Lanston’s hands are warm, his endearing eyes more so.
The song is slow and nostalgic. One of my favorites. “The Night We Met” by Lord Huron.
Lanston pulls me close and whispers, “I remember the night we met,” his voice and eyes melancholic.
“Me too. It was like a month ago and under the influence of a counselor.” I grin and raise a brow in an attempt to lighten the mood.
His eyes soften and he nods. “Yeah. I guess that’s what made it so different. You, the girl with pink hair and sorrow in her eyes. You, the person who was broken like I was.”
My heart sinks.
I know what he’s trying to say. Liam’s words from the other night turn in my head. You know he loves you, right? It’s an incurable ache, to know that you’d love a man without a shadow of a doubt if perhaps you’d met him first. But Liam has that part of my soul. I love them both viciously—but I love them differently.
“I don’t think anyone in this world understands me more than you do, Lanston.” I rest my head on his chest and he caresses me delicately. His embrace is like being wrapped in a warm blanket under the stars.
“But it will always be him, won’t it?” he whispers.
I tighten my jaw and nod. “But you’ll always be a part of our cure.”
He lets out a short, low chuckle. “Your what?”
“Our cure. The three of us. Always the three of us.” I beam at him and the sadness in his eyes brightens until it fades away.
“So, he told you about the tattoos then, huh? Come to think of it, you two have cured me in ways I never thought possible. Because of you two, I want to live. Every single day.” He presses a kiss to my forehead and I cup his cheek with my palm.
“Because of you two, I want to live too.”
We stare into each other’s eyes until the song ends and everyone starts switching partners. I see Liam walking toward us in the corner of my eye and mutter, “Let’s race again tomorrow?”
“There’s nothing I’d enjoy more.” He turns and smiles brightly at Liam.
“Care if I catch the next dance?” Liam’s blue eyes are soft and my cheeks warm as he takes my hand.
“She’s all yours,” Lanston says with a false smile.
Liam takes position, bowing and kissing my hand like a gentleman as the next song picks up. “9 Crimes” by Damien Rice. He straightens and pulls me to his chest, our feet moving in time together.
“Such a violent song to dance to,” he murmurs as he presses his lips to my forehead. He spins and dips me back. Our eyes connect. I long to kiss him, tangled in the bedsheets until the sun rises.
“Liam?”
“Hm?” His eyes are hooded with those beautiful dark lashes. He dips closer until our noses touch.
“Why did you come into my room that day at the hospital?”
Liam stares into my soul like he’s searching for doubt. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I wanted to see you. I’d heard the nurses and doctors fussing over you for a few days while I was lying in bed, and the more I heard, the more curious I grew. I had to see you. And when I did—God. I was so mad. I was mad because you were perfect, Wynn. You were beautiful and you had pink hair, you had the softest frown on your face, and the moment your eyes met mine I wanted to shake you. I wanted you to live, and the thought of you dying…” He takes a deep breath to reset his composure. “I came to you that day because I wanted you to live. And I wanted to help you find a reason to. I didn’t know we’d be roommates here, but fuck, am I glad fate worked out that way.”
He lifts me back up and we finish the dance, standing still. Everyone else moves fluidly around us as if only he and I are trapped in a time bubble. He curls strands of my hair around his finger and grins.
No one else has experienced a love like Liam’s. It is chaotic. It is pure. It is love in its simplest, most cathartic form.
Liam presses a kiss to my lips. “Thank you for the happiest moments of my life.”
The man on staff takes Lanston and Yelina’s tickets before nodding for them to head into the maze.
Excitement and fear twist in the air and my skin itches with anticipation. Who doesn’t love a good scare in a haunted maze?
Lanston screams almost immediately, followed by Yelina shouting at him that he’s an idiot. Liam snorts and I elbow him with a wide grin.
“He can’t help it.” I try to keep the laughter from my voice but fail horribly.
“All right, you two ready?” The staff member holds out his hand for our tickets and we pass them over. He nods us through. Liam takes the lead, even though I offered since I don’t mind being scared shitless first.
The maze is dark, only lit by cellphone flashlights and lanterns scattered sporadically throughout. It’s impressive that this town puts on such a big festival. The atmosphere is perfect and the screams and laughter only add to it.
“You can cling to my arm if you’re scared.” Liam grins sarcastically.
“Says the man who almost peed himself going into an abandoned basement.”
He narrows his eyes at me and wraps his arms around my chest. “Such cruel words from lovely lips.”
We make our way through the maze, screaming and running from masked staff chasing us, wielding fake knives and axes. Liam’s initial courage has turned into belligerent laughing and shouts at every jump scare.
“Fucking run, Wynn!” He cackles as he charges ahead of me, leaving me to die at the hands of the slasher-movie villain Jason and his machete.
“You asshole!” I laugh-scream as I run from Jason. I quickly look back to see if he’s gaining on me, but the masked man stands still, ominously so, with his head tilted just enough to send eerie tendrils of fear through my bones. Liam pops out from around a corner of the maze and I squeal as he grabs me. He kisses my neck before he pulls me with him.
“Like I’d actually just leave you behind.”
A gust of wind sweeps his black hair to the side and the warm glow of a lantern halos his figure. I find myself memorizing this moment. The way his gray sweater lifts to showcase his stomach, his oak scent consuming every last piece of me.
Then I hear Lanston scream.
“Wrong way, wrong way! Turn around!” He snatches me from Liam and I laugh as I run along beside him. Liam’s right behind us, followed by Yelina, who looks pissed that she’s been left behind. I know the feeling.
The four of us head toward the dark center of the maze. Our phones are the only light sources here. We hide behind a crate covered with pumpkins and hay bales and shut our flashlights off. Minutes tick by silently before we hear rustling.
One of the staff ghouls runs past the crate and then it’s eerily quiet. It’s too dark and I can’t tell whose lap I’m sitting in. The four of us are packed in tight and it’s not until Yelina stands that we start to untangle ourselves.
“That was terrible. This isn’t fun anymore and I think we’re lost,” she whispers.
My cheeks warm as Lanston speaks up behind me, his arms holding me. “Shit, well, let’s just keep walking back the way we came. We’ll find our way out eventually,” he murmurs.
“Okay, but which way did we come through?” Yelina tuts. She’s right, with only our flashlights and nothing else to guide us, we’re fucking lost.
Liam taps his screen and tries to pull up our location. “I’m not getting good bars out here, so I can’t really tell where we are on the map app.” His eyes linger on me and Lanston. I stand up next to Yelina and cross my arms against the night’s chill.
“Let’s just call Jericho and head back that way,” I suggest, turning on my flashlight and helping Lanston up. He still looks scared shitless.
“Where are the town lights? The festival can’t be over already—what time is it?” Yelina sounds panicked.
All of our heads lift to the sky.
No town lights.
“What?” Liam mutters, his breath curling in the cold air.
“Did the power go out?” Lanston shifts uncomfortably.
I shrug. Okay, this is getting weird. “Let’s just walk back. I’m sure it’s fine.”
We walk silently through the maze. There’s not a soul left in the cornfield, or at least none we can hear. The screams and laughter from before are long gone and our nervous energy permeates the air.
Liam dials Jericho and on the third ring, he picks up. We all audibly sigh in relief.
“Where is everyone? It’s dark as hell out here.” Liam’s voice is sharp and irritated.
Jericho is loud enough that we can all hear him. “The power went out in town; a drunk driver or something hit a powerline. The festival shut down early, so everyone is heading home. Where are you? Who’s with you?”
“Yelina, Lanston, and Wynn. We’re all in the cornfield still.”
“Well, find your way out and text me when you get to the café. I’ll wait for you guys.”
Liam ends the call, looks up at us, and shrugs. “Power went out.”
“We heard,” Lanston grumbles.
A cornstalk snaps behind us and the four of us go deathly silent.
Someone steps out from the row and holds up a machete. I hold my phone flashlight up and reveal it’s the guy wearing a Jason costume from earlier. His head still tilted in that creepy, unsettling way.
“The festival is over, buddy. Mind helping us find the way back?” Yelina snaps more bite in her voice than required. Lanston takes a step back and grips my hand tightly. His flesh is cold, and all the blood is drained from his face.
Jason takes a step toward us and swings his machete at the cornstalks, slicing a clean line through five of them easily.
“Stop it! We aren’t participating in the maze anymore—we want to leave. Now,” Liam snaps at the man. He steps forward and tries to take the machete away, but Jason moves his hand back and elbows Liam in the face. He falls and we all gasp in unison.
Liam lifts his head, blood dripping from his brow. Jason leans down close to him and chuckles, a sound so dark and wicked it sends a shudder up my spine.
Jason whispers in a low, distorted voice, “Come on, Liam. Let me play with them.”
Yelina chokes out a fearful sound, a terrified, open-mouthed sound that crawls from your stomach.
The masked man jerks his head toward her and lunges at her, slicing her arm. Screams and panic consume my blood like a narcotic.
“Oh my God,” Liam says so absently that it sends goosebumps up my arms. His eyes are wide and my heart instantly drops to my stomach. “It’s Crosby.”
