Hunger

Austin: Woods

All day long, Pixie refuses to take off the dress. She keeps asking when we're gonna trick-or-treat. While Rory heads to school and I go out to find work, Blanca distracts her by helping her create a candy bag that has paper snowflakes glued to it. When I get back that night, she's so excited she can't even stand still.

Rory comes home from her dance class at seven and heads into the bathroom to get ready. Pixie stands impatiently in the doorway watching her. Blanca has braided Pixie's hair like Elsa's, and she looks like she's about to explode from the excitement. Rory is dressing up as a witch in a pointy black hat, a long black dress, and a black lace eye mask. That eye mask is so fucking sexy I almost can't control myself when I look at her. I stand next to Pixie in the doorway, just taking her in.

"So where's your costume?" Rory asks me, meeting my eyes in the mirror reflection.

I sweep my hands down to show off my ripped jeans and plain black t-shirt. "I'm going as a homeless guy. Isn't it obvious?"

Rory laughs. "Here, at least wear this. You can be ghetto-Batman or something." She hands me a black eye mask, and I tie it on behind my head. Through the two eye holes, I can continue to stare at Rory with relative stealth.

"Pixie, I think we're just about ready. Go ask Blanca for your trick-or-treat bag," Rory says.

Pixie hurries away down the hall, and Rory turns and grins at me.

"Your mask is crooked, ghetto-Batman," she says, reaching both hands to my face to adjust the mask.

I gently grasp her wrists and lean in to kiss her. She tastes amazing, like cinnamon and something citrus. I feel that kiss rush through my whole body, tingling all the way down my spine and into every nerve ending, like a loud noise reverberating in a silent room. We linger there, the kiss soft, gentle, innocent... and then she parts her lips, and we go a little deeper. I feel her tongue slip past my lips. My heart is pounding so hard, and I feel my body reacting in every single way. I could take her right here on the bathroom counter.

That's when I realize there's a little pair of hands tugging at my shirt, breaking the moment to pieces.

"Austin! Austin!" Pixie is saying, and she's so excited to trick-or-treat she doesn't have any reaction to our kiss. "I'm ready!"

I pull away from Rory. Her face is flushed, and she smiles, breathless. "Then let's go."

Rory invites Seth to go with us, but of course he says no. He wouldn't dress up anyway, unless "angsty teenager" counts as a costume these days. Since we came here two days ago, I've seen Seth maybe twice, and he hasn't said a single word to me. In fact, he seems pissed at me, even though I know there's no reason he should be. Maybe Rory told him that I think he's lying about his memory loss.

The night starts out amazing. Pixie is having a great time skipping, swinging her bag of candy with one hand and holding Olaf with the other, and I can't even remember the last time I saw her so excited or happy, like a normal kid. Me and Rory walk behind her, holding hands. Every now and then I catch Rory staring at me, and we share a smile. It doesn't even feel real. Life has never been this good.

We're about to call it a night as we're walking up to the last house on the block. Pixie starts heading for the front porch when, out of nowhere, two guys jump in front of her wearing scary masks and shouting. It's just a typical Halloween trick, but Pixie freezes, lets go of her candy and Olaf, and screams at the top of her lungs.

Fuck.

I know what's going to happen before it does, and I swear me and Pixie take off running at the same time.

"Way to terrorize a little kid, assholes!" Rory shouts at the men, but I'm already too far away to hear their reply.

I'm running after Pixie, following her sparkly blue dress in the darkness until I lose sight of it completely. She's run into the woods that surround Rory's housing addition.

"Pixie!" I call.

There's nothing but the sound of the wind shaking papery leaves loose from the trees.  The woods smell spicy in that fall way, and the night is cool and black underneath the shade. I can hardly see anything except the stick figure outlines of skinny trees.

I can hear Rory behind me calling for Pixie too. I keep going blindly forward, getting slapped by twigs and branches, sticky spiderwebs clinging to my face and clothes. 

"PIXIE!" I shout, cupping my hands around my mouth so the sound will travel further.

Nothing.

"Austin?"

I spin around and see Rory. She's shaking her head. "I can't find her anywhere."

"She's here. She has to be. How deep are these woods?" I ask.

"About twenty acres," Rory says.

"What's on the other side?"

"A shopping center, I think."

Great. If Pixie's not lost in the woods, then she's headed somewhere people will see her and call the cops.

"PIXIE! WHERE ARE YOU!" I scream desperately.

"PIXIE! ANSWER US! Why doesn't she answer?" Rory asks shakily.

I put both my hands on my head, trying hard not to freak out. "She has these episodes sometimes. She loses contact with reality."

"What?" Rory gasps. "Oh my God, Austin!"

"That's why we have to find her!"

I take off running, but Rory catches up to me and grabs my arm.

"I don't wanna lose you too!" she says breathlessly.

My heart is racing as I search the dark trees desperately.

"We should go get my dad. This is serious," Rory says.

"No! We can't! We just have to find her!" I shout.

"What if we don't?"

I don't answer her question. I won't let myself feel the fear that threatens to shut me down and block any rational thinking. I have to focus. We have to find her before it's too late.