Come Back To What You Know

I heard Brayden let out a breath, and my heart stopped for a moment, waiting for him to speak. Praying I hadn't said too much.

"I know, Charley. I miss you too. I feel that too."

"Thank God," I breathed, then laughed as relief flooded me. Maybe this was really it. Maybe this time we'd finally get our chance.

Chapter 8

Charley

Fourteen Months Ago

"You know, in the UK, there is a set amount of costumes for Halloween – no deviations. Witches, devils, ghosts, vampires, zombies, and werewolves. That's it. Well, it was like that when I was a kid, anyway."

I shook my head at my reflection in the mirror. I was dressed as an all-American cheerleader—wearing a blue and white ridiculously short dress, with USA emblazoned across my chest, blue and white pom poms, and my long hair tied up in pigtails.

Behind me, Evelyn laughed. "And this is why you have more fun here. No rigid rules to stick to!"

"I'm not sure it was ever about rules," I mused. "It's just that Halloween was supposed to be scary. There's nothing scary about cheerleaders. Unless they're zombie cheerleaders." I momentarily toyed with the idea of slashing my outfit, rubbing some ketchup on it, smearing my make-up and messing up my hair.

"Don't even think about it." She must have read my mind, and I laughed. "You look hot."

"So do you."

She did, too. Evelyn was dressed as Harley Quinn – and almost looked better than Margot Robbie. Almost. I did suggest it was mildly inappropriate to be wearing so little since we were headed to a Halloween party at work, and most of our students would be there, but she pointed out that it's the one night of the year where anything goes, and she did look amazing. Also, I wasn't exactly totally covered up, though I did opt for white knee socks so slightly less flesh was on display.

You can take the girl out of England...

"Come on," Evelyn said, walking over to me and standing beside me, throwing her arm over my shoulder. "Quick selfie before we go!"

Before I could protest, she'd held her phone up in front of us and we both grinned at the camera as she took our photo. She showed it to me for approval before doing her thing and posting it on Facebook. I heard my own phone bleep as it notified me that I'd been tagged. For a moment, I wondered what Brayden had done for Halloween night, if anything. He'd sent me a message a few days ago telling me he'd been busy with work so we hadn't spoken for most of the week. I wasn't worried though. He and I had grown closer since he'd asked me to go home. We'd done the video call thing several times, and that only made our connection stronger. I was literally counting down the days until I

got to see him. I had one of those dorky apps that does a countdown for you, and every day, as it got closer and closer, my excitement grew a bit more.

Before I could get lost in thoughts of Brayden again, I shook my head and tried to put my focus on the evening ahead.

**

The room that had been kitted out for the Halloween party looked like every single stereotype of an American Halloween party I'd ever seen. They certainly didn't do things by halves over there. The whole ceiling had been decorated with fake cobwebs, with plastic bats and spiders hanging off them in various places. Right in the centre, a huge terrifying-looking witch on a broomstick hung down, overseeing the evening's events. A smoke machine pumped out a gentle mist across the floor, spookying the place up even more. Various Halloween-themed wall hangings had been dotted around the edge of the room, and even the DJ's equipment had been hung with cobwebs. The food and drinks tables were equally as meticulously decorated, with tiny toy bugs and rats on the edges of the plates. I felt like I'd walked into a high school movie set.

My fellow teachers and students had gone all out with their costumes. There were very few witches or vampires though. Just as I'd pointed out earlier, people had dressed up in whatever costumes they felt most drawn to. I spotted all kinds of characters, including three friends dressed as Homer, Marge and Bart from The Simpsons, a police officer, a couple who had come as Beauty and the Beast, a devil, several superheroes, and someone who had rather creatively dressed as Pacman. It was a night I knew I wouldn't forget, that was for sure.

"Hey, Charley!"

I turned away from Evelyn and Lewis on the dancefloor when I heard a familiar voice over my shoulder. I smiled at Luca, another teacher who was also working at the school for a year, just like me. He was American, but of Italian descent, and the kind of guy who was so ridiculously good-looking, most women had trouble speaking whenever he was nearby. Frankly, it was a miracle anyone learned anything from him. He was absolutely mesmerising with his thick black hair and hypnotising blue eyes. He was pretty ripped too from what I could tell from the tight shirts he often wore. That evening, he was dressed as Batman, and looked frighteningly handsome.

"Luca! Where have you been hiding?"

"I was on drinks duty, but I thought I should ask you for a dance before it gets too late and I miss my chance."

He winked at me and I chuckled. He wasn't really flirting with me in a serious way. He was just a naturally good flirt, so when he put his arms around me, I stepped in only a little closer, and put my arms around him too.

"You look sensational tonight," he said. "Although, I could have sworn you had pom poms when you came in."

I laughed. "I did. Jenna stole them an hour ago and I haven't seen them since."

Jenna was one of the girls in my class, a bubbly character who was super eager to learn. I didn't mind that she'd taken my props – the last time I saw her with them, she was trying to arrange some kind of conga, shaking the pom poms in the air.

"It's easier to dance without them anyway," I added, still chuckling as I glanced around the room to see if I could spot them.