But Drew was right. He was Tin Man Henrik.

She pushed his hand away, ashamed of the adrenaline spike the small contact created inside of her, and shut the door.

“I’ll try and keep the noise to a minimum,” he added on the other side, but she didn’t respond. She stood there, her head against the cool metal, and waited until his footsteps retreated back down the hallway.

She needed to tell them. Henrik needed to understand why the playful banter and his game to break her willpower had to stop. She knew that. However, it wouldn’t be today.

***

Leila woke up three hours later feeling slightly refreshed, only to find the apartment completely empty. She wandered aimlessly around, looking for some sign it had housed half a hockey team earlier that day, but it was spotless. She made her way into the kitchen, deciding to eat lunch. She managed to finish an entire BLT and two sides of fries when she heard a commotion at the front door. She hurried around the corner to find it was only the boys, attempting to squeeze through the small frame at the same time.

She laughed at the ridiculous sight. “Watch it,” Drew groaned, shoving his brother, only to bounce back and land against Austin. Poor Drew looked like a Hobbit trapped between two trolls as he tried to fight his way through the door.

“You watch it,” Henrik shot back, pulling a load of bright yellow bags through the door behind him. “I’m the one doing all the work.”

“Where have you guys been?” she inquired, eyeing the nameless bags as Henrik set them down at his feet.

“Shopping.” Austin threw himself down on the couch as if the activity had been strenuous.

Her interest was instantly piqued. Boys, especially these three particular ones, loathed even the thought of going into a department store. Something was off about the entire scenario, and she was confident it had something to do with her. “What exactly did you buy?” She leaned up on her tiptoes to sneak a peek in the bags.

“That’s the best part,” Henrik told her, pulling a piece of paper out of his back pocket and handing it to her. “I was going to tell you about it this morning, but Austin thought it was best to wait until we were more prepared.”

She cautiously took the paper from him, analyzing the overzealous smile plastered on his face. She slowly unfolded it and read through the bold writing down the page. The annual Rangers Halloween extravaganza was scheduled for that afternoon. Costumes strongly suggested, noted a handwritten amendment on the bottom.

She eyed the yellow bags again, noticing Drew and Austin shared the same ridiculous smile. “Costumes? You realize they were probably referring to the kids, right?”

“What do you have against costumes?”

“Nothing, I guess. The kids will love it. You guys will have a good time.”

She spun around, prepared to run.

But their voices rang out in unison. “Stop.”

She winced, pausing at the edge of the doorframe.

“You guys?” Austin’s voice echoed behind her. “You’re coming with us.”

She turned around slowly, knowing now why they’d all shown up together. It was an intervention. She could see it in the sad way they each looked at her, as if she were a fragile piece of glass hanging on the edge of a cliff.

She pulled herself up, attempting to appear in control of herself, but it was a nearly impossible feat while wearing Drew’s decade-old Power Ranger pajamas. “Why would I come to your team’s Halloween party?”

“Because it’s hosted by the Rangers organization, and it’s for our families,” Henrik explained.

“And I want to spend time with my sister,” Austin added softly, smiling at her.

She folded her arms over her chest. “You just want me to get out of the apartment.”

“That too,” he confessed, getting up to walk over to her. “You’ve been to one game in the last two weeks, and even then you bailed on dinner afterward. Since then, you may have left this apartment a couple times at best.”

“And your brilliant solution is to make me go with you to a Halloween party?” She looked around for Drew, hoping he would come to her rescue. Drew merely mimicked the same sympathetic smile Austin had given her.

“The bottom line is, if I have to go, so do you.”

It was a damn conspiracy.

She didn’t want to go to the Halloween party, not because she didn’t want to spend time with them, but because of the same reason she hadn’t called her friend Laney, or gone to the grocery store after those cookies she loved. The thought alone was debilitating, and then to add the emotional gauntlet that was Henrik into the equation, they might as well be asking her to swim through a tsunami.

“You bought a costume for me, didn’t you?”

Henrik beamed. “Just wait until you see,” he said, digging through the bags. He jerked out a shirt and green mask. “You’re going to be a Ninja Turtle!”

“A Ninja Turtle?”

Damn it. She loved Ninja Turtles. It didn’t matter, though. She had to get out of it. “Even if I was going to this party, which I’m not, I would never wear that. You realize I’m a girl, right?”

Henrik smirked at her, holding back whatever filthy thought popped into his head. She shot him a warning glare.

“I told the salesperson I needed a woman’s costume that didn’t involve the word sexy in front of it,” Austin began to explain, “because I know how your feminism flares up. This was the best I could manage.”

“Apparently, we shop at the slutty Halloween store.” Henrik grinned. “Don’t worry, though. You won’t be lonely, because—” he began pulling out more green shirts and masks “—we’re going as Ninja Turtles too!”

His enthusiasm was exhausting.

She didn’t want to tell Austin no. It was the first time since they were kids that they’d had the chance to spend any kind of significant time together. It was the ideal opportunity for movie-perfect, sparkly bonding time.

She wasn’t feeling sparkly, though. She felt like coal.

“It’ll be fun,” Henrik urged.

Fun wasn’t part of her remedial plan. Rest. Sleep. Any nameable Henrik-less activity. That was her new routine.

“You can’t say no to this face,” Drew said through the small slit in his dime shop mask. “You love me too much.”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed her costume out of Henrik’s hands. “Love is a strong word right now,” she grumbled, stomping off toward the bedroom. “In fact, I hate all of you.”

“Thank you for participating,” Henrik yelled after her. “You won’t regret it!”

“That wasn’t a confirmation.”

“We leave at five.” His voice echoed down the hallway, but she could imagine him grinning like an idiot. Even though she tried not to, she smiled as she slammed the door shut behind her.

She had to tell him.

Tonight.

Chapter 13

 

 

LEILA’S PARTY

Madison Square Garden could have been mistaken for an episode of Tales from the Crypt. The decoration committee must have found a sale on foam tombstones. Leila pulled her hand out of a fake spider web that clung to the boards around the rink as she skated to the side. She pushed her Raphael mask on top of her head, gasping for air.

She needed to take it slow. One lap around the rink was too much. Her head buzzed as she fought to keep herself upright. She slowly moved herself toward the bench and leaned against the railing.

Her breathing slowed, and her body relaxed. She couldn’t let herself get caught up in the excitement, but it was so easy. There were too many smiles, and too much laughter. A group of pint-sized Transformers whizzed by her, chasing a cackling Batman. She smiled too, until a different smile turned in her direction.

She was aware of Henrik. Always.