58. Scott
CHAPTER 58
Scott
OCTOBER
S he’s going to be okay.
Realistically, it’s still early days. It’s been eight months, give or take, since those bastards broke something unfixable inside my girlfriend, the light and love of my entire life. And while they don’t get to rule her life anymore, while she doesn’t have nightly nightmares that make the thought of even trying to sleep terrifying for her, they’re still there.
It’s as though a shadow has been cast over her, has stitched itself to her feet and is with her wherever she walks.
Some days, it’s barely noticeable, and some, it seems like all she feels is the darkness. But she’s making progress, and for that, I have no choice but to be grateful.
It’s overwhelming sometimes, consuming, and I find myself almost drowning in the bitter taste of resentment, pain, and anger as I sit with those feelings even all these months later. There’s been no trial date set, yet, but our lawyers are confident those bastards will go away for a long time.
If they don’t, the de la Penas will make it so they wish they’d never been born. I’m not sure what they thought they were doing, brutally assaulting a member of the most influential family in town, but they’ve made their bed, and now we all get to eat popcorn and watch while they’re forced to lie in it.
My bet is, if they don’t get a heavy sentence, they’ll have to leave the state. There’s no way they find work here after what they’ve done. At a stretch, the de la Pena’s reach could possibly extend so far that they have to seek employment even further away. But we live in hope.
If it were up to me, I’d throw them in a dark cave and let them get eaten alive by rats.
Slender arms slide through the gap in my arm and encapsulate my body, squeezing the sadness out of me. She hasn’t put back on all the weight she lost after the attack, so her arms are still bony, but she’s working her way back to healthy and strong.
She’s training in the gym a couple times a week, and to be honest, she’s gonna be out-benching me at some point. Her focus and determination isn’t something I’d bet against.
“You ready to go… again?”
I thought I was, but when I look down at her, I almost swallow my tongue. She was originally dressed as Princess Peach for this Halloween party, but a combination of a slippery floor and a tray of canapes resulted in the need for a change of costume. After a quick trip to the store, we both landed ourselves with new get-ups. I can’t not match my girl on one of my favorite holidays of the year, right?
I blink, trying to encourage the blood to flow anywhere in my body but to my hardening cock. Jesus Christ, she’s gorgeous.
She’s dressed as Captain Hook for the de la Pena’s Halloween party. There’s no part of her body that isn’t covered but… who knew Captain Hook could be so fucking hot?
Is it the over-the-knee leather boots? The thick, bronze shiny pantyhose? The way her wavy black hair has been replaced by an oversized black, curly haired wig? Or the enormous brown and gold pirate hat with a giant collection of feathers sprouting out of the side of it in various shades of golds and browns?
Maybe I just have a pirate kink. Is that a thing?
Fucking hell.
Those pouty red lips curve into a smile. “What?”
“I officially have a pirate kink.” I whistle through my teeth. “This is the best pirate costume I’ve ever seen. It’s so ornate.”
She winces. “It’s fucking heavy. I should have gone as Tinkerbell instead, but.” She flicks the wings attached to my back. “Someone already had the costume.”
I thumb over my shoulder. “I’ve had this costume since November first last year, lady. You gotta get up really early if you want to… I dunno, something about…”
“The early bird catches the fairy costume?” she supplies, her dry wit and sarcasm making my heart flutter.
I point at her. “That’s exactly it.”
She shakes her head. “I hate how my tiara looks better on you than it does on me. Though I particularly enjoy how that spandex cups your junk.”
I do a quick lunge. “Smooth as spandex, baby.”
She shakes her head. “Make sure you don’t get friction burn on your ball sack.”
I hadn’t considered that. “But it feels so nice.”
She shrugs. “You might be fine, but if you keep doing those lunges, you’re going to end up with a wedgie. Or worse.”
She’s trying to scare me out of flexing my junk when we head downstairs.
Not much has changed in Casa de la Pena since Alonso moved out, except for the fact the house feels more like a home. There’s still not a thing out of place, not a speck of dust to be seen, but it feels more lived in. It’s as if everyone was holding a collective breath, and now he’s been kicked out of the family space, everyone has breathed a sigh of relief.
There’s noise where there wasn’t any. I hadn’t noticed it, but inside these walls the demeanor of the four siblings was different, more reserved than it is on the outside.
Now they’re the same no matter which side of the walls they are on. There’s warmth here now where before there was a cool, almost edgy tolerance of people existing in his space.
Except it’s not his space, at least not anymore.
“I want to kiss that lipstick off your face.”
“I want to kiss this lipstick onto your dick.” She sings at me as she strides toward the door.
“You can’t d-d-do that.” I splutter. “Tinkerbell can’t have a raging hard on!” My dick’s waking up at the images of Athena on her knees getting my dick all messy with her blood-red lipstick.
“Look what you did.” I point to the fabric shifting.
“It’s okay, the skirt thing covers it. Just think about unsexy things. Like…” She shrugs again, running her tongue along her teeth. “Pirates?”
She’s out of the door before I can toss her over my shoulder. I’d have to strip completely off to have my way with her, something I’ll have to think about for next year’s costume. It needs to be easily accessible to bone my girl at any given moment. Though I have to admit, the idea of Tinkerbell railing Captain Hook from behind does things to me.
Fuck. I’m messed up.
A shimmy in my walk for a few steps makes my boner recede. Peering over the banister down to the growing party below, Athena stands out like a beacon of light. She moves through the small crowd smiling and greeting people. She can’t help herself; she falls into the role of hostess whether it’s intended or not.
She pauses next to someone dressed like Beast from Beauty and the Beast, I think it’s McGuffin, or maybe Fitzmorris, they’re both tanks of men with similar frames. Whoever it is is looking eye-to-eye at the sexiest Pennywise I’ve ever seen. She’s wagging her finger at him, her clown painted features screwed into the picture of irritation and accusation.
Pennywise looks at Athena, puts her hand on her hip and pops her knee. She gestures at Beast, who is definitely McGuffin, because Fitzmorris just walked past dressed as Beast Boy from Teen Titans Go. It’s funny they both dressed as a kind of beast. Did they coordinate costumes?
Athena holds her hands up in surrender. Well, one hand, and one hook. And she backs away from the scene. I don’t blame her, I wouldn’t want to get between whatever the hell that is either.
Someone bumps into me from my right as Athena moves to greet the guest who just arrived into the foyer. “You know life is much more fun if you participate instead of just watching.”
I lean my elbows on the banister and drag my hands through my hair. “I do. But I also know that some days I just need to watch her every move, so it unknots the tight and aching ball in my chest.”
I turn to face Artemis. “Some days are easier than others.”
He nods. “I know.” He grips my shoulder. “But don’t stay an observer in your own life for too long, hermano. We can’t let them destroy us.”
His boyfriend, Xavier, comes up behind him, digging his costume out of his ass crack. “Forty bucks for this fucking thing and twenty-five of it is rammed up my fucking ass.”
“I hear ya.” I gesture at my costume. “Who knew wedgies were the real demons of the spooky season?”
Xavier and Artemis leave me to my voyeuristic moment. Every movement she makes below is enthralling. Every smile adds joy to the bucket in my heart. And I still can’t get over how hot Captain Hook can be.
After another few moments watching my girl, I sense another presence with me on the landing. Abuelita is dressed as a traditional witch with a small, plastic cauldron draped over her arm with a flipflop sticking out of it.
“I left my chancla in my other fairy costume.” I grin at her.
“If you need one, you can borrow mine.” Her eyes glisten with mischief as she pats my arm. “Are you okay, Scott?” She cups my face with one hand and gives me a looking over including taking my temperature with the back of her hand. It’s adorable and makes me feel like part of the family. Something I don’t think I’ll ever feel with my own family.
That thought sends a pang into my chest. I should call Mom. She’s just broken up with her third boyfriend of the year after she caught him stealing from her. I wish she’d learn that she’s worth so much more than those deadbeat, wife-beater-wearing assholes she gravitates too. But I don’t think she ever will.
She’s taken to drinking her way through life ever since her brother joined his son behind bars. There doesn’t seem to be a way to reach her the way the de la Pena family reached me. But I’ll keep trying.
“I’m okay, Abuelita. Gracias.” I offer her a morsel of my terrible Spanish. “I’m just taking a moment to enjoy Athena from above.”
“She’s a force of nature.” Abuelita leans forward to get a glimpse of her granddaughter. “What are your intentions with her, Scott?”
“I figured you all knew. I’m going to marry her. I’d do it right now if I thought she’d have Tinkerbell in her wedding pictures.”
That makes the old woman laugh, then cough. She’s looking older than her years lately, but no one’s said anything, so I’ve kept the stray thought to myself.
“Would that be okay with you?” I risk a sidewards glance at the woman who terrifies me more than my girlfriend.
“Are you asking my permission to marry my granddaughter?” She arches a brow at me.
“God no.” I snort. “The only person I need permission from is the woman herself. Can you imagine what she’d do to me if she thought I asked anyone for permission for her hand?” I press a hand over my chest. “She’d rip my heart out of my body, Abuelita.”
She nods. “She would indeed. But you have my blessing.” She digs into her pocket under her dress. “And now you have my ring.”
I stare at the navy-blue, velvet box she’s pressed into my palm. It’s heating my skin, warming my insides. I don’t know what to say. I look between the box, and the woman Athena looks up to as one of her greatest role models.
She doesn’t wait for me to open the box. She simply pats me on the back as she moves toward the stairs. “She’s going to need you when I’m gone, Scott.”
Gone?
My insides turn to ice. She means in like years, right? Like in a long way from now kind of timeline?
She’s already floated to the bottom of the staircase like a real witch, elegant, quiet, and nimble. She can’t have meant anything by those words, right? Right?