Hal jerked and spun. “Kid?” He moved in for a closer inspection. “Hellfire — is that you?” Adam stood still as Hal’s hands ran over his head and face. “Well, damn.” He eyed Adam from head to toe. “If you hadn’t spoken, I’d never taken a second look.”
The tightness in Adam’s chest eased. “Guess I owe Elle half my treats tonight. She said not even you would recognise me.”
Hal laughed and clapped his shoulder. “Kid, you ought to give her all your treats. Speaking of — ” He twisted his head. “ — where is the little magician?”
Adam rubbed the back of his neck. “She — ah — took off.”
“Where?”
“Trick or treating.”
“And you’re still here because?”
Rather than answer, he lowered his gaze and toed the ground.
Hal shook his shoulders. “You’re good, kid trust me. Now — let’s go find your girl and have fun. You deserve it.”
With each step, Adam’s confidence rose, but he stumbled as Fog approached them.
“You got this, kid.” Hal wandered off before he could react.
I can do this. “Hey, Fog.”
Fog eyed him. “Do I know you?”
“Took your advice and updated my costume.”
His eyes widened. “Wolfy?”
He thrust his hand forward. “Adam.”
Fog grabbed it and pulled him in for a hug. “Holy shit dude. Where you been?”
Adam shoved his hands in his pockets. “Here and there. Had some shit to deal with. Sorry I haven’t been around for a while.”
“Yeah, about that,” Fog pushed a hand through his hair. “Sorry about yanking your mask like that. I was pissed I couldn’t figure out who you were. Then Red shows up and she’s all like into you, and anyway it was a dick move. I’m sorry.”
“Ancient history. We’re good.”
“Nice. So, I’m digging this new costume, what are — ”
“Oh, finally. You’re not going to — ” Elle barrelled to a stop beside him. “Oh, hey.”
“Little Red. Good to see you.”
“I’m — ”
“She’s not — ” Well, this is awkward. Adam had gotten so caught up in their transformations, he’d failed to notice the colour of Elle’s cloak. Now as he took in her entire outfit, she reminded him of — “This is Elle. Elle, meet Fog.”
Fog pursed his lips. “Oh, my bad.” He offered his hand. “I used to go by Fog, but that was back in the day when I was young and childish and thought smoking made me look cool.” He cocked his head at Adam. “Your boy here told me I stank, which probably explained my lack of female company, so I quit. I go by Jaq now.”
Elle giggled as Jaq bent and kissed her hand. Adam clenched his cloak so as not to snatch it from his grasp.
Dude, you have it bad.
I do not.
Yeah, right.
Adam and Izy sitting in a —
The thought jerked him so hard, he stumbled. Elle grabbed his hand to steady him. “You okay?”
Grateful the night hid the burn on his cheeks he nodded. “Yeah, no idea what happened there.” He almost fell a second time when Elle continued to hold his hand.
Jaq waggled his eyebrows at him, and Adam glared in return, but inside his chest, his heart pounded.
El-le
Iz-zy
El-le
Iz-zy
He shook his head. Get it together. There is no Izy. Remember?
Jaq came to his rescue. He pushed himself between them which forced Elle to let go. “So, Elle, this your first time to Wrong Side?”
And off the three of them went. To start with, Adam let the conversation flow around him, still afraid the entire night would blow up in his face, but with each hour, his fears disappeared altogether.
Elle flopped on his bed. “That — was so much fun.”
The night had broken up earlier than usual due to a prank gone wrong. Rather than follow Jaq and the others to the local pub, Adam and Elle opted to return home. Adrenalin still coursed through Adam’s veins at two a.m., and he was wide awake. No doubt it would subside soon, and the last thing he wanted was to crash before dawn, so he fired the stove to make coffee.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”
Adam set the cups on the table. “I don’t know. Last year was — awkward, and this year — things started happening from the moment you arrived. Honestly, I never even thought about it till Fog — till Jaq said something.”
Elle stirred her cup. “But I would have brought you something.”
He almost spat his coffee. “Are you kidding me? This — ” Adam waved his hand at his face. “ — was better than anything you could have given me.”
She pushed out of the chair and stood beside him. “Are you sure?”
Adam’s heart thundered, as heat flushed his skin. Elle trailed her fingers along his arm, up the side of his neck, and over his jawline and stopped on his chin.
A shiver shook Adam, as an unfamiliar warmth filled his chest. How is it possible to be both hot and cold at the same time? He wanted to ask Elle but his mouth was dry. Every instinct screamed to reach out and pull her close. Can she hear how my heart is pounding in my chest? It’s so friggin’ loud, she must. Does she have any idea how crazy she’s making me? I mean, is it real? What’s she planning here? Does she want to — Oh, boy! Adam wiped his clammy hands. Shit, we haven’t talked about it, but she has to know I’m not…experienced, duh. Like I have any idea what I’m supposed to do. Elle touched heated his skin, and something primal, stirred low in his body. But I think I am about to get a crash course. “Elle, what — ”
She placed a finger against his lips. “Shh. It’s okay.”
It was anything but okay.
Fireworks imploded in his body as she slid her hips forward to meet his. Up this close, he had no choice but to stare into her still pale blue eyes. Air exploded from his lungs. “Wait.”
Elle’s voice wobbled. “Did I do something wrong?”
He dipped his chin. “No — I — ”
“Is it her?”
“Yes — no — maybe.” His shoulders sagged. “Honestly, I have no idea.”
Elle climbed from his lap. “Want to talk about it?”
Yeah, like that wouldn’t be weird. Adam shook his head. He didn’t want to talk about Izy, and yet for some reason, she was all he could think about. Elle occupied his every thought for the past year, and now she was here — it didn’t make any sense. “I mean, it’s not possible to fall for someone you haven’t even met. Is it?”
She shrugged. “I guess it’s possible to fall for the idea of someone. Whether they live up to it or not is something different entirely.”
“Yeah, there’s that.”
Elle sipped her coffee. “So, how’d she slip off her pedestal?”
“She caught a glimpse of me — pre-makeover.”
“Ah — and you?”
“I ran.” Adam braced his elbows on the table and gripped his head. “I came back here, and all I could smell were the roses. You can’t imagine the number of hours I spent caring for them, nurturing them into something special, but in a split second, that love soured. Every one of them a reminder of the terror in her eyes, of the lie ‘it’s on the inside that counts’ she’d told, and I saw red. Hurt and angry, I tore the garden apart, and I’ve been pulling them up ever since, but they keep coming back.”
“Perhaps it’s karma’s way of saying you two have unfinished business.”
Adam lifted his head. “Excuse me?”
She thumbed at the wall. “Well clearly you still have some unresolved feelings about the whole thing, but what about her? Did you ever see her again?”
He buried his face in his hands.
“Let me guess, she trie
d to apologise, but you went all beast and scared her off once and for all. Am I right?”
“No.” His hands muffled his reply.
“So what then?”
I screwed up. “Yes, she showed up to apologise, but I didn’t beast out on her.”
“Okay, so what?”
Heat burned his cheeks. “She sent me a bunch of letters, but I ripped them up them up without reading them and sent them back. Then she climbed the tree opposite the door, but I cut the lower limbs down, so she went back to writing letters. I ripped all those up as well, and eventually, they just stopped.” I was such a dick.
Elle leaned back in her chair. “See, I told you. Karma’s a bitch.”
Could Elle be right? Do they keep coming back as a reminder of how much of an idiot I was? To remind me to make peace, if not amends with Izy?
“So, tell me, oh wise one, how do I go about making amends when I’m stuck in here?”
Elle snorted. “You expect me to believe you can’t get in and out of here whenever you want?”
“Okay, fine, the getting out part is easy; it’s getting to her that’s the problem.”
“Why?”
“She’s from Right Side.”
“Ah.” She set down her cup. “Okay, so that makes things difficult, but not impossible.”
“She lives in the palace.”
Elle gaped. “Well shit. I guess that is a problem.” She leaned back, arms crossed. “Adam, my friend — you’re screwed.”
Chapter 8
Nineteen
Adam split his time between the garden and painting. Despite his vow to paint over all the walls and start fresh, he changed his mind. As hard as he tried to run from the past, it seemed determined to haunt. Perhaps if I’d stopped, I could find the answers I need.
One by one, the roses emerged from the earth. And now, not only images of Izy adorned his walls, but Elle, Jaq, and Hal too. Gus even managed to hold still long enough for one as well. He half considered a portrait of Rita, and his brothers, before he dismissed the foolish thought.
Elle wrote him letters as she always had. They appeared out of nowhere on his bedside table, just as his vanished the moment he sealed the envelope. I have no idea how it works, but who cares? She filled the pages with the everyday goings-on of her life, but one unwritten question lay hidden beneath — did you talk to her yet?
With each letter, he asked himself the same question. How the hell am I supposed to contact her? It’s not like I can just wander into the palace or anything. I mean if it was Elle, I’d write a letter, put her name on the front, and ‘poof’ off it’d go, but — could it really be that simple?
Adam wandered into the garden. Did this magical letter system only work for Elle? Or can I use it to write to Izy? Butterflies soared in his stomach faster and faster until he wanted to barf.
What would I even say? Hi. Sorry I was an ass, wanna catch up for coffee?
“The roses!” If his letter made it to Izy, she’d understand. Adam snipped a pink rosebud. His hand shook as he wrote her name on the envelope and tucked the rosebud inside. He sealed the envelope and —
It vanished.
Adam leapt from the chair. Holy shit — it worked.
Adrenalin coursed through his body. He stalked into the garden and shook his hands, as reality sunk in. He’d done it. He’d actually done it. Somehow he’d managed to find a way to communicate with Izy. I have to tell Elle she’ll — he froze. Wait — what if the letter hasn’t gone to Izy? What if Elle gets it? Or some random stranger called Izy?
He slumped against the hut. The letter was gone. There wasn’t anything he could do about that now. All he could do was wait and see what happened next.
●
Early morning light mingled with the dark, as the sun sat ready to breach the horizon. Adam yawned as he trudged outside barefoot, coffee in hand, and watered the garden. This was his favourite part of the day. The time when everything was still fresh and new and full of promise. A time when anything felt possible. He’d gathered the eggs, still warm, from beneath the sleeping hens before they noticed.
A white piece of paper lay on the ground.
Eggs tucked inside his cup, he scooped it up. An envelope. One egg crashed and broke as a sense of deja vu washed over Adam. He set the cup on the ground to save the rest, then opened it.
Look up.
Adam stumbled backwards until his eyes reached beyond the top of the wall. Perched amongst the branches of the tree — Izy.
She waved. “I got your letter.”
“Oh, great.” Oh, great? How many times did we practice —
“How — ”
“Wait. Gimme a sec.” A million thoughts raced through his head as he rummaged in the garden for items to form a platform. His knees shook, and his heart pounded, as he climbed the unstable pile to peer over the top of the wall.
Highlighted by the early morning glow, Izy appeared more beautiful than he remembered. On that Halloween night, he’d seen her as a girl, but the Izy before him was all woman. He wondered how much she remembered of that night. Of him, of how he’d looked. Today, he stood clean-shaven, his eyes hidden behind his ever-present sunglasses. Would she even notice? Why do you care? He wasn’t sure. “Hi.”
“Hi. So, I was surprised to get your letter. I didn’t think you wanted to speak to me after…”
“Yeah, about that — I was really — ”
“Tell me again why we’re here sneaking around in the dark?”
Someone was headed their way.
Adam mouthed ‘hide’ and Izy disappeared behind foliage, while he ducked below the wall.
“Because, Dain, when I got up to use the bathroom, I swear I saw Izy sneak past the window.”
“And we care why?”
“Don’t you want to know what she is up to?”
“If it means I’m going to end up getting dirty, then no. It’s bad enough I’ve developed this weird urge to paint lately. Have you seen my nails? That stuff stains.”
“You think that’s bad — try gardening. My nails are horrid, and no matter what I do, there seems to be a constant layer of dirt under them.”
“Exactly, so tell me again why you’ve dragged us out into the wilderness, where one of us might trip and ruin one of the few unblemished outfits either of us has left?”
“Because — ”
“Save it, Andar, I don’t care. Just because Izy doesn’t care about her appearance anymore, that doesn’t mean we have to stoop to her level. Besides, everyone’s talking about her. How she wears the same outfit two days in a row, or sometimes only bathes once a day, and don’t get me started on her hair, how she — ” Dain sniffed.
“You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. It’s a shame that beautiful face is wasted on someone who doesn’t truly appreciate it.”
“You said it. If she wasn’t a princess, she’d be a total nobody, no matter how pretty she is. Let’s go back before someone sees us. I’ve got the urge to cook French toast.”
“Oh, now that’s the one weird urge I’m glad you have. I love your French toast. And personally, I don’t think Izy’s all that pretty, I mean…” the voices trailed into the distance.
Adam waited a minute before he peered over the wall. Izy hadn’t emerged. “You can come out now.”
When she did, her eyes were fixed on her feet. “Guess you heard all that then?” Her pink cheeks visible even at this distance. If she lifted her face, he was certain there’d be tears in her eyes.
“Heard what? All I heard were two prissy little mumma’s boys whining about getting their hands dirty.”
The edge of her mouth lifted a moment before it fell. “Look, I think I’m just gonna go — ”
“Would you like to come in for coffee?” The words flew from Adam’s mouth before he could stop th
em.
Izy lifted her face to his and chewed her lip. “I don’t think — ”
“Please.”
“Okay.” Her eyes scanned the wall. “I don’t see a door.” She searched again. “Wait — there’s no door. How do you — ”
“Yeah, I won’t ask you about the mumma’s boys, if you don’t ask me about that. Deal?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Deal. But how — ”
“Meet me by the other tree.”
“Okay.”
Adam raced into the hut. Thankfully, he’d cleaned up last night, so he only had to stash a few things under his bed. What he couldn’t hide — the paintings. Once he invited Izy in, she’d see everything.
But isn’t that the point? What you’ve always wanted?
He didn’t have time to consider his answer. Izy waited for him to finally let her in. After today, there’d be no more walls, no more secrets between them — well for the most part. Maybe someday, they’d get everything out in the open, but today — today they had coffee.
Adam scrambled up the second tree. Izy waited on the ground below. He tossed the knotted rope over the side and she twisted it in her hands. Bugger. He hadn’t thought to ask if she could climb. He cocked an eyebrow as she reached the top.
“What? I ain’t no prissy mumma’s boy.”
Her joke eased the tension. “That you are not. Come on.”
Izy shimmied down the tree after him. “Oh. You grew them back. I thought —
Adam rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I made a real mess of the place, didn’t I? Not my finest moment.”
“That wasn’t your fault — it was mine. If I hadn’t — ”
“How about we agree we both messed up, we’re both sorry, and never speak of it again? Start with a clean slate.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “I’d like that.”
He held out his hand. “I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. Hi, I’m Adam.”
A smile lit her face. “Hi, Adam, I’m Izy. It’s lovely to meet you.”
Chapter 9
Twenty
Elle inspected her nails. “So what — are you two dating now?”
And there it is.
Tricks or Treats: An Anthology for Charity Page 22
