Page 3 of Unleashing Mayhem
He owed them both so, so much.
“I got your texts,” Sascha told Matty, his brow furrowing. “But I have to ask: Are you extra, super, one hundred percent sure you don’t want them to come stay with you this weekend?”
“Am I extra, super, one hundred percent sure I don’t want your scary older brother and his sex demon to reluctantly babysit me? Yes. ’Fraid so.”
Sascha laughed, his face lighting up again, and Matty felt a quick flash of pride. Even that much sass had been beyond him six months ago. It still was, more or less, with anyone other than Sascha or Kai.
There was a reason Sascha’s family called Matteo his resident mouse.
“You know Ivan would never actually hurt you, right?”
Mattydidknow that, actually, but before he could say so, a loud scream erupted on the TV. Apparently loud enough to be heard on the phone even with the lowered volume, because Sascha groaned. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re watching one of those movies alone at night. I don’t know how the hell you do that.”
Because I’ve met real monsters, and these Hollywood make-believe creations have nothing on them.
Matty didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he said what he’d already told Sascha a million times, “I just like them.”
Sascha grimaced. “To each their own.” Then, in a falsely casual voice he was definitely too tipsy to pull off, he asked, “So, um, have you left the house since our departure?”
Matty had practiced for this. “Yep,” he said easily.
“He lies,” Kai’s deep voice accused on Sascha’s end of the phone. Matty saw the edge of sleek black hair and a blue cheek before the demon ducked back out of view.
Well, damn. If Matty didn’t think Kai was one of the best nonpeople around—Matty’s literal savior from another realm—he’d be really annoyed with him right now.
“Kai,” Sascha scolded, glaring off to the side. Then, in a much softer tone, he addressed Matty again. “But, see, Seth already told us you haven’t been to the bakery at all. He made extra lemon bars for you and everything.”
What. The hell. Seth was going aroundtattlingon Matty? Traitors. Traitors all around.
Although, a lemon bar did sound good right about now.
Sascha had started looking plaintive, and Matty let out a breath. “I’ll go tomorrow, I promise. But Ihavebeen out on the porch,” he added, maybe a little sulkily. “So I wasn’t actually lying.”
“Of course you weren’t,” Sascha soothed. “Kai’s just drunk.”
“Kai doesn’t drink human alcohol,” Matty pointed out.
“Well, thenI’mdrunk.”
“He tried to keep up with the vampires,” Kai butted in again, apparently jonesing to call everyone out mercilessly tonight. “He did not succeed.”
Sascha shushed him noisily before turning back to Matty. “But, Matty, are you…You’re okay?”
That was a question Matty didn’t have an answer for. He cleared his throat. “How’s Colorado?”
Because he was good and sweet no matter how much he denied it, Sascha let Matty change the subject. “Oh my God, we’re having so much fun!” he cried, color high in his cheeks. “Alexei’s vampire den is a total trip. Like, I could definitely get a reality show going with this cast of characters, I swear…”
Matty listened to Sascha gush about his brother’s new home as the slasher on-screen kept gutting unsuspecting teens. With his movie, his blankets, and his housemate’s voice, Matty could almost convince himself he was safe. Almost.
His eyelids started drooping as he made little sounds of disbelief and encouragement back to Sascha, who was raving about someone named Soren’s fabulous fashion sense.
Matty was half-dozing when Sascha abruptly cut off. “Oops, we have to go! We’re late for our car. We’re going out dancing in the next town over.”
It was like a cold bucket of water on Matty’s head, and he was instantly alert. “O-Of course,” he said, straightening in his blankets. How had he let himself get so close to falling asleep?“I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Not that you have to—or thatwehave to—”
“Tomorrow, Matty,” Sascha said with a smile, breaking through Matty’s stammering. “I promise I’ll call.”
Matty hung up before he could do something stupid like burst into tears.
