“Excuse me?” A laugh almost bubbles out of me. Usually I’m the one attempting some kind of authority. Keeping him in line whenever he gets into fights at school, warning him about what will happen if he keeps getting into trouble, but I’ve never felt less like the big sister than I do now. “Why not?”
“Because they’re assholes!” Mikey says, loudly enough to set us both on edge. We keep our eyes glued to the door, me swinging my legs back into the room so I can jump down and shove my bag out of sight if I need to. But we’re lucky—Mami didn’t hear us. Yet.
“Those peoplehateus, Dina,” Mikey whispers once we’re sure the coast is clear.
I resist the urge to sigh. “Kai is different. He’s sweet, and—”
“You barely know him,” he snaps.
“You don’t know that,” I hiss, our faces nearly touching. Mikey’s expression is hard, but his eyes betray him. He’s scared—for me. In that moment, it takes everything in me not to break. To do exactly what Mami would want and crawl back home before I even leave.
Mikey sighs and collapses onto my bed with a soft “oof.” “How do you know they don’t have something planned? A prank or… something?” he asks, voice barely a whisper, the “or something” hanging heavy between us.
My gaze falls to the floor, focusing on a scuff on my shoeinstead of him. “I don’t,” I confess. “But I know Kai. I trust him. And that’s enough for me.”
He sits back up, reaching out to hold my wrist this time, but I pull away before he can grab me. “You shouldn’t go,” he insists as I swing my legs around the sill again.
“You sound like Mami,” I reply before pushing myself to the edge of the sill again. If I don’t leave now, I might miss Kai.
“Then let me come with you,” Mikey presses, stepping up to the sill, ready to grab me if I leap.
“No,” I hiss back. The thought of bringing him sours even more. Mikey coming to play bodyguard is just asking for something to go wrong.
“Then at least tell me where you’re going.”
“I…” I trail off, running low on energy to protest. Giving him the address means that either he or Mami could come after me and drag me back home. But I know how stubborn my baby brother can be—it’s another reason why he keeps getting in fights even though I’ve told him over and over again that those assholes who pick on him aren’t worth it.
“It’s on North Albee Way. Near the lake,” I tell him, keeping my answer vague. It’s enough to satisfy him, though, and he gives me a tight nod that I take as my cue to leave.
The fall to the grass is quick, but the weight of my bag drags me down more than I thought. I hit the ground with a grunt—my knees buckling under the pressure. I’m narrowly able to catch my balance, bracing myself against the wall until I’m steady again. I stay frozen, pressed up against the red brick, waiting for Mami to scream or come banging out the front door to drag me back inside. Outside, there are birds chirping and the cicadas’ night song. But no screams. No shouts to tell me to go back to my room.
When we’re sure we’re safe, Mikey sticks his head out the window, voice low and eyes softer. “Be careful, okay?” he whispers, lower lip quivering slightly. It’s almost enough to make me crawl back inside just to hug him and promise no one’s going to get hurt.Almost.
I swallow down the lump in my throat and my gut instinct. “I will.”
Slowly, I make my way out of the darkness of our house. Mikey’s focus is red-hot against my back as I cross the yard. The sky is a dusky orange that’s perfect for trick-or-treating. Kids travel in clusters along the opposite block, huddled together as they sneak glances at our house. No one dares get too close. Some haunted houses aren’t worth the price of admission.
I pull the hood of my sweater over my head and slide through the shadows until I reach the iron fence lining the edge of our property. I toss my bag over it before following along, making sure none of the kids on the opposite street notice me. Luckily, they are all too distracted with knocking on doors and trading candy. I glance behind me and watch as Mikey closes the window to my bedroom and disappears from view.
It’s easy to get swept up in the Halloween buzz. Kids go barreling down the street in superhero costumes and princess gowns. Ghosts and devils haunt the streets, but a girl in a hoodie and torn jeans looking for a piece of normalcy is still the most threatening thing on the prowl tonight. Following the stream of people clamoring to the next street—wanting to get away from “that murderer’s house” as quickly as they can—I look over my shoulder one last time before home disappears from view.
I’ll be back soon,I say to myself. Like Papi said, I’m allowedgood things. Even if the guilt threatens to eat me from the inside out, I deserve a few nights off from my life. A weekend where I’m not the daughter of a killer but a girl just like the hundreds of others in my class. Come Monday I’ll be the real me again, but for now, it’s enough to pretend.
6
The crowd parts around Kai like the sea. He’s leaning up against his car, still wearing his Miles Morales costume from the dance. Sweat dots his brow despite the cool evening chill, and his smile is so radiant you’d think he’d just won the lottery. Fellow superheroes stop to ogle the detail in his costume—the latex so perfectly molded to his shape it’s like it was created with him in mind.
“’Sup, Peter.” Kai greets the little boy also dressed as Spider-Man with a fist bump, adding a salute for Captain America. The kids giggle to themselves before pulling Kai in for a selfie. He throws up a peace sign and sticks out his tongue playfully, the perfect image of a hometown hero.
While looking over the photo, Kai catches sight of me behind a coven of witches. Even with my hood pulled down over my face, he straightens up and waves me toward him. A new twinkle sparks in his eyes, but I don’t let myself believe it’s because of me.
“Look who showed up after all,” he says once I reach him.
My starry-eyed grin falters. “Sorry, was I—”
“No, no, bad joke,” Kai apologizes before I can finish. There’s a rosy tint to his cheeks when he ducks his head sheepishly. “I’m glad you’re here,” he says so quietly I’m not sure ifI really heard it or just heard what I wanted to. But the smile he shoots me as he blinks up from beneath his thick, full lashes makes my heart pound so fast it doesn’t matter if he did or didn’t.
“You look…” I trail off, mouth dry as I struggle to find an adjective that isn’t cringe, creepy, or worse: both. “Amazing,” I finally settle on, and it’s not an exaggeration either. The attention to detail in the costume is precise and intricate. The latex is stretched so tight across his toned body it makes my cheeks warm. It’s clear from the fabric alone that this isn’t some lastminute Party City costume. This is something that was made with time, love, and care.
