Page 22 of The Monsters Within
“Cash—”
“Dammit, Rose.” He sat up and pushed his legs over the edge of the bed. His elbows rested on his knees as he stared at the floor. On my knees behind him, I pressed my body against his, my arms wrapping around his shoulders.
“Will you let me explain?”
His head turned to the side, and he peered at me from the corner of his eye. “Will it make me angry?”
I sat back on my feet. My fingertips trailed over his back, tracing the Silver Shadows’ brand that was tattooed there. “I don’t think so.”
He turned his body so that he could see all of me. His pupils flared at my nakedness, and I smiled at him. A real, genuine, lust-filled smile.
“Tell me.”
So I did. But not everything. I didn’t tell him about that last birthday when Val forgot me so she could go to Amber, or what happened after Syrena came home with the groceries. Instead, I told him about my first birthday with Val.
I told him about coming downstairs and finding the balloons and streamers everywhere. I told him about the cake Val had made. Mom never bought store cakes. She always made one.
And I told him about the knife Val gave me. The one that had been wrapped for Thorne. The one that was meant to be his. The one I used to feed the monsters.
It made me feel close to Thorne. Like somehow he was responsible for making them happy. He was still protecting me. Yes, it was a fucked-up thought, and Dr. Jefferson would probably have a field day if she knew.
Not that I would ever tell her.
“So, it’s Thorne’s knife?” he asked, and I nodded. “And you want to give it to him?”
“I do. I want him to know Val bought it for him. That even though we weren’t together, Val thought of him too.”
I scooted back as Cash climbed back into the bed with me. He pulled me against his chest once more and grabbed my leg. I tried not to react, but it was involuntary. He didn’t sigh in frustration. In fact, the only way I knew he noticed was because he rubbed that big hand over my leg after pulling it against his. I waited for him to say something, and when he did, it was my turn to sigh in frustration.
“Ok, baby. You can give it to Thorne. When you’re ready to tell him everything.”
I lay there, blinking against his chest. Trying to stem back the tears. I would never be ready for that.
Chapter Seven
Cash
“Cash, I need to talk to you.” I pulled my focus from Rose. She sat in the corner of the couch surrounded by the old ladies and Maureen. Maureen’s dog Tucker sat on the floor with his head on the couch, staring at her. Tucker, like Aspen’s dog Diesel, could sense a person’s distress. He knew Rose was anxious and wanted to comfort her.
But she kept herself closed off.
Every few minutes she would look over, pleading silently for me to rescue her. And every time I would shake my head no. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was the dog or the old ladies she was afraid of. Either way, this was a sort of immersion therapy.
She’d been doing well, though. Every day for the past week, she had been working with Mellie. I still couldn’t leave her for long periods unless she was with Mimic. It seemed as though he also kept the monsters at bay. I was glad she had her brother back, but a small selfish part of me liked that it was me she needed.
“What is it, Mellie?”
“I need to refer Kytten to someone else.”
I spun around to glare at the girl I used to help with her homework. The girl I followed when she snuck out of the house at night to go to the fucking library. The girl I then spent hours with at the diner while she told me all about her life at school. The girl who trusted me with her secrets. The girl I thought I could trust with my woman.
“Why?”
“She won’t talk to me, Cash. She resents my relationship with Dani.”
“Fuck off, Mellie. No, she doesn’t.”
“She does, Cash. She told me so on the first day, but I tried to work through it. If she won’t open up to me, I can’t help her. I want her to talk to someone else.”
