Rare Blood

Chapter Forty-Three: It Can't End Like This

Faye heard the sharp intake of breath and the whispered, "Wow..." that left Elsie's stunned lips before she fully emerged from the motels dingy bathroom.  Neither one of them wanted to stay at the South York Inn, but that's exactly why they checked-in. Elsie saw the neon sign with two-thirds of the letters burned out and pulled right into the almost empty gravel lot with a big smile on her face. The one overhead lamp cast just enough light on the small block of single rooms to create some seedy looking shadows, Faye wanted to reach over and check Elsie's temperature until she spoke and actually made a good argument for the place.

Elsie was right when she said Louis and Cyrus would never suspect the place. They were able to hide out undetected and as the hours passed and the time to dress for the party arrived Faye was worried less about being stopped and more about what she was walking into. The whole thing left a lump the size of a golf ball in her throat, but when she came out of the bathroom wearing that green shimmery fairy costume it seemed to ease. She was going to be someone else on the outside and somehow that helped her detach from the fear she was struggling with on the inside.

"You look so pretty. Cyrus would lose his mind over you right now," Elsie said.

Faye smiled and with a glimmer of hope and said, "Cyrus is going to be there."

"Yeah, but we already know how this ends," Elsie reminded.

"Yeah," Faye said, then added, "You look pretty too, Elsie," which earned her a yeah right laugh. Elsie looked down at her costume and said, "I'm a slutty cop... It's not pretty. Let's not start lying to each other now."

"No really. You do look, sexy," Faye teased, trying to get her to smile.

The day before Halloween there wasn't a lot to choose from and they were in a hurry so Elsie settled on the first thing in her size. It turned out to be a short blue dress with a deep cleavage bearing v neck and a shinny thick black belt. It came with a blue hat, sun glasses, and cuffs to attach to the belt. Faye talked her into getting the black faux leather knee high boots which definitely added a stripper vibe, but Elsie looked hot.

"Lets just get this over with," Elsie said, adjusting her hat. Faye nodded and then Elsie grabbed the rental car keys and they opened the door to the final rays of the days light.

By the time they got to the party it was dark and already lively. The rental fit nicely with all of the other vehicles and Melissa had invited enough people that they blended in, at least it felt that way for a few minutes... Once the other party goers started noticing them in passing they started getting a lot of lingering male eyes. Ignoring it, Faye took Elsie's hand and gave her a quick tug towards the house where her friend, Melissa, was no doubt hanging out.

Faye knew Mel would be around the kegs of beer, "This is her house," she said, pointing Melissa out to Elsie before heading over saying, "Hey Mel!"

"Oh my god, Faye!" She ran over and squeezed her before pulling back saying, "Where the hell have you been? I've been calling and calling."

"Oh, I left my phone..."

"I've been so worried about you."

Faye looked away from her friend towards Elsie and said, "I'm fine," then smiled before adding, "Mel this is my friend Elsie. Elsie this is Mel."

"It's nice to meet you," Elsie said.

Mel replied "Want a beer," politely, but she was eyeing her slightly, trying to feel her out.

"Ah... no. I'm ok," Elsie replied and Faye said, "I'm gonna show Elsie around, I'll come find you in a bit, ok?"

"Alright...," Mel said, with a twinge of bitchiness in her tone, but Faye couldn't explain so she simply led Elsie away.