"Dakota Ryan Foster. If you don't get up here, right this minute, you will not be going out tonight at all!"
I heard the frustrated sigh from the hallway and before I knew it, Dakota came barrelling through the door. He ripped off all his clothes and jumped into the bathtub. I blinked, amazed at the sight in front of me; that went faster than I thought it would.
Dakota pouted as he splashed the warm water in the porcelain tub, flicking the bubbles that floated toward him.
"That's a good boy," I cooed, smiling softly at him. "Are you excited to go trick or treating with Grandpa?"
Dakota's head bobbed with impatience and excitement, as he slicked back his brown hair with his hand. "I'm going to go from Mr. Weaver's house all the way to Grandma's!"
I stiffened slightly at the mention of Ryan's mother, Diana; she was a piece of work. She adored Dakota, but saw him as a replacement for Ryan rather than her grandson. I wasn't sure what was worse; Alpha Foster completely ignoring the existence of his grandson or Diana pretending her son had been reincarnated.
I forced a teasing smile onto my face. "Baby, you know their house is nearly a two hour walk from here. Wouldn't you get tired?"
"No! I could walk to China if I had to!" He exclaimed.
My smile settled into something more genuine from my amusement. "But you'd expect Grandpa to carry you back home."
The determined glint in his eyes faltered, as his stormy grey eyes turned back to me. "Wouldn't he?"
"Sorry to say this, but I don't think so bud. Sorry," I said chuckling, grabbing the tear free shampoo and massaging it through his hair.
We fell into silence after that; Dakota humming random tunes from TV commercials while I washed his hair free of any shampoo and conditioner.
I then reached down to grab him from the bathtub and quickly dried him off. I wanted to make sure he was completely dry before slipping on his Halloween costume.
Dakota broke free from my arms, running to his room, and returned with a bundle of clothes in his arms.
"Here Momma, can you help me?" He asked. I let a small smile creep onto my lips, as my heart melted. Quickly, I tucked him into the little furry suit, did up the zipper and pushed up his hood. He was dressed up as a little brown bear. A Kodiak bear, most likely.
"You look adorable, bud." I cooed, pitching his checks, before smoothing out his little brown ears.
Dakota looked up, his costume's bear face falling off his head. "Momma, the Kodiak bear can weigh up to fourteen hundred pounds and be up to ten feet tall!" He exclaimed, his face flushed with excitement. "I'm scary, Momma, not adorable."
"My mistake then; you’re very scary!" I replied.
I had to bite back a grin at the smug look on Dakota's face. I reached over to the sink, grabbing my make-up case, and moving Dakota to sit on the edge of the tub as the water drained out.
I used my black crayon eyeliner to give him a black nose and solid black eyes.
"Do you think we could go see Daddy soon?"
I froze at the question. Dakota had never once asked to go see Ryan, nor did I have any recollection of a reason for him to ask now. I knew the anniversary of his death was in less than a month but Dakota didn't.
Even when Dakota first started asking questions about his father in the last year we kept it basic. He knew his father had passed away in a car accident and loved him very much. But I didn't feel comfortable explaining everything to him until he could understand the weight of the situation.
"Why, Koda?" My voice was scratchy and strained.
My little boy gazed up at me with his big grey eyes and innocent, sad smile. "Momma, it's okay. The man that lives with Grandma told me Daddy left us in November." He paused to hold my hand, "I want to see him before November ends."
I was speechless to say the least. Furious that Marcus, Alpha Foster, had the gall to tell Dakota and bewildered with Dakota's ability to process that information.
He was four going on forty.
I kept glancing over at the digital clock hanging from the ceiling, it was already ten o’clock. Two more hours. I just had to last two more hours and then I could go home and forget this whole night. I wasn't sure when I had spit on a leprechaun, stepped on some massive crack or pelted my lucky horse shoes off a cliff but my luck had gone from bad to worse: First, I had left the house an hour late because some snot nose kids had decided that it would be cool to egg the house. Only they hit me coming out of my front door, instead of the house. Second, once I had salvaged any braids left in my hair and cleaned my black coat of any poultry warfare, I ended up tripping and breaking one of my high heels. I trudged towards the diner resembling the Hunchback of Notre Dame. And finally, when I actually got to the diner my father called to tell me Dakota had come down with some sort of fever. I promised Vanessa to stay out tonight, but now I had to be home before midnight at the latest.
Needless to say, it was my last Halloween as a teenager but I couldn’t say I was going to miss it one bit.
I heard someone clear their throat, bringing me back from my reverie. I noticed Vanessa using her eyes to gesture to the waitress coming this way, trying to get me to act normal.
"If you're all done I can be right over with the cheque," the waitress smiled warmly. Vanessa said the waitress’ name was Katrina, I think; she had just been hired for the holiday season.
Vanessa readjusted her silver bottle cap of a hat as she nodded, "That'd be great! And hey, you're doing a really good job."
The young brunette beamed at my sister and rushed off to the kitchen with our plates. I'm sure to brag to the other two holiday season waitresses hired than she had been praised.
As I moved to stand at the door, I watched Vanessa went up to pay the bill. I would have offered to pay, but she had an employee discount.
"So are you ready, Harps?" She beamed at me, walking past as I held the door open. She looked beautiful tonight; her eyes decorated with a smokey-eye design, her lips painted red, and her hair was curled then pinned to sit on one side of her body.
Instinctively I held my jacket closer to me, I getting shivers from the chill in the air and my lack of clothes. "More than ready." I answered her.
Vanessa looked at me curious as we walked toward Bella Coola. "Are you ever going to tell me what's under that flasher coat of yours?"
"Just a few more blocks, dear sister, be patient." I replied, mysteriously. I couldn't help but smirk. I had embraced my inner dork from my high-school years and was about to use it to my advantage.
We fell into a comfortable silence after that. The only noise was the clacking of her heels against the pavement - since I had broken my other heel to make my shoes flat.
I was surprised she hadn't figured out what I was from my hairstyle. I had two braids starting from either side of my head that lead into one think braid, held together by a thick gold band at the start of the braid.
"I'm so excited," Vanessa breathed, her hand gripping mine impossibly tight.
As we walked past the hunk of men watching over the door, they simply nodded at us. Vanessa rushed us through the black painted doors towards the coat check.
I walked a few paces behind her to give her some spotlight for her reveal. I could see all the clouded lust and hunger in men's eyes as they watched my baby sister step onto the dance floor in the tight fitting dress. I threw-up in my mouth a little at the sight.
A few seconds after I saw Vanessa vanish into the crowd of writhing bodies I walked over to the coat check. The boy that greeted me with braces shining in his mouth seemed too young to be in a place like this. But during Halloween in the town of Kelowna, age meant nothing; laws were only guidelines.
"Hello, can I take that for you?" He nervously pushed back his light blonde hair from his sweaty forehead.
I smiled softly at him, "Thanks." I pulled the cotton sleeves of my long fall coat off, the fabric replaced by my bare skin.
My arms, legs, stomach and back were all bare. If it weren't Halloween I would be no better than the overly popular girls in high-school who sold their bodies for fame.
The coat check boy nearly choked on his own tongue as he coughed and visibly blushed, "Y-your number is seventy-five." I grabbed the paper slip he offered and slipped it into my bust. I attempted to be subtle, but in this costume there really was no way. Turning back to the dance floor I fixed the bronzed chain hanging from my neck, ignoring the heated gazes on me.
"Hey sweet cheeks, tonight this Han don't want to fly Solo." A husky voice purred into my ear, as his finger trailed across the edge of my gold plated bikini bottoms. He was venturing dangerously close to the purple fabric covering the private part between my legs.
"Star Wars pick-up line, clever. But this princess needs a drink not a light-saber to play with." I smirked and brushed past him.
Star Wars had been my favourite movie series since I was young. Princess Lelia had so much physical power, as well as rare sexuality that I was always inspired by her. When I finally revealed my weird obsession with Princess Lelia with Ryan I expected him to laugh, but that’s the day I found out boys don’t object when your obsession is about an attractive, ass-kicking, princess.
The devouring gazes I felt following my every step and jealous daggers being thrown at my back only gave me more confidence. Every step I took made me feel less like a weak single mother and more like a strong independent woman.
I noticed Shane dressed as Superman standing next to a giggling Coke bottle that I call a sister. I felt bad to break up their conversation but I didn't feel like meeting anyone new yet.
"Superman, really?"
Shane's head snapped in my direction, his answering smile bright. "Says the one dressed as Princess Leia, in the bikini that has starred in every teenage boy’s wet dream." His smile turned into a smirk as he winked at me, "And may I say you wear it well."
I rolled my eyes but a smile crept onto my face. "You do the man of steel justice, as well."
"Well, Yoda one for me, baby." He grabbed my braid between his two fingers, playing with it, as Vanessa continued to glare at the two of us.
I groaned, "God, not another pick-up line. I regret coming over here now."
"Go have fun!" Vanessa jumped in; seeming overly relieved I decided to leave.
"Harsh," I murmured as I turned back to the dance floor. Not before grabbing the drink in Vanessa's hand and knocking it back.
I do love my sister, but she had been my father’s little princess for so long I don’t think she could handle not getting her way every time. Even if that meant leaving her own sister in the dust – harsh but true.
It was then I felt the dreaded pull of the one man I so desperately wanted to impress and physically crush. I could notice his dark mess of hair and amber eyes anywhere. Christopher. And his slutty chew toy.
My eyes connected with hers; she was dressed as Poison Ivy, using her fake dyed red hair to her advantage. I thought the costume suited her perfectly. Since Poison Ivy uses her body to get her evil little claws into Batman. She smirked, and I simply shrugged.
I tried to ignore the fluttering in my chest when those deep amber eyes met mine. He was dressed in a black suit and tie, with one side of his face torn to shreds with make-up. Two-Face. How ironic.
His amber eyes glowed with hunger as they held mine, his tongue gently brushing against his lips.
I took a step forward, barely feeling the different hands nudging my body to be theirs for a dance. Chris simultaneously broke free from the redhead's clutches, taking a step towards me. His lips quirked up into a predatory smile.
I was sure my eyes had grown to solid black, but his never did. It was like he was human.
Desire flowed through my veins as my mate came closer and closer, until he was suddenly jerked back to her. His amber eyes forced to meet hers. After a few seconds he went slack in her arms, before wrapping them around her body.
"Chris-" My words died in my throat when his face met mine again but this time with a disgusted sneer on his beautifully shaped lips.
"Do you need something?" Chris' voice was laced with malice and hate. The stab I felt in my chest nearly had me falling to the floor.
I grasped the shoulder beside me, not paying any attention to whose it was. "No, I thought you were someone else." I breathed, my voice shaky and weak.
Before either of them could respond I turned around and sped off. Not bothering to apologize to whoever I had used as a human handrail.
Shane moved from the sidelines of the bar. "Wait! Harper, I need to tell you something!" Shane's large hand brushed against my shoulder, as I kept running.
"Not now."
I kept running until the brisk October air flowed freely against my exposed skin. I bent over, throwing up anything in my stomach. The rejection hitting me even harder than the first time, because this time, it was from him.
I didn't care about my coat I left, or the fact I had just ditched Vanessa and Shane. They would survive. I wanted to get home to my little boy and forget about this night altogether.
Turns out, your teenage years really are overrated.
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SO sorry for the wait, I'm almost done the next chapter though, so it will be up soon!! There were just some issues with getting this chapter edited is all (: Chapter Contest: No one guessed the costume, but I did end up changing the one I wanted to do. So since I decided to change the costume I'm going to reward the person that I feel had the most clever guess (: @Rachele666 is the winner in my opinion, because little red riding hood is just awesome for a werewolf story. Also everyone watch out for the next chapter, I've decided to write it in a new person's point of view c:
Comment / Vote / Loveit / Hateit - love glandon<3
P.S. My other story will be coming off On Hold very shortly, so please go check it out if you like Fantasy :D http://www.wattpad.com/story/4133823-numb