Page 26 of A Little Secret

Once I’m finished, I wipe my mouth with the inside of my shirt, make a mental note to shower as soon as I’m finished feeding the monster, and take a deep breath. Holding the oxygen in my lungs, I untwist the cap again, lift the lid off the cage, and dump a few dead mealworms into the terrarium before rushing into the bathroom across the hall like I’m being chased by the demon himself.

After scrubbing every inch of my skin with my hot pink loofah and body wash that smells like apples, I shampoo and condition my hair, then stand in the scalding hot water for another ten minutes, hoping it’ll sanitize my skin and pulverize every molecule of mealworm potentially clinging to my body. Fifteen minutes later, the water starts to cool, and I shut it off, wrap a towel around me, knot theterry cloth by my cleavage, and brush my teeth. Twice. Satisfied, I stare at my reflection and, after a brief pep talk, head back to my bedroom for some new clothes when my heels dig into the ground.

The lid.

The lid is off the terrarium. I forgot to put the lid back on the terrarium, and the slimy devil is…shit. Where is he? I rise onto my tiptoes, attempting to steal a better look at the glass cage, but either the stupid thing is blending in with the plants inside or…

My lungs seize.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I count to ten and breathe out, “It’s only your imagination. It’s only your imagination. It’s only your…” I peek one eye open and scream. The pounding of footsteps follows until my door is thrust open.

“What? What is it?” Griffin demands.

“Right there! It’s right there!” I blindly point at my bed while hopping on my one good leg, trying not to pee my freaking pants, er, towel.

“What the hell are you?—”

I grab his face and twist his head toward the devil on my comforter. “Right. There.”

The stupid thing croaks, and I wrap myself around Griffin, tucking my face into the crook of his neck as if he has the power to save me from the big-eyed demon itself. “I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!”

“You’re not gonna die,” Griffin murmurs. “But if you’re worried about Drew being jealous of us talking, he’s not gonna like you wrapped around me naked.”

The name cuts through my frazzled brain, and I blink. Twice. “I-I’m sorry, what?” I look down, finding my towel barely hanging on my frame. The front of the terry cloth is open and dangles by my calves, proving that I am verymuch wrapped around my brother’s best friend in my birthday suit.

Shit.

The demon croaks again, and I squeal, wrapping my bad leg around Griffin’s waist and attempting to crawl up his body like my life depends on it. And who knows? Thanks to the green monster three feet away from me, it just might.

“Kill it, kill it, kill it!” I chant.

“I’m not gonna?—”

It jumps off the bed and lands on the ground by my good foot. Screaming, I leap off the floor and wrap my body around Griffin like a frazzled monkey. My heart pounds so loud in my ears I swear he can hear it. And when I say he, I mean my nemesis. Franklin the Frog Thorne. Cursed be thy name. The towel is officially forgotten as Griffin’s hands find my waist, and he pulls me closer to keep both of us from falling on our asses.

“Finley—”

“It’s gonna get me!” I cry. Tears stream down my face, and I squeeze my eyes shut, losing my ever-loving mind.

“Wait. Are you…?” Griffin tries to pull me away from him, but I only cling tighter. “Finley, are you crying?”

“It’s gonna get me, it’s gonna get me, it’s gonna get me!”

“It’s not gonna get you.”

“You don’t know that!” I yell. “It knows where I sleep, Griff! It knows!”

“Finley, breathe.” Keeping one hand wrapped around my waist, he leans back on his heels to center our combined weight and touches the side of my face, urging me to look at him. “Finley…”

It’s a request. A very patient request.

I shake my head. “Is it still there?”

He hesitates. “I can’t put him back in his cage?—”

“Terrarium,” I correct him.

“I can’t put him back in his terrarium while holding you.”

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