Witches Beware

Chapter Seventeen: Dress Up

Lucas drove fast on the motorcycle, dodging cars, missing traffic, easily owning the road. I dug my nails into him, obviously nervous and excited from the rush, I even closed my eyes to not see him jump in each lane and squeeze in between cars as if it weren't going to damage us. Finally, he stopped. Aunt May's car highlighted the dull street, I was late, but not too late.

I climbed off the bike breathless, heart still pacing as I removed the helmet with shaky hands and place my dreads into a mess bun. "Thank you." I voiced before placing a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Still think about the ball, okay."

Lucas nod. "Yeah, I will." It wasn't a yes nor a no, which was good enough for me.

I gave him a weary smile before doing a half ass jog to the store, dresses lined up the window, the open sign was full of glitter and feathers. I cringed before walking to endure the numerous amount of hours trying to find something that fits my personality; quirky, plain, slightly flirtatious but also innocent.

"Told you she would come." Maxine chirped while stepping out of the rack of fluffy tutu dresses.

"She's still late." Athena stated, her eyes narrowed from my presence and lips thinned. She was still pissed about last night.

Aunt May looked between us, immediately feeling the tension in the air. "Alright, I haven't seen y'all like this since you were kids. Whatever it is, drop it, now." She spoke in a stern voice, causing us to become alert and push our emotions down. "Now hug."

We hesitated, both of us rather go through the awkward state of silence than pursue each other with a hug. It's a family thing, even mom and Aunt May never actually showed their love for one another in a physical or verbal way; they just knew, like Athena and I knew we loved each other as well- we just had a little disagreement, that's all. However, Aunt May wouldn't except that.

Athena was the first to step forward, we took slow cautious steps to one another until our arms wrapped around each other bodies, at first it was awkward but then it came natural. Plus, Maxine cuts in with a huge bear hug that brought us closer together. "This is nice." The chirpy teenager sighed before finally letting us go.

As I predicted, hours we spent in the dress shop in search of something we're only going to wear once. I managed to find something; a burgundy slim dress that held a firm fit above my waist and flowing fabric around my legs, noodle straps held the dress up upon my body, and my cleavage didn't have the main attraction but it was still there. The mask, on the other hand, was more spontaneous. It was silver, with clear diamonds lining the eyes, and three burgundy feathers longer than my fingers along each temple.

We headed home, all of us packed into the pink Chevy with our dresses and mask secure in our lips. The drive was smooth and silent, as if today weren't eventful for all of us or we just didn't want to share. We arrived home, our stomach rumbles with the need of food, and the taste for tacos filled our tongues.

The four of us walked through the rusted gates, smiling like greedy idiots, and dreaming about eating; at least until we saw the delivery upon or front door. Not just any delivery, but a man, a familiar man with a small box in his hands and luggage by his feet.

He stood tall, face still narrow, eyes covered by small circular sunglasses that barely covered his eyes, hair shorter and brown skin holding a sun kiss tan- Uncle Travis. I haven't seen him since dad's funeral, a week beforehand left Aunt May to go on some trip.

I felt Maxine grow stiff, heard her heart break, and see her eyes water. She hasn't seen her father since she were four when he suddenly showed up with gifts from different states and held his palm out for money. Maxine strikes up the steep steps, ignoring her father's plea as she opened the door and ran inside.