Page 4 of Unleashing Mayhem
Sascha and Kai would be gone on their vacation for three whole weeks, visiting Sascha’s brother Alexei and then taking their trip international. It was the first time they’d left for so long since adopting Matty into their home. Originally, they’d talked about Sascha’s brother Ivan and his demon mate staying with Matty while they were gone, but Matty had chickened out at the last minute.
It was one thing relying on Sascha and Kai, but Matty was an adult—he should be able to last three weeks on his own. It was pathetic that everyone thought he needed a babysitter.
Even if he kind of maybe did.
There’s another option, a tempting voice whispered in his head, and Matty’s gaze darted over to the bookshelf, where Kai had once told him a demon’s summoning mark was hiding, just waiting to be called.
But Matty couldn’t. No way. Demon protectors were for people with real issues. People like Sascha, when he’d been targeted by Matty’s now deceased (may he rot in hell) mobster stepfather.
Matty didn’t have real problems, not anymore. Because Sascha and Kai had saved him, and now no one knew where he was. It was even possible that no one cared. Even…evenhim.
What Matty had were ghosts. Neuroses. Nightmares.
And that would be truly pathetic, wouldn’t it, to trade a piece of his soul to keep bad dreams at bay?
Matty could do this. He could get through this night, and the next, and the next after that.
And he’d even do what he promised and go out and be seen by Seth tomorrow so Sascha wouldn’t worry. Because Sascha deserved to have a fun vacation without stressing over Matty.
Something creaked in the house, and Matty jumped, his heart racing.
He waited to hear another noise, but it had just been the old house adjusting to the weather. The bones settling, as Sascha called it.
Matty turned up the volume on his movie again.All the doors and windows are locked, he reminded himself. And while he’d turned off the lights in the rest of the house, every lamp in the living room was blazing bright. He was safe as he could be.
He tried to get lost in his movie again, to find solace in the over-the-top violence of it.
Sascha might have thought it was weird, a scaredy-cat like Matty watching so much horror, but for Matty it was comforting. Every ridiculously mauled dead body was just a reminder that at least some monsters weren’t real.
If only Matty could say the same for the ones that haunted him.
Against all odds,Matty survived the night.
Well, it probably wasn’t actually againstanyodds, but it made him feel better to think that it was.
He’d passed out around dawn, into a (thankfully) dreamless sleep, and he’d caught a whole four hours. He was feeling almost good now. Refreshed.
Hungry as all hell.
It was possible he’d forgotten to stock up on actual groceries when he’d stocked up on sweets. Matty had gotten away witha lot of delivered meals so far—thank God for the “leave on porch” option there—and then eating leftovers for lunch. But now he didn’t have anything in the house for breakfast, unless he counted his remaining candy.
So Matty was going to do what he’d promised to do and go to the Bakeshop, to be seen by Seth and get delicious pastries for breakfast at the same time.
Lemon bars were a suitable breakfast food, right? They had fruit in them and everything.
Matty showered, changed into a clean oversize hoodie and more size-appropriate sweatpants, and headed out.
The morning was still nice and cool, and Matty breathed it in greedily. He hated to admit it, but the fresh air was beyond decent, even with his hood pulled over his head. He could already feel it cleansing the dust from his lungs.
On the other hand, people were already out and about, and that was…less decent.
Seacliff, Maine, was a small town when it came to population, but it was adorable and coastal enough that it had an influx of tourists every summer. A selfish part of Matty wished Sascha and Kai had left on their getaway in the winter, when the town was dead and he had the residents’ faces mostly memorized. Plus, if they’d left in the winter, Matty would have been able to stay inside the whole time and just blame the snow and the cold.
But alas, Matty was venturing out mid-tourist-season, and it was a beautiful, sunny morning. The horror.
Luckily, the Bakeshop was never super crowded. Locals loved it, especially since it stayed open all winter, but visitors usually preferred the town’s other diners, where they could get lobster eggs Benedict and crab cake sandwiches or whatever.
Matty loitered on a bench outside until the place was fully empty of customers, then headed in, lowering his hood. It was the kind of bakery that was almost offensively cute, with littleceramic cats and doilies on the counter, supposedly put there by the ever-absent owner, Marjorie.
