Things that Go Bump in the Night

Chapter 25: Hormonal Monster Male Life Wreckers

Before I could even really finish my extremely random reminiscence about my begrudged childhood pet the Monster came back into the kitchen with his friends in tow.

My eyes immediately landed on Norma’s face like it had a homing beacon strapped to it.

I had never really known Norma. She was a neighbor but not a close one, she was younger than me and she had the wisdom not to be friends with my bratty little sister. But I knew her face and I knew what she had looked like before she had been taken at the age of sixteen.

She had been a typical hard core punk kid. Dyed black hair, makeup clouded eyes, and dark clothing that draped like a scarecrow’s clothes off of her slim frame. She had spent a lot of time trying to be badass and even more getting in trouble for it.

So it almost made me sick when I looked into the dull eyes a mousy looking girl that stood draped under the arm of an auburn haired monster that I assumed was named Craig.

There was no fire in her eyes, there was no devil may cry slant to her shoulders that I remembered her for.  There was only a subservient looking shell of a person standing in front of me…with a very noticeable baby bump.

“Craig this is my mate Juniper.” The Monster announced, motioning toward me. “Juniper this is my friend Craig, he serves on the Gamma committee with me.”

The auburn haired monster named Craig looked at me with what I guess was meant to be a warm smile before extending a hand to me.

“It’s nice to meet the gal that snagged Sean’s heart.” He joked.

I narrowed my eyes at his hand in disgust before looking up into his eyes with an expression that made him actually flinch. He didn’t say anything though, just lowered his hand.

“Juniper already knows your mate Norma.” Sean suddenly interjected in an attempt to rid the room of the tension that had filled the air. “apparently they used to be neighbors.”

Norma’s eyes, which had previously seemed to be ignoring everything including me snapped with enough alertness to look at me. Recognition flitted over her face and it drained of more color…if that were possible.

“Juniper Olden?” She mumbled, her question barely audible. I nodded and she looked at me with eyes as wide as a startled thirty pound cat.

The auburn headed monster man seemed to notice her distress and he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her head in an attempt to sooth her.

“Are you ok?” he whispered. “Baby you are trembling.”

I could see the way she went limp when he held onto her and how her lips trembled with fear as he rubbed one of his monster hands over her infested belly in a motion that would have been thought soothing by the werewolves in the room.

It made Norma look pained and made me want to be sick or break something. Maybe be sick and break things at the same time.

“M-may I-I.” she stammered, her voice barely cracking out of her throat. The monster named Craig drew his arms back to her shoulders to rub them with his creepy ass soothing shit as well.

“Use your words honey. Deep breath” He cooed to her, trying to help her stammer. It only seemed to make it worse as her face paled and her mouth moved but no sound came out.

This was the girl that would flip anyone off, would tell my sister to go to prissy bitch hell every time they passed on the street and came home with a busted lip and a school suspension every third Friday?

I felt like someone was trying to rip out my stomach.

“Hu-hu-gg.” She struggled, looking at me with a pleading look that made me somehow understand what she wanted.