Page 17 of Guarded By a Monster

That was weird, wasn’t it?

He was huge, and scary, with his wicked looking claws (even if they were covered in sparkly purple silicone) and sharp horns. Rationally, I knew the man who attacked me was no longer alive, and that Thurl had killed him.

But all I felt was safe.

Yep, that was weird.

I should probably check myself in for a mental health evaluation. I felt sane, but I was clearly becoming one of those women who write love letters to serial killers in jail.

How many people had he killed? It looked easy for him, so surely that wasn’t his first time.

Did I care?

I examined my emotions and found that no, I did not. And what did that say about me? I shook my head. I wasn’t going to get anywhere with my thoughts. Best if I got dressed and went to work like it was any other day and I hadn’t just spent the night with a monster.

A warm monster who was gentle with me and made me feel safe. Who worried about how I’d react when I saw him. Who seemed vulnerable despite the wicked weapons he sported.

I sighed and rolled out of bed.

Oscar was in the parking lot when I pulled in thirty minutes late.

“Didn’t expect to see you today.”

“Why not?”

He snorted. “I still have my police scanner, you know. I heard about the attack.”

“Oh, right. Well, the doctors said I have a mild concussion and to take it easy, but they didn’t say I had to stay at home. I’d rather be here with my students than moping on the couch watching soap operas.”

He glanced at me as we walked inside. “Didn’t take you for a soap opera girl.”

“I’m not. That’s my point. And it’s hard to find old episodes ofPerry Mason.”

He grinned. “Well, if you need anything today, holler.”

He’d walked me all the way to my classroom. “I will.”

His lips turned down. “Anything new with Sophia?”

“No, but she spoke to me last week. That’s progress.”

I stepped into chaos. The school secretary was waving her hands, trying to get the kids’ attention. I’d asked her to cover for me until I could get there, and she was clearly out of her depths. Two of the boys were tearing construction paper into tiny shreds and laughing as they threw them in the air.

Another student had pulled all the books off the shelf and was sitting on top of the pile. One little girl smiled as four of her classmates covered her forearm in colorful artwork. Thank past me for ensuring everything in my classroom was washable.

The relief on the secretary’s face when she spotted me was comical.

“Thank you for looking after them for me.”

Her hand shook as she pushed a lock of gray hair off her face. “No problem.”

Her face and tone made it clear it was an enormous problem. She scurried from the room and I surveyed the damage. Then I clapped twice, and the entire room came to a standstill. The only things that moved were the paper shreds falling slowly onto the floor.

“Take your seats.”

The rest of the day was without incident. I still got caught several times with my head in the clouds. Sophia even spoke to ask if I was feeling okay. I felt fine. I just couldn’t stop thinking about a seven-foot-tall beast. I wondered if he would come again tonight. The thought made me tingle. Which was absurd.

My brain told me I should be afraid of Thurl, but my body disagreed.

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