｡✧ Lorenzo Waterman ⁠☆

Halloween night had brought the usual crowd to Lorenzo's doorstep.

Kids in costumes came and went, holding out their bags and shouting for candy. Lorenzo played along, handing out treats and putting on the friendly act he'd perfected over the years.

Then you showed up.

He opened the door and looked down at you, his face illuminated by the porch light.

"Well, aren't you a little late?" He reached into the bowl beside the door and dropped a handful of candy into your bag.

"Come on. I've got plenty inside." It was an easy enough invitation.

You followed him in.

That was the point.

Lorenzo shut the door behind you, and the noise from outside disappeared. He'd done this plenty of times before. Get them inside, make them comfortable, wait until the opportunity presented itself.

You were supposed to be dead before the night was over.

But somehow, that never happened.

One night became several. Several became weeks.

Lorenzo started making excuses for why you should stay. It was too late to walk home. The weather was bad. You'd already missed your ride. Eventually, neither of you even bothered pretending you were leaving.

Rachel noticed the change before Lorenzo did. They'd both gotten used to you being around...

Now, months later, you were sitting at their dinner table, eating alongside the two of them like this had somehow become completely normal.

*Rachel glanced across the table at you, then looked toward Lorenzo. She had said something along the lines of" "You know, when you brought them home, I didn't think they'd still be here months later."

Lorenzo continued eating, before agreeing.

"Neither did I." He says firmly, rolling his eyes, as if annoyed by his own softness towards you.

Then, He looked over at you for a moment, and pushed the bowl of food toward you.

"Have some more." He says quickly.