Page 125 of Mr. Swoony

When I pull away, he nods. “Okay.”

“Now, let’s go have fun with our friends. We’re going to beat their asses at darts one of these days.” I hold out my hand.

He places his palm in mine, clenching it tightly. “We need to buy you a dart set like mine.”

I don’t say anything, but having the best of the best darts hasn’t helped him win any more games.

I understand why Conor is upset. Lila’s really putting a dark cloud over us, but at the same time, my heart hurts for her. She must be mentally unstable to carry on like this. I hope by getting the ball rolling today, someone will step in and give her the help she needs.

Fifty-Three

Eloise

A half hour later, we’re in the backroom of Peeper’s Alley with our friends.

“Did you see some of the costumes out there?” Henry asks, coming in with Jade but no Bodhi.

“Where’s Bodhi?” I ask.

“He went trick-or-treating, and now Waylon and Owen convinced him to change his mask and go out again. I think it’s for them.” He shakes his head.

Jade rolls her eyes. “My brothers are using Bodhi to scam candy for them.” She sits next to me.

“Reed told us about what happened at the police station.” Henry takes the seat next to Jade.

“Yeah, but we’ll get it figured out. Hopefully once we can file for a restraining order.” I press my hand to Conor’s thigh since I can see that he’s struggling. I think it’s more of a safety concern for him now.

When Conor wanted to get my attention at the meet-and-greet, I saw the fear in his eyes. The way he tracked me and her when she was leaving and came over to make sure he could protect me.

“We have the next game,” Conor says.

“Fuck that, I want another shot at Jade and Henry,” Tweetie calls.

Conor slides his chair out and leans over, kissing my cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

I sit back, happy he’s calmed down a little. I chat with Jade for a while about Bodhi’s time trick-or-treating, and she tells me how much candy he got. How hard Reed was on the older kids coming around with no costumes on and how he has no idea his own teenagers are out there using Bodhi to get candy.

“Eloise, we’re up.” Conor waves me over to the dartboard.

“Oh, wait. Let me go to the bathroom quick.” I sip my drink, then walk out of the private room, weaving through all the people until I reach the bathroom.

Man, it’s so much more crowded in here than usual. I wonder if people are crawling from bar to bar since it’s Halloween. Little do they know Ruby isn’t into big crowds, even if it means more money for her business.

I look for her to say hello, but I can’t find her, so I turn down the hallway to the bathroom, thankful there’s only a small line. I pull out my phone and check my emails to make the time pass faster.

Then someone says the men’s room is empty and the two women in front of me rush over there. I walk inside the women’s bathroom, go into a stall, and do my business. After I flush and open the stall door, I notice there’s no line now. The other stall is open as well, but against the door stands Lila without the blonde hair, dressed as a witch. How fitting.

The hair on the nape of my neck stands on end, and a chill rushes over my body.

“Funny meeting you here. Or is it?” She whips off her hat and tosses it in the trash can. “God, I hate hats.”

I look at the door. The lock is flicked.

She’s locked me in the bathroom.

I slyly move my hand to my back pocket where my phone is, but she points at me. “Put it on the counter.”

I huff and dig it out of my back pocket and place it on the wet counter. “What are you doing, Lila? They’re going to realize I haven’t come back and come looking for me.”

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