Page 40 of Your Masked Haunting

When he gets back, it’ll be the opening weekend here, which means I’ll also be busier than ever. But we’ll figure out times to see one another, even if we have to have a few phone dates.

After we both clean up, I change into some pajamas, and he strips to his boxers and his mask. Quite a sight as his massive body crawls into my bed. I quickly join him and curl up into his side, my hand on his chest and his arm around my waist.

This is all I’ve ever wanted—someone to call mine, someone to call home. There are still so many unanswered questions between us and uncertainties we have to navigate. But we’ll do it together.

The last week has been the longest week of my entire goddamn life. I traveled for preseason away games, and while I’d missed being on the ice and feeling the adrenaline of game time, I missed her more. Thankfully, I’m back in the city, back to her.

Now it’s Friday night, the official opening day for The Schrader House, and being here is the only place I want to be because it’s where she is.

Of course, I brought some companions—Kol; Bates and his girl, Serena; her best friend, Kerrigan; and Kerrigan’s little sister, Haley. Ledger and Ransom are here, too, and I would hate how easily they were fitting into our friend group if I wasn’t already obsessed with them, on and off the ice. This last week of travel definitely helped us bond, although I’m pretty sure that we are all brothers, separated at birth.

It’s kind of wild how fast a dynamic can shift when they go from your opponent to your teammate. The initial hatred—maybe too strong of a word—still bubbles up when I see them, the habit of it taking over. But then I remember watching Ransom prank Ledger at our last game by locking him inside the bathroom stall using some creative knot-tying with a loose lace so that Ledger couldn’t pull the door free. I was keeled over, laughing so hard. We all were. Well, everyone but Ledger. Eventually, he softened up, joining in on the joke with the rest of us once Ransom let him out.

Thankfully, the long-awaited reunion with my Scaredy-Cat has finally arrived. She might not be aware of who I am without my mask, but she’s about to see my face up close and personal. Because of course, our group is getting in line for face painting, and no one is touching me but her.

Her back is to us, and I have no shame that my eyes haven’t left her body since the moment we got to the back side of the house and I finally spotted her. She’s somehow even prettier. There’s a glow about her, a confidence that’s growing each day.

I’d like to think that perhaps I’m playing a small role in that. That her smile is bigger because of the joy I bring her. That her eyes are wider because of how she reacts when I scare her.

That her pussy’s wetter because of how I treat her, worship her.

I intend to invade every aspect of her body, her life, her future. And I have no plans on changing any of that. But she feels the same way, which is all that matters.

“So, big guy, are you going to get the butterfly or the dinosaur?” My sister’s agitating voice mocks me, cutting through the chatter of the guests, the occasional screams as scare actors do their jobs in the haunted house, and the spooky music playing throughout the entire event.

With my eyes still glued to Mona, who’s welcoming the next kid up to her chair, I don’t bother turning in her direction as I answer, “Hi, Cambrie. You know, I was just thinking that this night would be better with my pestering sister around. Voilà. The princess appears.”

She chuckles. “You know, you should really get into manifestation if that’s true. You’re pretty powerful.”

I shrug, my smile breaking the straight line of my lips. “I’ll look into it.” Tipping my head to the side, I find Cambrie staring up at me with a knowing gleam in her gaze. “Oh God, I know that look.” I groan, rolling my eyes. “Out with it.”

“You have a crush,” she murmurs with a shit-eating grin. “On the girl doing the face painting.”

“Fuck off, Cam. I do not.”

Oh, a crush is hardly how I’d describe my feelings for Mona Greer. But I’m definitely not telling my sister all the details of our relationship.

“Do too!” she squeals, and I can practically see the wheels turning behind her eyes.

I turn and crouch enough to fully face her and lower my voice so that only she can hear me when I say, “I swear to God, Cam, do not say a single thing to her.”

“I knew it. I knew it.” She gasps with her mouth wide open and her eyes sparkling like a cartoon character. A heavy, disappointed sigh pulls from her chest. “Ugh, your secret is safe with me, Cassy.”

“I’m not five. You don’t have to use that nickname.” I chuckle as we move forward in line.

She scrunches her face and shoulders up mockingly, crossing her arms. “Yeah, I’m aware. But you’ll always be my Cassy, Cassy. That’s how it works.”

“Oh really?” I laugh. If she wants to play this game, so be it. “I’ll remember that, Clammy Cammy.”

“How dare you?!” She scoffs. Her voice breathy and low, she threatens, “You swore you wouldn’t use that again.”

I pinch her arm. “I’m just teasing you. I’ll do my best to refrain from using your hilarious childhood nickname when you rightfully deserve it.”

We step forward again, and my group behind me draws my attention as a fit of laughter ripples through them. Cambrie says a quick goodbye, then storms off, carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders as she goes. I don’t think she knows any other way.

Then, just like it always does, my attention returns to Mona, who’s painting a jack-o’-lantern on a teenage girl’s face. I am surprised how many people are in line for this. From a few guys who have specifically gone to Mona, I have an inkling of their motives. But my girl sends every single one of them away as a happy client and simultaneously saddened from her rejection.

If I couldn’t see the joy hidden on her face when she turns them down, I’d have intercepted the interactions altogether. But I’m also here with my sister and friends. While Kol, Bates, and Serena know about my masked persona, Ledger and Ransom don’t—not yet at least.