Thorns & Oranges

Halloween Costumes

Chapter Thirty-Five

"Just so you know. You were supposed to come here with Rey tonight."

"And just so you'll remember, I stopped being his Rose this morning."

My brother scoffed in disbelief. "You'll work it out."

"How can you say that? How?"

"I know you. You're not going to let some tramp scare you away, not if you really like this guy."

"He slept with her. Willingly. Besides, he's been pulling back all week so I'm pretty damn sure that's a neon sign if I ever saw one. It never would've worked and this is his way of telling me that. After tonight, and I prove my point, that'll be it. When all of this is over, I'll just go wherever you and Chelle are going and he'll go back to his life. I don't need anyone else."

He sighed, that one sound telling me more than I wanted to know. "I'll always take care of you, Elina. You know that."

"Then why does it sound like you're about to put a 'but' in there?"

"Because I am. I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy. You have to let someone close enough to make you happy. He's not Ford. Hell, even the other one isn't Ford."

"How would you know? It's not like you know either of them all that well."

"I know Rey better than you think."

"He's a cop."

"He's also pretending to be my next in line. I have to know certain things about him no one else does. Most of it is fabricated but some parts are completely true."

"Are we going to have another heart to heart on the way to the race? Considering how well that went last time, I don't think it would be a good idea."

"What I'm saying is at least you've moved on from fucking gangsters."

"Rey's a gangster."

"Not a real gangster. He's like a quasi-gangster.

"Close enough. It's all...it's like Halloween every day for him. He's a gangster."

At that he laughed, one of his big barrel laughs. He was devoid of that lately and it was nice to hear it again.

"I'm starting to think maybe I should've let you out in that skirt."

"Really?" I brightened. "I'm sure we have time to go back..."

"I said maybe, niña." He pulled into a parking space. "Maybe isn't should've."

"Sounds the same to me."

He rolled his eyes and grumbled as he got out of the car. Just like last time, my brother was bombarded, this time more girls coming to the flame than before. I sighed, resting my head back against the headrest. It was going to take him a while to remember I was in the car. Then it clicked, I was one to go against the rules. I could get out on my own.

I grinned and just as I was about to open the door, it was opened for me and a familiar hand appeared. It wasn't my brother's. I could still see him through the windshield. He was smiling a little too eagerly at a leggy blonde to his right. Just to freak him out and possibly not have to take the hand whose fingers spelled 'Over', I reached over and pressed the horn. The girls jumped and my brother just smirked at me. The shrug he gave told me this was my problem and I had to deal with it. As far as he was concerned, Rey was still my Thorn, at least while we were pretending.

And we would be pretending for the rest of the summer even if I didn't want to play along. Hurry up eight weeks.

I brushed Rey's hand aside, ignoring the way the hair rose along my arm as I stood up or the flashes of memories I got from that barest of touches. I definitely had to ignore the look in his eyes as they flicked over the outfit I was wearing and officially met mine.