Dear Ethan: A Second Chance Romance

Chapter 7: Halloween

*Jodie*

"Booooooooo!"

A kid dressed up as Chucky screamed at us ferociously like a lion when Sam and I opened the door. Sam gasped, her hand fluttering to her chest.

"My aren't you scary!" She cooed. The kid roared again proudly and we grinned at each other before filling up his basket with a mix of different chocolates and candies. His parents stood behind him on the sidewalk smiling. We waved at them and they waved back before taking him to the next house.

Back in middle school Sam and I would dress up and go trick or treating but we were juniors in high school now. Practically adults so her parents put us on candy duty instead so they could have a date night. We had planned a night of watching scary movies and getting up occasionally to answer the door.

"Your parents went all out this year." 

Sam's parents loved Halloween. Their front door was decorated with cobwebs, fake black spiders, and little glittery paper ghosts. An animated dancing skeleton decked with colorful lights was on the front lawn dancing to Monster Mash and drew the attention of wide-eyed kids in the neighborhood as it wiggled its bony bottom. Music blared from the double speakers on the lawn as people stopped by to watch it dance and move.

Sam and I had carved pumpkins earlier and positioned them on either side of the red door. Their menacing smiles greeted every passing kid as they all raced around the neighborhood, showing off their loot to each other. Halloween was a big deal here. Every kid dressed up, spending all month on their costume for this one night.

We closed the door and we hit play on the paused movie while munching on some popcorn. I popped open the top of a Snapple and drank it in one big gulp before the bell rang again.

"I'll get it," I said. 

Sam loved scary movies and she couldn't tear her eyes away from the screen during her favorite scenes. She made a whimpering noise and I laughed, shaking my head and dusting off my fingers.

I swung the door open and there under the porch light stood a scowling green-faced kid with fake nuts and bolts on his forehead. A tall figure behind him waved at me, dressed up as a bandaged zombie wearing a football jersey. 

"Trick or treat." The kid said with no enthusiasm but I was too busy looking at Ethan's face.

My heart raced like crazy. This was a nice surprise. He smiled back at me, a trail of fake blood on the corner of his mouth. I wanted to wipe it away with my fingers.

"Is this your brother?" I said while the kid impatiently grabbed a fistful of candy from the bowl.

"Ya this is my little brother Mason. Mace say hi."

The kid looked up for a brief second to mutter out a hi before shoving more candy into his bag which looked to be a black garbage bag.

This sneaky little fucker. He had already acquired a lot of candy. The rule was kids could only make one grab at the candy bowl but I forgot all about that when Ethan looked me up and down.

"And you are?" He said, his voice trailing off. 

I held out my arms, setting the bowl down on the floor so Mason could paw away at it like a little pirate.

"A fallen angel," I said dramatically. I had small dainty white wings on my back along with a white long-sleeve top under a black mini dress. Rather than having fake blood, Sam gave me an intense cat eye with a fake smudge of dirt on my neck and forehead.

"A fallen angel...with a hickey?" He said, looking amused. Mason was talking to him but we weren't paying any attention to him.

"It's a bruise," I said glaring at him, trying to control my stomach flutters. "And you are...a zombie football player?"