The Odd One Out at Halloween

Nadine's POV: On Halloween night, our little group of five had agreed to go to a party together. I arrived in the costume we'd settled on 2 weeks earlier, only to find that I was the only one who didn't match. My boyfriend explained without a trace of concern, "There were only four vampire costumes. Your nurse costume is just as good." My younger sister adjusted her delicate lace shawl. "Don't you hate vampire costumes? Stop trying to squeeze in with us." My eyes stung. Wearing matching vampire costumes had been my idea. "Nadine, we're already dressed," my boyfriend said lightly. "Don't ruin everyone's night over something this small." He put an arm around me as we had our tickets checked. Just 3 minutes later, I was at the back of the line again, separated from the others. My sister sent a video to our group chat. The four of them stood in front of a party display, my boyfriend beaming. Conrad: All four of us are together. The video was quickly deleted, and my sister added a message. Felicity: Conrad just misspoke, Nadine. Don't read too much into it. Suddenly, I understood. He hadn't misspoken. In their minds, our group of five had only ever had room for four. ***** "All four of us, nice and neat?" I walked up to them, clutching my phone in a trembling hand. My boyfriend, Conrad Voss, was adjusting his cape for the camera. He frowned the instant he heard me. "It was a slip of the tongue. Do you have to make such a big deal out of it?" My sister, Felicity Bellamy, covered her mouth and laughed. "Your costume fits the mood too, Nadine. You just look more like an extra. Why don't you take my spot?" She tugged at the hem of my costume, but Conrad immediately objected. "Stay where you are. You look best in the middle." He pulled her back into position, dumped all four bags into my arms, and handed me his phone. "Take a few pictures of us. Make sure we look good." The bag straps dug painfully into my wrist. "Matching vampire costumes was my idea. Why am I the only one who doesn't even get to be in the pictures?" The four of them had already struck their poses. No one was listening. I tapped the shutter button. "Now it's my turn..." Before I could finish, the ticket attendant called through a megaphone at the entrance, "The haunted house is next! You five, this way! We're about to close the doors for the full experience!" The passage through the haunted house was so narrow we had to turn sideways. We'd barely gone a dozen steps when every light overhead went out. As darkness swallowed us, I struggled to breathe. Instinctively, I reached for the hem of Conrad's costume ahead of me. "Conrad, I'm a little scared..." My fingers had barely touched the fabric when an actor in a ghost costume lunged out of the shadows. Felicity screamed and stumbled backward, slamming into my shoulder. I lost my footing and fell into a metal cage beside the passage. The door clicked shut behind me. I braced my palm against a rusty bar. It sliced my skin, and blood ran down my wrist. "Conrad! The cage is locked! Get a key from the staff!" The lights came back on. Conrad had already turned to grab an attendant when one of our friends shouted, "Felicity can't breathe! Somebody help!" Felicity leaned against the wall, clutching her chest. She looked frighteningly ill. Conrad let go of the attendant, hoisted her onto his back, and ran for the exit without a word. The other two hurried after him. No one was left outside the cage. As Conrad passed me, I reached through the bars and seized his sleeve. "Don't leave me. You know I'm afraid of the dark..." He glanced down at my bleeding hand. That was all he did. "The cage opens automatically after 10 minutes. It's a tiny cut. Stop being so dramatic. Felicity can't breathe. Can't you see what's more important? Let yourself out when it opens." He looked at me once more, then headed for the exit. During a downpour 3 years earlier, I'd been trapped in the mountains like this. It had been too dark to see the trail. Conrad had found me on his own and gathered me into his arms. Soaked to the skin, he'd held my shivering body against his, slowly warming me. "Don't be scared, Nadine. As long as I'm here, I'll never leave you alone in the dark." I'd held on to that promise for 3 years. Now the man who'd made it was the one leaving me in the dark. After 10 minutes, the cage still hadn't opened. It took 30 minutes for a patrolling employee to find me and unlock it with a key. Later, I emerged from the subway station alone, pulling the bloodstained nurse costume tighter around me against the bitter wind. My phone vibrated. Conrad had shared a location in our group chat. Conrad: Where have you wandered off to now? Everyone's waiting for you!