Living With a Bunch of Monsters…002

BANG!!

“Rise and shine, love bug!” I woke with a violent jolt and crash landed onto the floor.

My father, with a tray of food in his hands, looked down at me like I was a sort of escaped mental patient and not his daughter.

“What in the wide, wide world of sports is up with you?” He asked as I hastily got off the floor. “You’re acting pretty suspicious.” He squinted his eyes at me and I froze.

I was a terrible liar.

He belted out a boisterous laugh.

“Lighten up, Mikk.” He placed the tray on my bed and sat down. “I know you’re not loving this whole move of your moms,” I could hear her downstairs banging and pounding and singing, turning this place into hers, “but try to look at the glass half full.” I sat on my bed, next to my dad, and I placed a head on his shoulder. He handed me a cup of coffee and I sighed with a content smile on my face.

‘You’re right, I just have to find the silver lining in the dark cloud,” My dad gave me an enthusiastic and tight squeeze.

“That’s my love bug!” He stood up and headed toward the door. “Oh and don’t spend too much time getting dolled up, you have to be at the bus stop in 30 minutes.” As my dad left the room, I started to think about the private school I was about to go to.

I have only gone to one school in my whole life. I had friends I had known since I was in diapers. Now I was going to be thrown to the well dressed and upper class wolves.

I had to admit one thing, the uniform wasn’t too bad; there was a long sleeve white shirt, (also a short sleeve for when the weather was nice but, really, how often does that happen here?) a gray vest, a black and grey plaid tie and skirt, knee high black socks, and comfortable black dress shoes. I gathered up the uniform and headed into the bathroom to get ready.

~

“Oh Mikkel! You look so adorable!” My mother exclaimed as I walked down the stairs with my bag and overcoat in my arms. “You look like a college Barbie doll!”

“Mom, I look nothing like Barbie,” I shook my head, causing my long wavy ponytail to brush against my dad.

“That’s right,” he said. “You look better.” He gave me a kiss on my cheek and put a mug of hot coffee and a green apple on the table in front of me.

“Thanks Dad, so where is this bus stop I need to go to?” I asked as I threw my large overcoat onto my back, followed by my bag.

“Oh, it’s down at that little park you went to yesterday!” Once again I almost choked on my coffee. I remember a certain bad experience at that park. I desperately prayed that they wouldn’t be lurking there.

“Mikkel, what is with you this morning?” My dad inquired as he and my mom sat themselves at the breakfast table. “That is the second time you have almost died right before my eyes!” I turned away from my dad, I couldn’t hide anything from him, not to mention me being a terrible liar didn’t help.

“Oh, I’m going to be late!” I grabbed my apple and mug and ran to the door. “I love you guys!” I yelled as the door slammed behind me. I kept running once I was outside. I had no desire to get to that park and rick seeing those girls again, I also didn’t want to spill my beans to my dad about the whole truth.

So I ran.

I arrived at an empty park and sighed with relief. They weren’t here, no one was. I was alone. I walked up the bus bench and sat down, pulling my hood up. It was starting to rain. I looked down at my shoes, wishing I had some rain boots. I was going to have to shop for more Seattle friendly wardrobe. A few more minutes passed. I finished my apple and my coffee and was feeling a bit wired.

I decided to walk around the park, the bus must be running late or something. I kept pacing, back and forth, back and forth. I was thinking about those people I met in that teeny house in the woods.

They all seemed like a close knit group of friends. They also called my attackers the Decatur group. I wonder if that was their name and if they were all related? I looked up at the woods and felt my heart stop.

The boy that was with the Decatur group, the boy that made me a tad uncomfortable with his staring, was once again staring. He was right at the tree line of the forest, leaning against a tree with an unknown look on his face.

I quickly turned around to head for the bus stop, only to see those three girls there, watching me with their smug grins and $400 shoes.

“Oh shit,” I whispered. I didn’t know what to do. Do I go to the bus stop? Do I try to run home? Fight or flight, fight or flight.

Fight.

I took a deep breath and walked toward the bus stop. Ignoring the three girls, I sat down. I tried to keep my breathing even, I tried not to show I was afraid but that got hard when I heard more footsteps behind me.

“Hey,” I jumped out of my skin and landed in a forming puddle on the sidewalk. The girls laughed at me. “Jesus girl, what is your problem?” The boy who was staring at me, the boy named Josh, looked down at me with a sour look.

“You scared me,” I shakily got up and looked down at my skirt, shoes and the bottom of my overcoat, they were completely soaked through. I sighed and let a few angry tears fall, it was raining so it wasn’t like anyone could see them.

I heard the bus before I saw it and by then, it was too late. As the bus pulled up to the curb, it threw a tidal wave of water, soaking me to the bone. The shock of the water fall threw me back against the bus bench. I heard laughs and snickers coming from the now ten of them.

“Sucks to be you, bitch!” the brunette yelled as she and her group got on the bus.

I couldn’t stop shaking. I was freezing cold and my clothes were heavy.

I looked up at the boy Josh as he passed by me to get on the bus.

He stopped in the open doors, he looked in the direction of his friends and hopped right back off.

“We should get you warmed up,” He said softly as the bus driver closed his doors and drove away.

“You live nearby?”

I sniffed, hating that I couldn’t get warm.

“My house is just down the street,” I answered, I started walking in the direction of my house. Josh followed.

“I’m sorry about what my sister said,” He replied in a low voice. “She isn’t always like that, once you get to know her she’s a real sweetheart.” I sneezed loudly.

“I don’t want to get to know her, I don’t want to know any of you!” I walked faster in an attempt to get away from Josh but he was able to keep up.

“That’s a little unfair don’t you think? I mean, if you can be friends with the Vulca group why can’t you be friends with us?” I stopped dead in my tracks, did he really just ask that?!
I turned around to face him.

“Three of your fucking whores jumped me for no fucking reason! Then another one calls me a bitch! Charlie,” he seemed to grimace at the sound of my rescuers name, “saved me and took me to his home, where he and his other friends became my friends and helped me out. Charlie, Claire, Ayedan, they are all better people than you. They are better than you and your whole fucking clique will ever be!” I was never one for swearing but this boy brought it out in me.

I turned back around and headed straight for my house. Josh, to my dismay, was still following me.

“Just leave me alone, I don’t need you help!”

“I think you do,” He answered, having to almost yell due to the pouring rain. I scoffed.

“Whatever,” I made it to my house and headed toward the backyard.
Josh gave me a confused look.

“Where are you going?” He asked as he followed me.

“I don’t have a key!” I yelled at him as I began to climb the lattice fence.

I looked down at Josh just to see him mouthing something.
The rain was coming down so hard I couldn’t hear him.

“What did you say?!” I yelled.

His face turned into a look of shock as I heard him yell over the rain.

“Look out!” I looked up and saw a thick broken branch falling right toward me. I quickly jumped from the lattice fence and onto the cold mud below. Josh was nowhere in sight. I looked up and was just about to be crushed by the trunk when I was roughly pulled several feet. The branch barely missed crushing my toes.

Josh had pulled me out of harm’s way just in the nick of time.

I slowly turned my head to look up at him, only to see him looking at me.
He had dazzling hazel green eyes.

“You know,” he said as he helped me to my feet. “I don’t even know your name.”
I casually shrugged myself out of his arms and stood up straight.

“My name is Mikkel.” He smiled, exposing perfect straight white teeth.

“Mikkel,” He extended his hand to me. “I’m Josh.” We shook hands and stood in an awkward wet silence for a few minutes.

A huge crash split the air and we both looked up, only to see another huge branch slammed into my room.

“Sonofabitch!” I yelled. “Cock sucking, mother whore cunt bag dick wart son of a blue waffle whore!” I just let loose a flurry of swear words saying words I didn’t even know I knew. Josh stood there, looking at me like I was insane and also trying not to laugh at the same time.

My rant lasted ten minutes.

After my head became clear, I realized I needed to call my dad. He had to know that there was a huge hole in the house.

Only, I didn’t have a cell phone and the phone company wasn’t due to come to the house until tomorrow.

I looked over at Josh, who was surveying the damage. ‘I’m sure he has a cell phone,’ I thought. ‘I’ll ask.’

I walked up to him just as he was about to walk toward me. We bumped into each other like one of those cheesy sappy T.V. moves.
I cleared my throat and asked about a cell.
He shook his head.

“I never much believed in cell phones. Old fashioned I guess,” I scoffed as his lame joke. “I do have a house phone.” A house phone, as in a phone in his house. I really didn’t want to go to this dude’s house, his friends were rude and I had an uneasy feeling about being alone with him. He seemed dark.

But I needed to get a hold of my dad to let him know of the huge shit (and rain) storm inside my room.

So I went with him.

~

His house was pretty modest. It had four bedrooms, two bathrooms a connected living room and kitchen and a big backyard. He led me to the phone which was next to the T.V. I shakily dialed my father’s work phone at the T.V. station.

After a few minutes I was able to get though and informed him of the terrible situation at home.
Once I hung up the phone, I realized that Josh had disappeared. I had no idea where he was.

“Hello? Josh?” I maneuvered my way toward the bedrooms only to walk right into him.
“Oh my! You scared me. I need to go home now, my dad is on his way.”
He nodded his head and placed a hand on my back, leading me to the door.

“Jesus Christ, Mikkel. You’re freezing!” Only when he mentioned it did I notice it.

“I guess I should hurry back before all my clothes get wet.” I started heading out the door but Josh’s strong grip stopped me.

“You can borrow some of my sister’s clothes.” I grimaced thinking about the skimpy and dark clothes she wore. Not to mention those monster heels.

“I don’t think your sister and I have the same taste in clothing.” I snorted, getting a look in reply.

“Not Staci’s or Emma’s I’m talking about my older sister May. She lives down on Colorado with her husband. She left some of her clothes here and I’m one hundred percent sure that they would fit you.” I sighed as he led me to a huge closet like storage space.
He handed me a pair of jeans and an old faded Seahawks shirt.

“Thank you,” I murmured as I headed toward the bathroom to change.

~

When we finally got back to my house, my dad was already there, barking orders at some dude on our roof.

“Hey Dad!” I called out. My dad didn’t reply, he hurriedly ran down to where Josh and I were standing.

He swept me up into his arms.

“Oh Mikkel! I was so worried. I came home and saw the trees all over the yard and in your room!” My dad let go of me and held onto my hands. “I don’t think we’re going to have this done anytime soon, Lovebug. I could probably make room in our room for you.” I thought about how my dad grinds his teeth in his sleep. No thank you.

“Dad, what if I stayed with a friend?” His eyebrows raised, then he saw Josh.

“Not this friend I hope,” my dad roared, causing Josh to take a step back from me.

“No. A girlfriend named Marie. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t mind.” My nodded and gave me another hug.

“Sadly, it seems all your clothes are wet.” He grabbed his wallet from his jeans pocket and pulled out a debit card. “Here, go get some more rain friendly clothes and be careful.” He handed me the card and gave me another hug.

“Thanks Dad, I love you,”

“I love you too.”

I turned back to Josh and motioned for him to follow me.
Once we were out of hearing distance I stopped.

“Okay, I know you know where Charlie and Marie live. I need you to take me there.”

“Fuck that, I’m not going anywhere near their sad little shack.”

“Watch your mouth,” I threatened. “Those are my friends.”

“They’re not good for you Mikkel,”

“Oh and you are?” I screamed. He didn’t reply, he just looked at me, like he was looking straight into my soul.

I turned away from him and headed toward the park.
Hopefully, Ayedan or Charlie would be nearby, otherwise I would have to talk to Josh again.

“Hey, Mikkel!” I heard him call out and I swore under my breath. “Alright, I’ll take you to them, but don’t blame me for what happens when I get there.” Before I could ask, he grabbed my arm roughly and began pulling me toward the woods.

I was afraid of what Josh said, and even more worried by what he meant.
There was something else a bit off, I found myself excited because I was going to see Ayedan again, and I didn’t like it.

Living With a Bunch of Monsters….

It was cold, but that wasn’t what was bothering me. I was alone, but not the only thing in the forest. I could hear them stalking me, waiting for me to drop my guard so they could attack, so they could do to me what they have been doing to countless inhabitants of Seattle.

A twig snapped behind me and I turned around so fast that I practically gave myself whiplash.

He was there, in front of me, white teeth sharp and glistening in the moonlight fully bared in a seductively sweet smile.

I felt my blood go cold and my stomach drop to my knees.

“Aww, don’t look at me like that, pussycat,” he purred as he was suddenly inches from my face. I turned away from him, attempting to run away but found myself surrounded by his four den mates, all staring at me with black eyes just filled with absolute hunger.

I fell to the ground getting ready to feel the cold blanket of death as they slowly began to close the space in between us.

The main one, their leader, knelt down next to me and placed a cold hand on my leg. I looked into his eyes, they weren’t the black of bloodlust like the rest, they were a greenish hazel and I found myself getting lost in them.

I snapped back to reality when I realized the cold hand on my leg never got warm.

“Please,” I whispered softly, knowing he and all the others could hear me. “You don’t have to do this,” The leader placed a cold hand under my chin and made me face him once again.

“I know that,” he leaned forward, getting so close that I could actually smell his last victim on his breath.

At that very moment, when I was certain that I was going to die, a horrible and loud howl split the air around us.

I heard all five of my would-be murderers hiss at the sound. The leader slowly stood in front of me and turned toward the direction the howling came from.

“So, we meet again,” the leader said as five huge, ghoulish, human-like dog things stepped into the clearing. They were each easily taller than a normal sized man and had fur all over their bodies. They were each a different color except for two, which were the same shade of deep black. Their huge feet cracked branches as they stepped closer to me and the leader. They growled loudly and snapped their jaws as they swung their monstrous arms with their razor sharp claws whistling through the air.

They were werewolves. They were real live fucking werewolves.

They were here for the leader and his group of fellow vampires.

I was stuck in a fucking scene from Twilight only these vampires didn’t sparkle and the werewolves weren’t giant puppy dogs.

It was at moment, when I made that unbelievable realization that I blacked out. ~~~

Five Months Earlier…

The drive from Lorenzo Texas all the way up to Seattle Washington was fucking long. I honestly did not think I was going to survive the two almost three day drive with my immature father and my clueless mother who were both convinced that their way was the right way.

However, with my crochet and amazing HTC phone with an outstanding battery life, I made it to the cloudy city and sighed. I already missed my friends, family and the one eyed homeless man I used to cook for after school. Not to mention, I had one year of high school left at my crappy little public school. Now all because my mom saw some commercial about how awesome this little private school was, I’m its newest student and it blows.

I huffed as I continued my crochet and looked up at my dad who just happened to be looking at me through the rearview mirror.

“Whatcha making there, love bug?” He asked as he pulled into a residential area.

“A noose so I can hang myself in the closet at the new house,” I answered seriously.

“Oh, it would be amazing to live in a haunted house! Just imagine the increase of the market value Dave!”

My dad turned and smiled at my mother, taking her hand and kissing it. I smiled before returning my eyes to the work in front of me. I was making as much hats, scarfs and warm accessories as humanly possible.

I really hated the cold.

~

We arrived at our new house at exactly four twenty in the afternoon. I remember that because my dad happened to mention something along the lines of ‘smoking a fat doobie, to commemorate our arrival’.

My mom playfully smacked him before darting her eyes towards me and discreetly mouthing the words, ‘I know,’”

I shook my head, chuckling softly as I walked toward the side of the house closest to the street. Looking down the road, about seven or eight long blocks I saw a cute little playground, currently deserted.

“You getting an itch in your shoes, love bug?” my dad asked as he walked up behind me to see what caught my interest.

“Just a small one,” I answered as we headed toward the front door. “I’d like to check out that small park before it gets too dark.”

I ducked as my mother swung her arms in an excited dance as she explored the new house.

“Well, you go on ahead,” My dad said as he placed my purse over my shoulder. “I’ll take your boxes up to your room. Do you have a preference as to which room you want?”

I turned and grinned at him from the door. “The darkest and gloomiest room in the house,”

“The attic it is then,” We shared a laugh before I headed out into the cold late afternoon.

~

The first thing I did when I got to the park was hop on one of the swings and put my iPod on shuffle. I closed my eyes and let the hypnotic motion of the ocean lull me into trance.

All of a sudden, I felt myself being thrown from the swing and into the rocks on the ground. I rose to all fours and saw three pairs of Stiletto heels. I looked up into the faces of the blonde prep-goths the heels belonged to.

I shakily stood up and removed my headphones. The three girls glared at me, I was actually kinda scared.

“Umm, is there any particular reason why you threw me off the swing?” I asked as I tried to slowly make my way towards the street so I could book it to my house. They couldn’t chase me wearing those big ass heels, could they?

The one in front didn’t answer, she just pushed me down to the ground. I scooted back, trying to get away from the girls as fast as I could.

I noticed five guys and two more girls in the park. They seemed to come out of nowhere and none of them were coming to my aid.

“Look, you can have the swing, just leave me alone. I don’t want to fight.” Just as the girls were about to overtake me, a voice called out from the woods right along the edge of the park.

“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” The new boy declared with such a strange authority. It surprised me to see that the girls backed off. They turned and walked away, one kicked rocks at me before joining the others.

They all walked into the woods, except for one. He stayed on the swing and stared at me.

It made me very uncomfortable.

“Josh, let’s go,” one of the boys called as a brunette clung to his neck. The boy named Josh smirked at me before rising from the swing and joining his clique.

I slowly rose to my knees and flinched as the mysterious rescuer was suddenly next to me.

“Whoa, take it easy,” he smiled at me as he helped me regain my balance.

I shakily sighed and looked up at him. I suddenly felt really dizzy and the last thing I remember is the pain on my face from the rocks on the floor.

~

I jolted awake, terrified and confused. I took in my surroundings, impatiently waiting for my eyes to adjust to the dark. I was in a small room, dimly lit by a dying candle. I quickly ran to the door and grasped the handle just as the candle burnt out.

I opened the door and ran right into the boy from the park.

“Who are you?! Where am I?! Why did you bring me here?!” I went into total freak out mode, I mean I was brought to a strange place by a stranger! I started hitting this kid, my puny punches did absolutely no damage, and he took the blows before softly grabbing my shoulders.

“Hey calm down! I’m not going to hurt you!” I kept squirming and wiggling in his grip, which didn’t loosen. I saw four other guys and five girls walk in from another room and into the cramped little hallway.

“Damn Charlie, what the fuck you do to her?” one of the girls exclaimed as all eyes were on me, slack in this boy named Charlie’s grip.

“Nothing!” He looked at me and I shakily stood up. I cleared my throat, feeling a heat rise in my cheeks.

“I-I’m sorry,” I stammered as I stood up straight. “I was just scared,” I took a deep breath and took on the people in front of me.

One of the girls, the one who had accused Charlie of wrongdoing stepped forward and put a gentle hand on my shoulder.

“My name is Marie. Charlie is my brother and this is our house. Charlie said something about seeing some of the girls from the Decatur group gang up on someone. We assumed it was you when we saw him lugging you across the yard.”

While the girl named Marie continued her story, she lead me though the little hallway and into a teeny kitchen. They sat me in a chair and a different boy with blonde hair and cute freckles handed me a glass of water which I hastily drank.

“What were you doing picking a fight with those bitches in the first place?” The freckled blonde asked me as he refilled my glass.

“I didn’t pick a fight with anyone,” I explained between gulps. “Hell, I literally just moved here. I walked down the street from my house to the park and decided to swing.” I quickly finished the glass of water before continuing my story. “Then all I know is I’m about to be jumped by three classy emo chicks.” I heard a different girl scoff.

“Yea right, classy.” I looked toward her.

She had auburn hair pulled into a high ponytail. She had dark deep eyes and a grisly scar across her cheek. I did my best to not let my eyes dwell on it for too long.

“I’m Bridgett, by the way,” She shifted her weight from her left foot to her right and extended a hand to me. I took it and almost got my arm yanked out of its socket. For a girl, she sure had a strong handshake.

“We should probably introduce ourselves,” the blonde freckled boy suggested. “I’m Mason. You know Bridgett, Marie and Charlie. The rest of our gang is Clair, Starla, Eren, Ayedan, Kyle and Daniel.”

“I’m Mikkel,” I replied. It’s nice to meet all of you. I looked around at these ten people shoved into this doll sized kitchen.

Clair was very petite. She had shocking red hair which was pixie cut and huge black rimmed glasses. She was dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a cashmere turtleneck. She looked like she got all A’s in school.

Starla was beautiful. She had long wavy blonde hair which hung down past her waist. One of her eyes was hazel while the other was a milky gray. She was blind in her left eye. She wore a pair of bright blue tights with an extra-large black pullover. Despite her beauty, Starla didn’t seem to have a great sense of fashion and she didn’t care.

Eren was tall. Her sandy blonde hair went only to her shoulders and her green eyes stood out against her pale skin. She was wearing a faded Dr. Pepper shirt and some dark skinny jeans.

Kyle was tall and stocky, very muscular for a boy his age. His brown hair was always falling in front of his face, hiding those bright blue eyes he had. He was missing two fingers on his right hand, his middle and ring fingers were gone. It almost looked like they were never even there. He wore a normal pair of jeans and a stretched white wife beater.

Daniel hardly ever said a word. He was really quiet, scanning the room with his big brown eyes. His ginger hair was just passed his ears. He was wearing a brown suede jacket and dark denim jeans.

I remember Ayedan the most. I had never seen a boy quite as beautiful as him. He had shaggy black hair and green blue eyes. His face was chiseled with the smallest hint of five o’clock shadow emerging on his cheeks. He stood tall and protective, the care for his friends showing. He wore a black hoodie zipped all the way up and denim jeans.

He glanced over in my direction and my breath caught in my throat. I jumped as I realized I had knocked my water glass over.

“Oh!” I exclaimed as I clamored to clean up my mess. “I’m so sorry,” I blubbered as ten pairs of hands tried to assist me.

“Don’t fret,” Clair replied softly as she sat me back down. “You must be tired, it is three in the morning.

I shot out of my seat.

“Three in the morning?!” I hollered as I rushed to the door. “I have to get home! I can’t imagine the hole my parents are pacing in the floor!” I opened the door and ran outside into the dark. I ran away from the house, ignoring the calls and cries from the mysterious people behind me.

I ran about 50 yards before I realized, I was nowhere near the park.

I was in a dense forest and I didn’t even have the light of the moon to aid me.

Fucking clouds.

I continued to stumble about in the dark, fear threatening to take over me with each second that passed.

A twig snapped and I jumped out of my skin. I ran in the opposite direction as fast as I could, banging my head on low hanging branches and getting all sorts of scratches and scrapes from the thorns and my falls.

When I couldn’t run anymore I fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Once I caught my breath and began to rise, I heard a low growling coming from somewhere in the darkness.

I couldn’t even point out where.

I laid down in the dead foliage, hoping that the animal would just pass me by.

“Please go away, please go away…” I repeated softly.

“If I did that, you would most definitely stay lost forever.”

I looked up at the unexpected voice and found a pair of greenish blue eyes.

“Mikkel, what were you thinking just running off like that?” He asked in a stern voice as he helped me to my feet.

“I-I don’t know.” He held onto my arm until he was sure I wasn’t going to collapse.

“Not to mention, you left in such a hurry you forgot this,” He held up my ratty old purse which I snatched.

“Th-thank you,” I stammered, trying to slow my heart rate down.

He sighed and took hold of my arm.

“Come on, I’ll escort you home.” I was glad it was dark. My face was as red as a tomato.

~

When we got to my house, the lights were all off. I took a deep breath and walked up to door.

I stopped abruptly, causing Ayedan to crash into me.

“What the hell are you doing?!” He harshly whispered.

“I don’t have a key, we just moved here and my dad has the only one.” I whispered back, pulling my worn hoodie tighter around my body.

Ayedan looked up at the old house and then motioned for me to follow him. He led me around to the back where an old lattice fence was nailed to the edging of the house. An easy climb to the attic window.

“That window right there is busted, or at least the lock is. We could climb up the lattice fence and into the attic.”

“We?” I asked.

“Well shit, I ain’t about to walk back now. It’s way too cold. I’ll just stay the night.” Ayedan answered as if staying over at a girl’s house was no big deal to him. Little did he know was that it was a huge deal to me. I’ve never even had a boyfriend.

I followed him up the lattice fence and into my bedroom. He seemed quite surprised that it was done up this way.

“You’re actually going to stay in here?” He asked as I searched for the light switch.

“I love attics, you have a problem with that?” He raised his hands in defense and shook his head. I began searching the through the drawers that my mother obviously filled, everything was just a mess, for some pajama bottoms. “Do you mind?” I asked when I found my favorite warm sleeper sweats. “I kinda have to change.” I saw a slight blush rise in Ayedan’s cheeks as he turned around. I shimmied out of my jeans as fast as I could. Yanking up my sweats, I turned my heater on full blast and buried myself into my covers. Just as I was about to reveal myself, I felt a weight on top of my comforter.

“You have a body pillow or something?” He asked quietly. I peeked out from the covers and shook my head. “Well,” He sighed, “Just stay under your covers, okay? I’ll just sleep like this.” He stretched out on top of my blanket and closed his eyes. I hid there, staring at this big beautiful boy in my bed. “You can turn the lights off at any time,” he yawned without opening his eyes. I blushed and turned my lamp out, facing away from him.

‘Who did this boy think he was?’ I thought as I laid there and listened to the even sounds of Ayedan’s breathing. ‘He doesn’t know me and he is in my bed like nothing!’ I sighed as I decided I shouldn’t dwell on it. I was exhausted.

It had been a very long day.