How hard was it to throw the dirty clothes in the direction of the hampers?
She stopped her internal haranguing as she found one of her old sundresses. Did she really once wear pink and yellow? The dress was only from last year, yet it seemed to belong to a different person. That person smiled easily and went to pool parties and picnics.
Cecilia put it up against her body. It would probably still fit. In a rare moment of whimsy, Cecilia slipped the dress on and turned to the mirror. She could remember wearing it, but now it didn’t feel the same. Those dark circles under her eyes haunted her. Even wearing the dress, she could never capture the happiness from before.
Still, a part of her yearned for escape. Even just a night out, dancing and laughing. Cecilia looked around her room. It still held happy memories. The pictures decorating the edges of her heart-shaped mirror. The poster of a fuzzy kitten sleeping. Her cheerleading trophies.
She imagined going to a school function and having Michael ask her to dance. She, of course, would demur. Because Cory, the hunky wide receiver, had already asked for her hand. Or would it be Tyler, the math geek with the quirky sense of humor?
Could she really go out and—
The smoke alarm burst through her musings. Cecilia bolted out of her room and down the stairs. Smoke wafted up from the kitchen. Her mother was fanning something flaming on the stove.
“No, Mom! That will only make it worse!” Cecilia yelled, but her mother kept at it. “Get out of the way!” she yelled again, as she grabbed the pot lid and slammed it over the burning chicken.
As the smoke cleared, her mother stammered, “I was just trying to make dinner and I don’t…I don’t know what happened.”
Of course, an empty bottle of red wine on the counter explained it to Cecilia. Her mother had the best of intentions, but she just couldn’t seem to execute them.
Jeremy burst into the room, winded. Seeing that Cecilia had the fire under control, he pulled a chair over, climbed up, and turned off the smoke alarm. Unfortunately for both of them, this was not their first brush with this situation. Sometimes it was in her mom’s bedroom after a dangling cigarette smoldered on a pillow. Heck, it even happened in the bathroom with candles once.
“You talk about me!” Jeremy yelled. “Crap! At least I don’t try and set the house on fire!”
“And exactly where have you been all day?” Cecilia countered. While he wasn’t wrong, his delinquency still grated on her nerves.
“That’s none of your business!” her brother shouted.
“Fine! Then get back to your room.”
Her brother turned on his heel. “Gladly!”
The sound of angry footsteps racing up the stairs filled the room. As his door slammed shut, her mother sat down hard at the kitchen table.
“I’m so sorry.” Was her mom slurring her words? At four o’clock in the afternoon? “I was just trying to do something good.” Then the waterworks started. “I was hoping we could all just be a family.”
Cecilia couldn’t take much more of her mom’s self-pity. She knew her mom’s heart was in the right place. It was just hard to care, given how much of a cleanup of the kitchen Cecilia would have to do. From previous experience, she knew exactly how hard it would be to remove the smoke and soot from everything.
“I know, Mom. But how about you just go back to your room? I’ll finish up and let you know when dinner is ready.”
“Oh, Cecilia, honey.” Unfortunately, as her mother rose to give her a hug, she knocked over a glass of wine. The red liquid splashed all over Cecilia, staining her sundress.
“Mom!” she yelled, unable to control herself. “Just go back to bed!”
Head bowed, her mom shuffled out of the kitchen. Once certain that her mom was out of earshot, Cecilia finally let the tears, which threatened to come out all day, stream down her cheeks. Sobbing, she clutched the edge of the sink. This was so unfair! She looked down at her delicate yellow dress, ruined by the deep burgundy merlot.
Cecilia used a wet dishrag to wipe it off, but it only smeared the stain more. She threw the towel down. Cecilia didn’t know why she even bothered. Even if somehow she magically got the dress cleaned, where would she ever wear it?
* * *
Jeremy paced his room. The smoke alarm hadn’t gone off again, so he supposed his sister had thrown their mom out of the kitchen. But after Cecilia was done with that crisis, Jeremy knew his big sister would be after him next. And he was not waiting around for that.
He had way bigger plans.
Finally, a knock came at his window. He opened it, and Evan climbed though.
“Jeez, you took long enough!” Jeremy chastised.
Evan dusted himself off. “What’s so important that it was a 9-1-1 text?”
Jeremy fanned out two Diana Dahmer Halloween concert tickets. “Oh, just these?”
“What?” His best friend stepped back, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “How… how did you get those?”
Jeremy relished the shocked look on his friend’s face. “Remember that last pool game you ditched to turn in your history paper?”
Evan snorted. “Yeah, then Father Haskell extended the deadline until Monday because no one else had theirs ready.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Jeremy hurried on. “But the point is that I won the game and the guy didn’t have the cash up front so, voilà!”
His friend reached a hand out, and Jeremy turned the tickets over to him. “Wow, the artwork on here is just amazing! They’ve even embossed them. They are going to make great souvenirs.”
“Souvenirs?” Jeremy recoiled from the notion. “Screw my Diana Dahmer collection. We are going to the concert!”
“No way!” Evan exclaimed, looking flushed at the idea. “Our parents will kill us!”
Jeremy shook his head. “Our parents won’t even know.” Heck, his mom probably wouldn’t notice if he disappeared for a week. Cecilia, though… But he had a plan for even her. “We’ll just leave messages on our moms’ voice mails saying that we’re staying at each other’s houses tonight.”
Evan still looked skeptical.
But Jeremy was not giving up. “Your mom is probably going to be relieved. I mean, when was the last time she was home for dinner?” His friend’s face clouded over. “That’s what I thought. Plus, from Uncle Pax’s phone call earlier, they are working on a big case, and Cec has her hands full with Mom. Nobody is going to care that we are out for the night.”
“If we get found out? My mom. Your uncle. Death. Slow and painful, dude.”
“I’m not staying here,” Jeremy snapped, but then recovered. With more cajoling, Jeremy continued, “I mean, I am going, and I really want you to go, too.”
Jeremy couldn’t risk scaring Evan too much—not if he wanted his friend to join in what Jeremy really had planned for the night. And sure, he could do it himself—he’d done it before. But tonight, he wanted an audience for his adventure.
“Come on, Evan, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event.” Jeremy grabbed his backpack—filled with everything they would need tonight—and headed for the window. “You in?”
“We head home at midnight, though, right?” His friend asked as he inched closer to the window. “I can’t break curfew.”
“Sure,” Jeremy reassured Evan. However, it was a complete and total lie. Midnight was when all the action began. But his friend did not need to know that.
With a sigh, Evan followed Jeremy through the window.
“You know, I really should have listened to Mom and hung out with the chess club.”
“Yes, dude. You probably should have,” Jeremy chuckled, as they slid down the roof shingles.
* * *
Cecilia pulled the last glass from the dishwasher. Finally, the dishes were done. Okay, so she had thrown out the pan with the charred chicken. But besides that, the kitchen was back in shape.
As she washed her hands, she caught sight of the neighbor kids running out their front door, in full costume. One w
as a ballerina, while the younger boy appeared to be a pirate, with a zombie face. Kids.
Kids so like she and Jeremy used to be. Cecilia could still remember her dad carrying her in his arms when she grew too tired to walk home. Halloween was the family’s favorite holiday. For her parents, it seemed to be for all the pictures they took, but for Jeremy and her, it rained chocolate candy.
As the sun began to set, it seemed everyone had someplace to go. Down the street, the Levarti twins were piling into their car with a bunch of their friends. The costumes? Well, as low cut and high hemmed as they were, they definitely would not meet the Our Lady of Sorrows dress code.
Speaking of which, she had better go turn over the laundry before her shirt got too wrinkled for the dryer to “press” it out. As she turned toward the laundry room, the back door burst open, and her two friends rushed in. Dressed in black, with heavy eyeliner, they looked ready to party.
“Ta-da!” Helen announced. “The cavalry has arrived!”
Francesca grabbed Cecilia by the wrist and tugged her toward the stairs. “Get out of those tired clothes! We are going to a party.”
But Cecilia balked. “You guys, I can’t.”
“Bull-pucky,” Helen announced and grabbed her other wrist. “You can and you will.”
Cecilia dug her heels in, though. “I am not going to that stupid concert!”
“Who said anything about that?” Helen retorted. “We’re heading over to Paula’s.”
“Paula’s?” Cecilia asked.
Francesca nodded vigorously. “Yeah. Her parents are letting her throw a party, with a live DJ and everything.”
“Paula?” Cecilia asked again. “The queen of frump is having a party? And we’re invited?”
Helen tugged on her wrist again. “Yes. Will miracles never cease? Now let’s get you cleaned up.”
“Guys, I can’t.”
Unfortunately, Cecilia’s mom chose that moment to come out of her room. “Cecilia, did I hear voices?”
“Yes, Mom. It’s just Helen and Francesca.”
“Oh,” she said, pulling the collar of her robe tighter around her neck. “I didn’t know we were expecting company.”
With a look at Helen, Cecilia answered, “We weren’t. They were just leaving.”
But Helen only took up the challenge. “Mrs. Knight, we are trying to drag Cecilia out to a party. Can you help us convince her?”
“Please?” Francesca begged. “She deserves a night out.”
To Cecilia’s surprise, her mother nodded. “You should go, Cec.”
“Mom, look, just go back to your room and give me and the girls a few minutes, okay?”
“No,” her mom said, sounding like she used to. “Go with Helen and Francesca. You do need a night out…away from here.”
Great. Now it was three to one. Not the odds Cecilia liked. Why could no one but she see the situation clearly? She didn’t need to go out, but she needed everyone to help her clean. Plus, she still had to deal with her little brother’s delinquency issue.
“I would love to—I really would,” Cecilia said, not exactly meaning it. “But I’ve got Jeremy upstairs cooling down and—”
Her mother shook her head. “No, he just texted me. He’s gone over to Evan’s for the night.”
“No, no, no,” Cecilia said. “Jeremy can’t just ditch everything, and then go have—”
“Cecilia,” her mom said firmly, and then smiled to soften her tone. “Whatever he’s done, we can deal with tomorrow.”
Ugh! So many things were wrong with that statement. First of all, who knew if her mother would even remember this conversation, or even be sober enough to have it tomorrow? Way too much of Jeremy’s crappy behavior just kept getting swept under the rug. But no one in the room wanted to talk about that. Cecilia almost felt sorry for her two friends, stuck watching this spectacle. She needed this conversation to be over, so she tried a different tack.
“Even so,” Cecilia said trying to reason with the estrogen in the room. “I’ve still got laundry to do, and I have to make dinner.”
Her mom put her hands on Cecilia’s shoulders. “I can order a pizza.”
Cecilia groaned. “But, Mom, we don’t have the money.”
“My disability check posted. We have the seven dollars.” Her mom smiled, like she used to. “Would you please, for just one night, be a completely obnoxious, self-centered, and irresponsible teenager? For me? Please?”
How could Cecilia say no? Not to the woman who used to sing her lullabies.
“You’ll use the coupon on the fridge?” Her mother nodded. Cecilia really could not think of anything else to use as an excuse. “Okay, fine. I’ll go.”
Her mother mouthed “thank you,” as Helen and Francesca whooped, dragging her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. They were in her room within seconds.
Helen became the fashion slave driver. “Cecilia, get that dreck-a-tude of a dress off. Francesca, get the makeup ready, and I will—”
“Hold on,” Cecilia said. “I don’t need a bunch of eyeliner and mascara.”
“Um,” Helen said as she brought up an expensive-looking shopping bag. “You are going to need it and want it when you see what we brought you.”
Helen pulled out the most gorgeous crushed velvet dress that Cecilia had ever seen. It was midnight black, with the tiniest golden symbols sewn into the fabric. It was as though a fanciful dream was given physical form.
“Wow! How could you guys afford this?”
Francesca carefully smoothed the fabric. “Let’s just say you need to keep the tag tucked in, and do not spill anything on it.”
Cecilia backed away. “Oh, no! You mean, you are going to try to return it?”
“Heck, yeah. All three of our dresses.” Helen snorted. “And before my dad figures out that I borrowed his plastic.”
“No,” Cecilia stated. She did not want that kind of responsibility. If anything happened to that dress, and Helen got into trouble… Cecilia couldn’t bear it. “I can’t.”
But Helen shook a finger at her. “Don’t start, or I will drag your mother back into this.”
Oh, if her mother saw this dress, she would insist that Cecilia put it on. There’s no way that her mom would be on her side in this argument. When Cecilia didn’t fuss anymore, Helen shoved her toward the bathroom.
“Well, then, sit in that chair so that Francesca can give you one of her ‘speed’ makeovers, and I will wrestle that hair of yours into submission.”
Cecilia did not bother to resist as Helen pushed her down into a chair. Immediately. Francesca began tweezing and plucking and exfoliating—sometimes at the same time. “Speed makeover” was right. And Helen never met a can of hair spray she did not like. As her friends worked, Cecilia began to worry that maybe she was being punked—that after all of this primping she was actually going to look like a clown.
But after another few short minutes, Helen patted Cecilia’s hair. “Perfect. Francesca, is her beauty ready to be let out into the unsuspecting world?”
Francesca plucked one more especially stubborn eyebrow hair and nodded. “Yes, Helen, I believe the world is ready.”
Cecilia tried to swivel around to see herself in the mirror, but Helen blocked her. “Oh, no. No premature looking. You have got to see the whole thing together.”
Francesca held out the dress. “Helen’s right.”
“Fine,” Cecilia said, waving them off. “You guys turn around.”
After her friends complied, Cecilia pulled the sundress over her head and tugged on the velvet dress. It felt like cream was being poured over her skin. The fabric hugged her hips, and even though the hem was above her knee, Cecilia didn’t mind.
“Okay. You can turn around.”
Francesca’s mouth just opened, and stayed open, without a word coming out. Even Helen seemed stunned into silence. Was that a bad thing, or a good thing?
The two girls parted so that Cecilia could see herself in the mirror. A completely
new girl stared back at her. Francesca’s makeup job had actually hidden all those dark circles. Cecilia looked fresh and alive. But she wasn’t the girl who had worn the sundress last year. The smoky eyeliner and dark red lipstick made her look every bit the woman. And the dress clinging to every curve only added to the impression.
Helen finally found her voice again. “I. Am. So. Jealous.”
“Oh, Cecilia, you look so J. Lo,” Francesca said, then rushed on. “You know, for a white girl.”
Her two friends descended into a laughing fit as they hugged her. Even Cecilia couldn’t help but join in. She, too, was a bit giddy.
“All right. I’m ready for Paula’s,” Cecilia announced, which made her friends hug her again.
“Yes! Let’s go!” Helen said, picking up Cecilia’s hand and urging her out the bedroom door and down the stairs.
They found Cecilia’s mom in the living room watching a show. She, too, looked stunned when she saw Cecilia. When she recovered, she began searching for her purse. “I need to find my phone so we can take pictures.”
Helen did not even stop as she replied. “No worries, Mrs. Knight. We are going to strobe all night. You can watch my Facebook page for status updates!”
Her mom seemed confused, so Cecilia clarified. “They promise to take a lot of pictures that I will show you when I get home.”
“Ta-ta!” Helen waved good-bye as she dragged Cecilia out the front door. Francesca wasn’t far behind. It was all so fun and light and delightful—until they got to the end of the driveway. Where Francesca’s mom’s minivan should have been was Michael’s car.
Cecilia skidded to a halt. “No. You two lying, hair spray-sniffing addicts…”
“Keep it down,” Helen whispered as she tried to pull Cecilia along. “It was all three of us, or Michael wasn’t going to take us.”
Francesca, too, painted on a happy smile, urging Cecilia forward. “Just look at Connor in the back. Do you see those blond frosted tips?”
“For me, I like a guy with a bit more meat on his bones,” Helen said, as she nodded at the huskier of the boys, Quentin.
Don't Read After Dark: Keep the lights on while reading these! (A McCray Horror Collection) Page 37
