39
Huxley
I’ve been holding on to Val tighter, and I think she’s actually letting me.
After reading the words she wrote and finding out what she’s heard other people say about her, all I want is to keep her mind in a safe place.
A place where nothing can hurt her.
A place that keeps her smile on her face.
And a place where I won’t lose her.
Another group of students scream as they come out of the Arts Building. I should text Val to warn her, but I’m looking forward to decking this guy if she gets too scared.
I never really got Halloween. Children dressing up to get candy from strangers?
And then adults dressing in skimpy costumes for what?
It just never registered to me why people would go through the trouble.
If you want candy, buy it. If you want to dress in a skimpy outfit, do it at home. Simple as that.
Another group screams, but a few stragglers stay and huddle around the guy in the mask. The rest of the group keeps going about their day, and behind them, Val walks out, nearly glaring at the guy. Guess I won’t be punching him for scaring her. But she does look cute trying to glare at him.
She comes down the steps, where she finally looks up at me, her glare turning into that beautiful smile I want her to hold on to.
“You okay?” I ask, nodding toward the guy who is now holding his mask so he can talk to the people he scared.
She rolls her eyes. “I get Halloween. But shit like that shouldn’t be allowed.”
“So I do need to punch him.”
“What?”
Fuck. I said that out loud. “Never mind.” I grab her arm and pull her closer to me. “How was your class?”
She sighs and rests her chin on my chest to look up at me. “Have you ever wanted to be a kid again and finger paint?”
“Is that what you did today?”
I brush her hair back as she nods. “And I’m almost certain that five-year-old me made a better picture than I just did in class.”
“Five-year-old you wasn’t doing it for a grade or anyone’s approval, though.”
She leans back and takes my hands in hers, watching as she swings them back and forth. “True,” she says quietly.
I know better than to pry when it comes to family shit, but Val’s reaction is just another tick on a long list of reasons why I should hate her parents.
This girl deserves love and attention and shouldn’t have to fight to be seen.
I guess maybe that’s why she thinks no one sees her now.
But I do, and I think, or I hope rather, that she’s starting to realize that.
She turns her head when someone screams, but I watch her. The way she focuses on the mask. The way she glances at the few random people wearing costumes to class. Which is something else I don’t understand. Then she brings her bright eyes back to me.
“Is there a party tomorrow?” she asks.
I blink, a little off guard by her question. “Yeah?”
“Is it a Halloween party?”
I shrug. “I mean, girls will show up wearing barely anything and use Halloween as an excuse, but it’s not a requirement.”
She reaches for my shirt, gripping it tightly and widening her eyes to beg. “I wanna go.”
“No.”
She shrinks back at my clipped tone. “What?”
“No. You don’t wanna go,” I say, a little softer so she knows I’m not mad at the idea. I just hate it.
Her hand still slips from my shirt, and it takes everything in me not to grab her before she pulls away.
Her eyes fall to her feet. “Why not?”
I tip her chin right back up to look at me. “Valentine, if you thought those guys were bad last time, they will be even worse this week. All of them wear masks and think it gives them the right to hurt girls. It’s too dangerous, and I’m not letting you go.”
Her eyes soften, a smile lifting on her lips as she slips her hands over my waist, pulling me closer. “But you’ll be beside me the entire time.”
“I still say no.”
Slightly annoyed, she steps out of my hold and crosses her arms over her chest. My heart aches from the loss of her touch.
I don’t know when I got so used to her arms around me that now, without them, I feel hollow. I want to pull her back in, but the look in her eyes tells me I need to wait before I do.
“It’s my first Halloween party. Not just with you, but ever. So I want to go.”
Goddamnit.
I can’t change her mind on this. I really thought telling her that the guys would be worse at this party would have persuaded her not to want to go. But here she stands, arms crossed, holding her ground on wanting to go to this party. One that she will never leave my side.
Nothing will happen to her at this party.
I sigh, and she perks up a little. “You really want to go?” She nods. “Fine. But you aren’t dressing up like all those other girls.”
Her smile lifts and falls in an instant. “Why not?”
My eyebrow arches. “First of all, I wouldn’t think you’d be comfortable in something like that.”
I watch as her mind jumps through several hoops, thinking about all the costumes that other girls will probably wear. She wraps her arms around her body and drops her eyes to the ground.
I hate that she doesn’t know how beautiful she is. But I’m glad she doesn’t want to show off, either. I don’t want anyone looking at her more than I know they already do. My arms wrap around her shoulders so I can guard her from the world.
My beautiful girl looks up at me with a little less worry than before, and I’ll take that.
“I also don’t want any other guy looking at you,” I say my thoughts out loud to her. “They will, but it would be worse in one of those outfits.”
“Then what should I wear?”
For some reason, I really thought that would have changed her mind for good. But since it didn’t, I’ll do whatever it takes to find her an outfit she’s comfortable in.
I quickly pull out my phone to check the time. “We have a few hours until that thrift shop down the street closes.” I look back down at Val and watch the excitement start to fill her eyes again. “Let’s go find you an outfit, Love.”