Fragmented ✔️

21. The witching hour

Trick or treat; that was the theme of the night, only I wasn't sure which awaited me.

The black tulle from my Halloween costume itched along my midriff. I scratched my bare stomach, leaving behind thin red lines while Matt rushed around his bedroom, getting ready for work. He slept in after a late afternoon nap, and I didn't dare wake him when I changed into my outfit.

"You sure you'll be okay?" he asked, slipping his arms through his usual black shirt.

"Yes, I'll be fine." I placed my hand on his chest before he had time to close the last few buttons and raised on the tips of my toes to kiss him. "You'll be late for work if you don't leave soon." Not that I wanted him gone. If I had it my way, I would spend each second of my day with him. Every moment together had felt comfortable. Matt and I just clicked.

"That's not helping. I'll call in sick." His features clouded with genuine worry, but there was no reason for it.

His friends had only ever been nice to me. The last ten days were proof of that. After the coffee shop mishap, as Matt liked to call it, we had been inseparable and spent at least three of our evenings with his roommates. Liv, Freddie and Dan were fun to be around and treated me like we had always known each other.

"It'll be dead in there. No one goes out for Halloween."

"Stop lying to yourself," I laughed and combed his hair away from his eyes. "Go. Promise I'll be good."

Instead of crawling the overcrowded bars and clubs, everyone decided a house party would be easier. Matt and Zaire, not able to get out of work, would join us as soon as their shifts were over. I offered to spend half of my night at The Speakeasy with them, but Liv insisted she needed help at the house. The house she'd decorated on her own earlier in the week.

"It's not you I'm worried about. I don't trust them not to corrupt you."

"Really?" Placing one hand on my hip for emphasis, I cocked an eyebrow and shook my head. "Maybe I'm waiting for you to get back and do some corrupting."

"What?" Matt burst out laughing and pulled me to him. He glanced down at my scratches and moved us over to his bedside table. He squirted some moisturiser onto his fingers and massaged it into my skin, still laughing at me. "You crack me up."

"Yeah, sounded better in my head."

Matt grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone from the same area as the cream. "You call if you need me. Or Zaire. We'll both come to the house as soon as we lock up. But just shout and we'll be back quicker."

"I won't need to, but I swear," I said in a whisper as I planted a promise on his lips. Matt knew what I was playing at and groaned into my mouth. He dropped his belongings on the bed and gripped my neck below my ears, his thumbs caressing my cheeks.

"Knock, knock, knock," Liv announced as she popped her head round Matt's bedroom door. "Hope I'm not interrupting, but I have a witch to transform." She wiggled a makeup sponge in front of her face and held up a large makeup palette.

Liv was drop-dead gorgeous as a Harley Quinn lookalike. The ends of her bleach blonde hair dipped in blue and red, the suicide squad bombshell's signature colours.

I would put money on the fact Freddie was out there, dressed as a rip off Joker.

"Don't do anything stupid tonight, okay?" Matt squeezed my waist but pointed a finger at her.

"This again? Give over, Mattie. It's a quiet night in, just friends. Chill." She moved back to the door and dragged in a small makeup case on wheels. "We won't harm your girlfriend. Give us some credit."