Page 104 of Pretty Broken Wings

And in her dry, lifeless way, she agrees.

I hold myself back from celebrating.

“We’ll have to get costumes.”

“What?” For a second, there’s a flicker of something in Raven’s voice. It’s anger, but it’s still life.

I shrug. “Mom’s super big on costumes. It’s kinda like our thing.”

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. Mom is big on costumes, but I’ve refused to dress up since I was eighteen. But costumeshopping means more time with Raven, specifically without Axel.

When we finish eating, I grab the car keys. I hear a huff, but Raven follows.

“You’ll have to pay me double for this,” she mutters as she brushes past me and out the front door.

I have Raven take us to the only Halloween store in town—it’s the one that always pops up this season in the empty warehouse that was once a craft store and, before that, a department store.

When we get in, the place smells industrial, with a hint of polyester and plastic. I have Raven show me to the adult section, and I’m super tempted to reach out and grab her elbow. Not because I can’t see her fuzzy form, but because I want an excuse to connect with her. But I also don’t want to scare her.

We walk for a bit, then Raven stops abruptly, and I almost bump into her. “What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know.” I pretend to look at the aisle of outfits. “Knight costume.”

She mutters something that I don’t catch. Then, she pushes an outfit into my hands.

“What is it?”

“Knight costume.”

I feel around, expecting to feel hard plastic armor. I just feel a lot of fabric and… tulle? I bring it up to my face, and the costume is pink.

Oh. Oh? So she wants to be like that.

But I’m not mad. If anything, it makes me excited. Raven’s still there, even under her unaffected exterior.

“What are you going to wear?” I ask.

“Me? Nothing?”

“Nah, if I’m dressing up, you have to also.”

“Hard pass.”

“Fine, I’ll pick for you.”

“You can suck my dick.”

The way she says it, I picture her giving a sweet smile. I snort, running my hand along the selection, feeling plastic hangers, hard sequins, rough tulle, and my favorite—silk. I can’t help but think it feels like the inside of Raven’s pussy. Little does Raven know that if she had a dick, I’d drop to my knees right now and suck it till she begged me to stop.

Up close, I can see colors. I find something black with what I think are wings, if I’m feeling the feathers correctly.

“Here! You can be a Raven.” I hand the costume out.

There’s a pause. “That’s a demon.”

I frown. “Right? You can be Raven. ‘Cause only a demon would give herblindteam member a princess costume and say it’s a knight costume.”

There’s a snort, and it brings me more joy than I’ve had in the last few days. Suddenly, the costume is being yanked from my hands, and I stifle a smile.