget about him. He’s playing games with you. He’s probably waiting for you to grovel at his feet first. There’s going to be tons of guys at the party tonight, and with your outfit, you won’t have any problems.”

“Thanks,” I said checking again for messages.

“Okay, I’ve decided. I’ll be the sexy devil. Halloween is tomorrow and I don’t want to come back again. I’m starving. Let’s go.”

We quickly cleaned up, paid, and left.

Whiteboard:

Thanks for the left over spaghetti.

Wondering what you’ll be dressed as tonight.

-E

Lexy and I had to work the evening shift, so we went back to my place to get dressed. Elijah was helping Seth and his fraternity brothers. I was glad he was already there. Instead of eating out, I invited Lexy to eat the leftover spaghetti.

“That is so cute,” Lexy gushed, directing her eyes on the whiteboard.

“Oh, that,” I smiled, taking a heated plate out of the microwave oven and handing it to her. “It’s how Elijah and I communicate sometimes.”

“I’ve seen it before, but I didn’t say anything.” Lexy headed to the dining area.

“I have to say, Alex. You make the best spaghetti,” she complimented, placing a fork full in her mouth.

“Thank you. It was my dad’s special recipe.”

“Sorry about your dad,” she shrugged sheepishly.

“That’s okay, Lexy. Elijah is right. The more I talk about him, the more the pain becomes bearable.”

“I’m here for you,” Lexy managed to say, taking another bite. “I’m lucky that I still have both my parents. Elijah on the other hand….” she stopped.

The chunk of spaghetti I just swallowed didn’t go down smoothly when Lexy spoke about Elijah and what he had gone through. Life sucks sometimes, but having good friends to ease the grief can make up for not having any family for support.

“How about your mom?” Lexy asked, changing the subject.

“She’s fine. My parents were divorced. I’m sure she grieves for my dad in her own way, but not in the same way as me. At least that’s what I think.”

After we ate and got dressed, we took pictures and sent them to Emma. Then we were on our way. I had a million butterflies dancing in my stomach, but I didn’t know why.

I thought we were going to someone’s house but it was actually at a restaurant. There were tons of people dressed up, looking stress-free and enjoying themselves. It was great to be surrounded by this contagious euphoric atmosphere.

“Tickets,” the guy at the door said.

“What ticket?” I asked Lexy. She was digging through her purse. “Lexy, I didn’t get a ticket,” I panicked.

“Relax. I have yours.” She handed him two tickets. When I got a glimpse of it, I saw how much they cost. They were fifty dollars each.

“Next!” the guy said out loud. That was our cue to move out of the way.

“Let me pay you back. I’m sorry. I didn’t know I had to buy a ticket,” I sighed, feeling like a dork. I had to raise my voice when Lexy led us further in. The music blasted in my ears.

“Don’t worry about it. I didn’t pay for them. You weren’t supposed to see how much they cost.”

“Who paid for mine?”

“Compliments of your roommate. Don’t say anything to him, he’ll get mad at me. Promise?”