After several weekends in a row spent hanging out with Mase and our friends, I finally give in to my parents' not-so-subtly dropped hints and stay home on Saturday night. With Halloween just around the corner, I need to pay my daughterly dues now if I want to be let out later.

I bake cookies with my mom and pretend to watch sports with my dad. I even make a conscious effort to limit my texts to a handful each hour.

Baby steps.

At dinner, my dad wipes his mouth with his napkin and fixes me with a stare. "Your mother and I are driving down to Nonnie's next weekend. We've still got a lot to do before we can list the house."

My grandmother died unexpectedly last summer, and as her only son, my dad's been pinned with the task of settling her estate.

"Sorry, Daddy," I say softly.

My brother and I spent weeks at a time with Nonnie growing up, and her death still doesn't seem real, even after all these months. I have no idea how my dad finds the strength to sort through her things and box them up.

He clears his throat roughly. "Hopefully not much longer."

I smile sweetly, because my parents—bless their hearts—think it saddens me when they're gone. "No worries." I pat his hand. "You just take all the time you need."

He rolls his eyes. "Jared's coming home."

"What?" I groan. "No! I don't need a babysitter."

"He's your brother, Bella. He'll look after you."

"Jared?" I screech. "He used to sit on me until I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to die." I throw a sarcastic thumbs up their way. "Nice parenting. He sounds like a great babysitter."

My dad stands up to clear his plate. "Don't be dramatic."

"This isn't dramatic," I shout. "I'm perfectly calm."

"You could always come with us," my mom suggests casually. "If you'd rather."

I throttle back a bit, because god, could anything be worse? "No, thanks, " I grumble. "I'll suffer through Jared's visit."

"Jared loves you," she scolds. "It'll be good for the two of you to spend some quality time together. You can watch those old movies you love."

My eyeroll is so intense it physically pains me. "Those were Pokemon videos, and I was twelve."

She ignores me and begins cleaning up.

"It's Halloween weekend!" I moan. "Don't you even care that you're ruining a holiday?"

"Halloween's not a holiday, Bella."

I'm about to argue with her about how very much a holiday it actually is, when an idea hits me like a slap in the face.

I pull my phone out and fire off a text to every friend I've ever made far and wide.

You fuckers up for a Halloween party? My house. See you there.

A few things: a) you guys are the absolute best, b) despite its suspicious title, this story won't ever be anything more than light-hearted fluff, so if you're angst-anxious, worry not, c) quick declarations of love for Tiff, Nic, Kim, Shell, Carrie, Melanie, and Iris, for being so supportive. And BelleBiter, because her notes make me cry. XO