Cuddle Application

8 - Write Me an Ancient Artifact

Only monsters had those.

My little sister had monsters, not me.

My little sister fought her monsters, not me. I ignored them, and kept them around, and pretended the masks they wore were their real faces.

Monsters didn't exist, life wasn't that mean.

Or maybe monsters did exist, and I was just that naive.

Either way, like Molly's, my monster was gone too. I opened my eyes and saw the warts, saw the fangs and saw the boils. My monster was a monster, and I pushed him back into his box.

I burned the mask, I erased the memories.

I shook myself for letting myself be deceived, and I moved on.

➳♀♁➳

"What a night," Oliver said. My brain seemed to be emotionally overloaded, so I couldn't form a response. "I mean, this kind of stuff doesn't usually happen in Helaci," he continued. I nodded.

Crimes were usually drugs or alcohol, not often aggression. Not to say that it didn't happen, but beating someone until they were unconscious - landing them most likely in the hospital - just wasn't the usual.

I knew more about laws than the average Joe because of my parents. I learned to obey the rules because of the cop and lawyer I lived with, instead from experience. I may not have followed all of the rules, but I knew enough to understand that Josh was in for something bad.

"I don't know," I whispered, tugging my legs to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. The car rumbled beneath me, almost lulling me to sleep.

I shivered - not from cold but almost from shock. Oliver turned, keeping one hand on the wheel, and grabbed something from the back seat. He moved it towards me, laying the oversized sweatshirt over my tangled limbs.

My breath hitched.

Oliver showing up at the same time as I was seeing my monster as such seemed just too convenient.

I don't like Oliver, I reminded myself.

I didn't and I wouldn't.

I couldn't.

Oliver turned on the radio. The car filled with a soft base and lyrical piano.

I turned it off.

"O-kay," he said slowly.

"I don't like that song," I replied, turning my head to look out the window. We were passing through the stretch of forest that led from the rich neighborhoods of the west side to Main Street and beyond.

"Okay," he repeated, softer this time.

The car  was warm and smelled like pine needles. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the headrest, pulling the sweatshirt up under my chin. It reminded me that I still didn't know where my flannel was. I was still clad in only the small, tight crop top.

I felt like I'd lost something else at the party, but couldn't think of what it was.

Cora, Lina, Park, Josh. Of all the names going through my head, I knew nothing of what was happening with each. I could only assume Josh was in the back of a cop car, but I couldn't begin to guess the whereabouts of my other friends.