Page 62 of Psycho Beasts

Immediately, her screams had stopped, and Aran had snored with a smile on her face, like she hadn’t just tried to murder me, then shrieked her head off.

A razor blade of fear pinched my stomach at her strange reaction.

It was eerily similar to how I’d acted when I’d accidentally rolled over onto my back after a night of whippings.

It can’t be.

With shaking fingers, I’d reached forward to pull up the bottom of her heavy sweatshirt. Just to check.

“Noodle, get back here!” Jinx screamed, bursting into our room and startling me out of my worried thoughts.

The clock on the wall flashed 4:00 am, but Jinx looked wide awake as she ran after Noodle, who was sporting underwear on his head like a hat.

Aran sleepily said, “Skin the ferret,” then continued snoring.

I tried to act nonchalant, like my bestie didn’t have more problems than I even realized, which was frankly impressive because I’d already assumed we needed heavy medication.

Jinx giggled like Aran had said something funny, as she chased after the ferret that now appeared to be eating the underwear. The girly sound was at odds with her usual scornful demeanor.

“It’s just underwear. Go back to sleep,” I mumbled at Jinx with more annoyance than usual.

It was only four a.m., and I’d already survived an attempt on my life.

A perverted ferret was the final straw.

“Oh, I don’t sleep,” Jinx said casually as she threw herself across the carpet.

I narrowed my sleep-crusted eyes. “Everyone sleeps.”

There was one universal truth: every type of animal slept. The most popular theory was it had to do with power replenishment.

“Not me.” Jinx dove again and just missed the ferret, who had paused to shove more of the underwear in his mouth.

“You mean you only sleep a few hours? Or like an insomniac?” I’d heard about people who couldn’t sleep and then crashed for days.

Jinx lunged at Noodle and squealed with triumph as she snatched his wriggling body with her hands.

She held him above her head like a trophy.

Noodle spat out the underwear and chittered like he’d enjoyed their game.

“No.” Jinx turned toward me, ferret still above her head, and smiled. Her dark eyes were too large on her pale face. “I’ve never slept a wink. Ever.”

With that comforting statement, she flounced out of the room.

Unsurprisingly, after that, I fell into a restless sleep.

I hated to be dramatic (not really; I totally would have thrived in the theater), but my life was shaping into one of those horror movies with the weird clowns that always played on the television at Dick’s bar.

Now, as the gray morning added a depressing vibe to the room, I stared down at Aran’s sleeping form and gently petted her blue hair.

It was nice having my best friend beside me.

Sure, she was homicidal, but who wasn’t these days?

My heart warmed as I stared down at her soft features. I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought she was a boy.

A loud knock on the door rattled through the room and reminded me someone was waiting outside.

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