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“The police have no clue what happened to me. And that’s fine. I want to put it behind me. I need to call my parents, call my work, assess the damage, come up with a story...”
“I understand.” He kissed the top of my head. “I will take you home.”
“Thank you.”
I thanked Goliath and Kara, said goodbye to the kids, then let Mason lead me to his truck. I promised I would visit them soon, but the truth was I wanted to be alone for a while.
I dreamed about getting pizza and eating it alone in my bed while staring into space and processing everything that had happened to me. I loved being with Mason, but he had this effect on me... Whenever I was with him and we touched, he took all my pain away. He made my darkest thoughts vanish, and while I was grateful for that, as it eased my soul and my mind, I was also aware that I needed to sit with them at some point and actually process them, or I was going to end up with a lot of pent-up emotions and hidden trauma.
Being with someone who felt right was amazing. Mason was the one for me. I knew that. But I still needed to be alone with myself sometimes.
I was sure he would understand.
Chapter Twenty-One
Mason
The neighborhood where Maya lived was quiet, with small houses and manicured lawns. It was middle-class, human exclusive, and most families had children. Maya lived in a cute house that was positively tiny for me. I pulled into the driveway, my truck so big that it occupied all the available space. Down the street, an old lady was walking her dog and two teenage girls were looking at their phones and laughing. When I got out of the truck, I could feel their eyes on me. Silence fell, and as I went to help Maya out, I was keenly aware of their stares. They were shocked to see a monster in their neighborhood.
There were no conflicts between humans and monsters. The only reason we were divided sometimes was the simple fact that we needed widely different living conditions. As a golem, I could fit into living spaces designed for humans a little more easily, but there were monsters who couldn’t use human houses, or elevators, or even human beds. There were species of monsters who had to build entire neighborhoods and communities for themselves because their needs were very specific.
Golems only needed space. A lot of it, if we wanted to be comfortable. It was just that we were so tall, and wide, and heavy that human living spaces felt like tiny cages to us.
Maya produced a key from under a pot and unlocked the front door. I squeezed inside after her. I followed her into her tiny living room, where I almost bumped into her.
“Sorry,” I said.
She ignored me. I found she was acting odd. She just stood in the middle of the room, staring at the couch and the coffee table. There were clothes strewn on the couch, and a few beauty products scattered around, as if she’d been in a hurry the last time she’d left the house.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I didn’t do this.”
She marched into her bedroom. Her house seemed to have only the one floor and the attic. In the bedroom, the bed and the floor were littered with clothes and shoes, and in the middle of the room, there was an open suitcase.
“Where’s my other suitcase? The big one...” She looked for it for two minutes before she declared, “It’s gone.”
And then it dawned on me. She looked at me, and on her face, I saw the same realization I was having.
“That’s why the police didn’t know anything about me,” she said. “Lockwood came here and made it look like I’d packed up and left. My parents probably think I went crazy or something. I need to call them. And I need to call my job.”
“How can I help?”
“I... I don’t know. Coffee? I need a cup of strong coffee.”
I nodded and went into her diminutive kitchen. I had to be careful how I moved because it was way too easy for me to knock down things and make a mess. I heard her talk in the other room, and I popped my head in to see what was going on. She was on her laptop, and I heard her parents cry as she explained to them something about needing a break. I went back into the kitchen, not wanting to intrude. Plus, I wasn’t sure she was going to tell her parents about me. First, they had to process the fact that their daughter was back, and safe, and well.
Half an hour later, she came into the kitchen and sat down at the table with a sigh. I placed a cup of hot coffee in front of her. She looked exhausted.
“I don’t know if I should be mad or happy,” she said. “That bastard made it look like I just up and left. He got rid of my phone and my laptop. He didn’t find my old laptop, though. I had it shoved at the back of the closet, out of the way. I’m luckyit still works, otherwise this would’ve been a whole lot more difficult.”
“How are your parents?”
“They’re fine. They were worried, but it was only a week, so they were hopeful I’d turn up, eventually. When they realized my phone was shut off, they called my work, and one of my colleagues came in to check on me. She found the house this way, drew the obvious conclusion, and that was about it.” She lifted the cup to her lips and looked up at me. “What do you think? As much as it sucks, all’s well that ends well, right? And I really don’t feel like telling anyone what happened. Lockwood’s gone thanks to you and telling my story now would only get us both in trouble. Never speak ill of the dead.”
“I will support you no matter what,” I said.
“Thank you.” She reached over and put her hand on mine. “I mean it.”
