Death's Dilemma (DHAD #2) (7 page)

“Mall of Georgia,” Lacie answered, and we finally moved. Luckily, the mall was only twenty minutes away, so the awkward silence wasn’t that bad.

“They have valet parking if you want to join us,” I said to Abram, knowing his answer. Lacie hit me in shoulder as we got out of the car. Trevor didn’t accompany us in the car, but he sat, waiting, on the benches outside when we got to the mall.

“How was the drive?” he asked

“Invigorating. Couldn’t get that Abram to shut up.”

“Really?”

“No, the Guardian refused to talk to me. I mean, I know all of your people hate me, but his runs real deep.”

“His sister was killed by a Demon and Reaper working together. So he won’t probably ever talk to you. He thinks you’re bad for Lacie, but he insisted, even though he disagreed with you being here, that he always be assigned to her as well. He almost never leaves her side, which is rare for someone who isn’t a head Guardian. I think Lacie reminds him of his sister. He once told me Lacie looked like her.”

“Ah, well that explains it.”

“Yeah, she was an Angel too.”

“Really? Then how is he a Guardian?”

“His mother is an Angel, and his dad a Guardian. So, he got one half while his sister got the other.”

“Well, we better get going or she’s going to disappear” I said to Trevor as I looked ahead of us to where Lacie had already opened the mall doors.

“You’re right, and at a mall this big, she actually could get lost.” This was the biggest mall I’d ever seen. It had three stories, about every store you could possibly think of, plus a movie theatre. Its size was the reason Lacie said we had to come here, as it would offer the best selection.

“Plus, people are looking at you strangely.” He pointed behind me. Sure enough, some kids were laughing at me. I shook it off. Who cares if people thought I was crazy? As long as they didn’t try to institutionalize me, I didn’t mind. It wasn’t my fault they couldn’t see Trevor. They wouldn’t have been able to see me either if I wanted, that would really mess with their minds if I disappeared out of thin air.

“Cendall,” Trevor said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. I turned back around and he smiled.

“Get out of my head, will you...” I laughed.

“If only I had that ability. I just made a correct assumption at what you wanted to do.”

I caught up to Lacie just as she went into the first dress boutique called Bedazzled. Hot pink, green, purple, and dresses of every single color and style lined the walls.

“Are we trying to be Ms. Georgia?” I asked, and Lacie laughed.

“I know! It sort of looks like one of those pageant stores, doesn’t it?” She laughed “But there are hundreds of dresses. We should be able to find something you’ll sparkle in.”

“I sure hope so. I don’t imagine we’ll find any more rhinestones than this place has in stock...”

“Just promise me no black?”

“Why not? There are tons of them.”

“It’s too predictable. Let me pick out our dresses, and that way, you can spend all your time guarding me.”

“I don’t think…”

“It makes sense. Can’t have a Demon sneaking up on me while you’re too focused on getting your right size.” I rolled my eyes

“Fine.” What did I care? I didn’t want to come here in the first place. Let her do all the work. As I watched her travel from rack to rack, this looked nothing like work in her eyes. She had sheer determination and a glisten of excitement. When she found one she liked, she even let out a little squeal. A store associate brought her over her own personal travel rack, and in twenty minutes, she placed twenty dresses on it.

“Are you ready?” she asked.

“Ready for what?”

“To try them on, duh.”

“We can do that at home.”

“That’s ridiculous! We’re not going to buy them all and then waste a trip back returning them. We try them on here, find the best ones, and then buy them. Duh,” she said again.

“Okay.” She led me to the back of the store to dressing rooms where “We Prosecute” signs clung to every door.

“Don’t even think about it.” Lacie smiled as she caught me reading the sign. I wasn’t one to steal, but the fact that they were asking for a challenge made me want to try. “You’ve broken enough rules on that list.” I couldn’t help but smirk at the Ten Commandments crack.

“No way,” I said as Lacie handed me my first dress to try on. It looked like she had just handed me a bright pink stick of cotton candy from a county fair.

“I think it looks nice,” Trevor said through a laugh. So glad he had now moved close enough for the show.

“I don’t think you need to be here for this.”

“While you’re in the dressing room, I thought it’d be pertinent that I was close by, just in case,” he said with a wink.

“Sometimes they surprise you when you get them on. Just try it. Stop being a child,” Lacie scolded as she went into her dressing room with a dark purple gown.

I changed out of my outfit and stood there for a moment, staring at the dress as it hung on the inside of the door. No way in hell this thing was going to look good on.

“Are you ready to show us?” Lacie called from outside the dressing room. Apparently we were racing.

“It’s ugly. I’m ready for dress number two.”

“You have to show us first. You think anything that isn’t black is ugly. Cendall, come on, just do this for me please.” I let out a frustrated breath, took the bodacious pink ensemble off the hanger, and slid it over my head. It looked worse than I imagined. I did a once over in the mirror, and instead of looking like cotton candy, it looked more like a wadded up piece of chewed gum that fell into a bucket of sequins.

I opened the door, and their faces confirmed my thoughts. Trevor bent over laughing while Lacie tried to cover her mouth.

“Okay, you were right. Dress number two,” she said as she handed me a dark crimson dress. I stepped back into the dressing room and closed the door.

This dress was strapless and had a heart shaped neckline with black rhinestones and beaded embroidery. It slid on super easy. I wouldn’t even have to have it altered in any way; it fit my body like it had been created for me. It hugged against all my curves, complimenting them as it traveled down to just above the knees. At this point, the silhouette flared out like a mermaid tail. This would give me easy access to my scythe that would be underneath. This, unlike the bubble gum wonder, made a smile hit my lips as I checked myself out in the mirror.

“Ready to show us dress number two?” Lacie called out again from behind the door.

“Yes.” I opened the door and glanced at Lacie’s face first. She smiled wide in approval.

“You look freaking HOT in that dress. Red is definitely your color. That is your dress. You’re going to get that one, right!?” she said in excitement.

“It’s okay.” I downplayed it as I looked over to Trevor. He said nothing, but I watched his eyes travel down to the ground and back up to my face again. His eyes narrowed, and he looked like a lion before tackling its prey. I hadn’t seen that look since we’d wrestled in the woods so long ago.

“Doesn’t she look amazing?” Lacie asked Trevor, and her question took him out of whatever trance he was in. His eyes went back to normal, and he took a deep breath.

“It looks fine. It seems like you guys have this under control, so I’ll let you be.” And with that, he left. Lacie laughed

“What?”

“What he meant to say was that you looked delicious,” she said, and heat slapped my cheeks.

“I’m sure if that’s what he meant, he’d have said that. I know you think that there is something between us because of that kiss you witnessed last year, but it was a dare, that’s it.

”Right, It’s not like you guys started practically dry humping each other in front of me or anything.” She laughed as she went back into her dressing room.

After Lacie tried on thirty more dresses, she finally found “her” dress as well. It was a deep blue, and it complimented her blonde hair and blue eyes perfectly. The last things on our agenda for the day were masquerade masks. The store was called Lucy’s Lingerie, and my cheeks burned as I looked around at the corset get ups and frilly, barely-there undies.

“We’re looking for masks,” Lacie said to the bubbly blonde associate behind the counter. She had on a pink corset with a black petticoat skirt and hot pink fishnet stockings. The associate gave us a suspicious look but then led us into a room that had its own door. As we entered, I could see why. There were chains, whips, and leather ensembles everywhere. Lacie pointed to the ball gag and laughed.

“You’ll find masks over here,” the associate said, taking my eyes away from all the gadgets around me. It looked like items I’d seen in torture chambers back home, but we were in a lingerie store, which meant people actually used these things for pleasure.

“This one is perfect for mine,” Lacie said as she pulled a mask off the shelf. It was a half mask that would cover just her eyes. It was royal blue and lined with lace and silver sequins.

“It is,” I agreed as the dress she’d gotten was the same color.

“For me?” I laughed as I picked up a mask that, if I put it on, would wrap around my entire head. It had three belt straps in the back and would leave only my eyes and mouth visible. Lacie’s mouth dropped, as she mouthed
oh my god
. I put it back and found one that I thought would fit. It was black with red lace covering the entire front. It was only a half mask, and the lace had a flower pattern to it that would complement the black embroidery on my dress.

“Much better. Now, let’s get out of here. I already feel like we’re getting strange looks from the worker. Wouldn’t want her to start formulating a story for what we’re going to use these for.”

As Lacie and I left the store, we found Trevor sitting outside on a bench by the bubblegum machines. I hadn’t felt him around since he left the dressing room. As we approached, he looked at the store we’d just came from and then back to me. His left eyebrow rose.

“We needed masks for the dance. It is a masquerade you know. Get your mind out of the gutter,” I said.

“After what I saw earlier? Impossible,” he said in a low tone as he got off the bench and walked past me. I looked to Lacie, but she had no reaction like she’d caught the comment. Her comment had been dead on earlier. He did like the dress.

Chapter Nine

Date Night

“Who are you texting so much?” I asked Lacie when we got home and exited the car. The whole way back, her thumbs were getting a major workout.

“Brad. He wants to take me out on a date tonight. Is that doable?”

“Where?”

“His house.”

“Why don’t you just have him come here? We’ve already been out on one adventure today. It would make it easier.”

“Nothing’s happened in four months. Do you really think they’re coming tonight?”

“Really. Nothing? Have you already forgotten about the gym?”

“That was different. It was Reapers there for you. But fine, our house works. ”

“Who is Brad anyway?”

“He’s in our second period science class. He sits right behind me.”

“The one everyone calls ‘QB’?”

“Yea, that stands for quarter back. His real name is Brad.”

“Oh.”

“When did you start talking to him?”

“I didn’t really. He just broke up with his girlfriend, so I’m probably just a rebound, but at least I’ll have a jersey to wear Friday night.”

“His jersey?”

“Yeah, you’re supposed to wear their away jersey since they’ll obviously be wearing the home one.”

“Why?”

“To give them good luck.”

I looked at her, confused. No matter how hard I tried, I didn’t get the human high school dating thing. Good thing I didn’t have to deal with that in my Reaper classes. I couldn’t imagine asking Drake or Dave if I could wear one of their extra Reaper uniforms to root them on.

***

“Where are your parents?” asked Brad as he walked in the door.

“Oh they went out to the casino in North Carolina so they won’t be back till late.”

“Nice,” Brad said as I approached. “Oh, hey Cendall.” His enthusiasm dropped; he’d thought they’d be alone, which was hilarious considering our house had at least thirty Guardians staying in it. He just couldn’t see them.

“Your house is huge. Your parents must be doctors or something,” he said to Lacie.

“Plastic surgeons,” we said in unison. We’d made up that story thinking that only plastic surgeons or a celebrity could afford the house we lived in.

“That makes sense. They should have had like twenty kids with how big this place is though.”

“They’re not much on kids, but they like to have parties.”

“Ah. Well, I brought a few movies,” he said as he and Lacie went down to the basement.

“I don’t have to be down there to watch them make out, do I?” I asked Trevor as we entered the kitchen.

“Nope. You’re off make out duty tonight. I’ve got five down there with her, so you can remain upstairs.”

“Phew!”

“At least someone in this house will get a little bit of action,” he said as he started pulling out pots and pans. He was just full of innuendos today. Maybe Catherine cut him off.

“Well, I’m sure you can call Catherine over if you need to meet your weekly quota.” He rolled his eyes and started pulling food from the fridge.

“I don’t know why you even bring her up. Jealously maybe?”

“I am not jealous in any way, shape, or form of your girlfriend.”

“She is not my girlfriend.”

“But she used to be.”

“Yes, keyword being ‘USED’ to.”

“Did she not get the memo? Or why else would she get an assignment so close to you and try to threaten me at school?”

“She told me about that. It wasn’t a threat. She’s just worried you’re going to bring Reapers around her first assignment. Her being here can’t really hurt anything with how I look at it. It’s just one more Guardian that’ll be nearby if and when they come for Lacie.”

“I can’t even say that’s true because she’s useless and will just get in the way. Distract you.”

“We’ve been over this. She doesn’t distract me. You,” he said, letting out a breath “…Listen. Before we start to bicker again, there is something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about.”