In Charlie's Arms

26 • Discovery

"I don't know, I'm probably going to dress up as a cat," Seraphina said, putting her phone on speaker before removing it from her ear and setting it aside.

"'A cat?' You were a cat last year. Why don't you change it up?" Krista asked through the phone.

"Because I already have the costume," Sera explained, dumping a mound of freshly-cleaned clothes onto her bed, wincing as her bruised arm ached. "And I can't think of anything else."

"I wouldn't call your black pants and long-sleeve an actual costume, Ser," Krista deadpanned. "You know, you could always be a sexy pirate like me."

"Sorry, Kris, but I'm not leaving the house today. This is the only day I have for a good while that isn't jam-packed with school or work or the Fall Ball, and I have a lot of laundry to catch up on," she said as she began folding clothes. "Also, I'm not going for anything sexy this year. Or any year, for that matter."

Krista groaned on the other end of the phone. "Well at least go for something, you've worn that cat costume for two years in a row, now!"

"Exactly, and I can proudly say that I haven't spent any money on a costume for two years. Three, if you count this year."

"I swear, this is like that stupid prom dress all over again," Krista murmured in irritation. "What if I give you my costume from last year? The Little Red Riding Hood one?"

"If you'll allow me to swap out the fishnet tights for black leggings, then I'll think about it."

"Sounds good to me," Krista commented happily. "Although, I think Charlie might appreciate the fishnets a bit more."

Sera rolled her eyes as she smoothed out a wrinkly shirt with her hands. "I don't even think I'm going to see him on Halloween, Kris."

"Yeah you are!" Krista protested. "Your brother asked if we wanted to go to Duke's Pub with him and a couple other guys from work—including Charlie. I obviously said yes."

"What? I thought we were going to the Halloween Festival downtown."

"We can still do that afterwards. I'm sure you'll be able to coax Charlie into winning you a prize from one of the booths. You should get him to do the hammer thing that tests your strength—I'm sure he'll get you something from that."

"We'll see about that," Sera murmured, a smile forming on her face.

• • •

Besides doing the laundry she had neglected for almost two weeks, Sera also wanted to take Winston on a much needed walk on her day off.

However, she made a slip-up when trying to achieve this goal. When clasping the dog leash onto Winston's collar, she unknowingly didn't clip it all the way, eventually finding this out when Winston shot forward and broke free of the leash almost as soon as they stepped out of their cabin.

The dog shot down the trail as free as a bird, Sera gaping at him. Once she came to her senses, she lunged forward and ran after her dog, scowling as he diverted from the dirt path and took off into the woods.

She followed him, jumping over logs and running across fallen leaves as she screamed for Winston to stop.

Eventually, she lost sight of him through the thick trees, her steps slowing in exhaustion until she was barely at a jogging pace.

"Winston!" She called out again, wishing she had Charlie with her. He would've already had Winston in the house by now. "Winston, heel!"

Sera slowed to a walk, then burst back into a sprint once her energy permitted it. She broke through the trees and into a clearing, no Winston in sight.