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“Only a decade? How did you end up the way you are? Did you want to be a vampire or…” Oh god, I hope she chose it.
Blair sighs. Now that I know she doesn’t need to breathe, the sound fascinates me. “I fell in love with an asshole who convinced me we were soulmates. He sold me on some romantic bullshit, offering to turn me so we could be together forever. Then ditched me and moved on to the next gullible girl.”
“Jesus, that’s horrible! I’m so sorry, Blair.” Her comment about not sparkling and the timeline of her turning tugs at my mind. “Wait. Were you into Twilight? Is that why your kink name is Bella?”
Her humorless laugh chills me. “My little personal joke. Any other questions?”
“Monsters are real,” I say, not as a question but to feel the bizarre weight of that concept again.
“We are. Though we’re not any more monstrous than your average human. Most of us just want to be left in peace.”
A strange lump forms in my throat. Despite Blair’s frosty demeanor, I can sense the pain she carries with her. Without thinking, I lean over the console and pull her into a hug. She tenses, keeping her arms at her side for a few seconds, before hesitantly returning the embrace.
“As messed up as tonight was, thank you. I needed to…” I trail off as unexpected tears fill my eyes. I’ve been so stuck. So lonely and afraid. But tonight, I don’t feel the usual crushing weight of my isolation and grief pinning me down.
Blair squeezes me once before letting go. “You were so brave tonight. I see you, Mona.”
I don’t bother sayinggoodbye to my date as I tear out of that damn club. My pulse doesn’t stop racing until I’m home. If you can even call the lifeless house I’m renting a home. The dull gray walls greet me as I toss my keys in a dish by the entryway, then head straight to my fridge to grab a beer.
Fucking hell, what a disaster of a night. The one damn time I try to let go a little and it blows up in my face. Ugh, that’s a lie. It happened before, and that was an even bigger mess. I scrub my face with my hand with a groan, then crack the beer open on the counter and plunk down onto the uncomfortable beige couch that came with my rental.
The absurd humor of my night isn’t lost on me. Iwouldrun into the one woman I’m trying to forget. It’s like the universe wants to punish me for watching her that first night I was working surveillance.You like looking at her, Max? Well, how about we make it so that she’s the only thing you can see?
Maybe the dreams will stop now that she knows I wasn’t stalking her. No, with my luck they’ll probably get replaced with visions of that damn changeling pretending to be her. Or nightmares about her being thrust into the paranormal world against her will. Shit, I wish I could text her and apologize again.
I push thoughts of Mona from my mind, knowing that she wouldn’t want to hear from me. She doesn’t need someone like me in her life. I sip my beer and try to zone out. Staring at the blank walls, I realize this house is an annoyingly accurate representation of my life. Sure, I have the necessities needed to survive. A job, a car, a place to live. But beyond that, my life is empty. And the sad part is that was my choice. I chose to leave my old life behind. To remove everything and start over with a blank slate.
The nagging urge to revisit the hidden photo on my phone worms its way into my mind in this moment of isolation. It’s a scab that wants to be picked—I know I shouldn’t let myself go there, but can’t stop the reflex. Downing the rest of my beer, I tap through my phone until I find the picture. Findthem.
They stand on either side of me, arms wrapped around my waist and lips pressed into my cheeks. Devon bending down a bit, his stubble scraping against my jaw and a lock of black hair falling over his brow. Jessica’s mouth branding my skin with her signature cherry red lipstick. I can still smell the heady blend of his cologne and her perfume—sweet, spicy, and intoxicating. Staring at the love-drunk flush on my face, my stomach churns when I think about just how damn happy I was in that moment. Happy and fucking clueless.
Enough. I grit my teeth and hover over the message asking if I want to delete the photo permanently. Do I want to delete this last tether to them? To cleanse myself once and for all of my naive mistakes?
My phone vibrates and a message notification bubble pops up, startling me out of my dark thoughts.
Mona: I can’t sleep.
My heart rises in my throat and I expand the message to make sure there isn’t anything else to it. She can’t sleep because she’s scared? Or she can’t sleep because of the dreams? Not that it matters. All that matters is that she messaged me.
Max: Me either.
A long pause stretches out, and I curse myself for my boring reply. But then another message pops up.
Mona: I was never scared of monsters under my bed, but now that I know they’re real…how am I supposed to fall asleep?
Max: I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Hanging out under a bed is uncomfortable. If the monsters were there, they’d be in your bed.
The horny fiend inside me that’s still thirsty from earlier can’t resist writing that last part. I hope I’m not pushing my luck with this delicate opportunity to talk to her.
Mona: Why would a monster want to be in my bed?
She’s setting me up for it. Is she flirting or serious? I’m hit with a vision of her in a silk robe lounging on her side on her bed, biting her lower lip as she types out her replies. She knows what she’s doing. It’s up to me to decide if I want to take the bait.
Max: I could think of a few reasons. More than a few, if I’m being honest.
Mona: You’ve thought about being in my bed a lot, have you?
Gods, this woman. My cock swells in my jeans, and I undo the zipper to relieve some of the pressure.
