Heartless

Heartless - Chapter Fourteen

...surprise?

HEARTLESS

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

New Years Eve came around way too soon for my liking. It felt like I’d hardly had any time to prepare myself or Hunter for what was ahead of us – it seemed like in the days since I’d met up with Joseph I’d barely had the time to buy a new dress, mentally prepare myself for what was coming and tell the hunters my plan before it was time to leave.

“I can’t believe I wasn’t even invited to this till the last minute,” Luna grumbled from the sofa, watching me as I ran back and forth across the room in a frantic rush to get ready. She’d put no way as much effort into her appearance as me, obviously as some sort of taciturn protest to the night ahead – her dress was simple, makeup hardly there, and short black hair in disarray around her face.

“Wasn’t my choice,” I called from my room as I picked up a hairbrush and started to pull it through my snarled and knotted hair.

“You could’ve at least made an effort, instead of Joseph inviting me as some sort of an afterthought to protect his precious girlfriend,” she complained. “I mean I could’ve been your plus one or something. I feel so unwelcome.”

“You know that I’m already on thin ice with Joseph after getting that Hayley girl to invite Hunter.”

I grabbed a handful of makeup and my mirror before I went back into the main room, scattering them on the coffee table in front of Luna and jumping down next to her on the sofa. I sat cross-legged, pulling the mirror towards me and picking up an eyeliner pencil from the jumble in front of me.

“You really shouldn’t be sitting like that in your dress,” Luna commented.

I glanced down. My dress was way too short and body hugging, and it had ridden up until there was barely an inch left to cover my legs. After a second’s more consideration I shrugged. “Stop complaining. It’s not like you haven’t seen any of this before.”

“Is Joseph going to be seeing anything tonight?”

“Depends if I can avoid it or not.”

Luna sighed. “I don’t know how you get away with this whole thing sometimes.”

“Pure skill,” I said sarcastically, leaning forward to draw a thick line of black across my eyelid.

“And what about Hunter?”

My hand slipped, making a thick black streak across the side of my face. “What?” I demanded, looking up at her.

“I meant what time is he arriving?” she said innocently, but there was no hiding the laughter in her eyes.

“Soon,” I said, trying to recompose myself. I got back up to my feet. “Maybe next time can you give me some warning before you speak. I’ve got to go get this off my face now before I turn up at this party looking like a psychopath in front of all of Joseph’s friends.”

Luna grinned. “That’ll make a change.”

I glared at her.

“Okay, okay. I’ll let Hunter in for you if you take too long.”

There was no way that I wanted Luna to spend any prolonged period of time with Hunter, but I sucked in my protests and went into the bathroom instead. I pulled a makeup wipe from its packaging and started frantically rubbing my face in a furious attempt to get rid of the black line that now boldly marked my pale face, but no matter how much I tried it only seemed to get worse. Silently cursing ever buying such durable eyeliner, I kept on scrubbing and watched as the whole side of my face was taken over by a huge black smudge.