Page 45 of Monster
Vincent
Two months ago
Fuck,I feel giddy thinking about Essa knowing about that piece of shit now. Maybe she’ll fucking throw his ass to the side now. Except I know Essa, which means she probably fucking won’t. She’s not one to let a random person sleep with her at night, and she’s definitely not someone who leans on others and from watching them for a few weeks, I already know she fucking trusts him. And breaking that trust is going to be a lot fucking harder than sending her some papers with his past on them.
“Fuck!” I shout, slamming my fists onto the steering wheel. I’m surprised the fucking thing hasn’t broke yet. I’m parked in front of the building again, not doing a goddamn thing other than feeling sorry for myself. Christmas was a few days ago and giving Essa the box and watching her open it was the last time I saw her—not for lack of trying. The fucking facility has been so damn busy with family visiting patients and I haven’t been able to sneak in again. Especially not with fucking Dominik coming and going at all hours.
It seems the nurses here don’t really give a shit about it and that’s even more annoying. What kind of fucking facility doesn’t pay attention to the comings and goings on people? A shitty one, that’s what. And it’s a place Essa should most definitelynotbe in—but I can do fuck all about it. For the time being anyway.
I’m not sure what to do next or even what to do from here. I feel so fucking lost and I hate it. Without thinking, I grab my phone and hit the call button under Leo’s number.
After the fifth ring, he finally picks up. “What’s up, Vin?” he asks breathlessly.
“Uh. Are you busy?” I ask. I hear a voice I recognize in the background, and it has my eyebrows rising in surprise.
“Leo?...” I trail off, growing more curious by the second and also thankful for the distraction from the chaos in my life.
“What the fuck do you want?” he snaps at me and again, I hear a muffled voice talking in the background. “Goddamnit, Jax. I said shut the fuck up.”
“Jax? Were you getting a tattoo or something? Shit man, my bad. Didn’t mean to interrupt. I know once Jax gets in the zone, it’s hard to get him to stop,” I chuckle, trying to lighten his mood. Clearly he’s pissed but it’s not like I knew he was getting a tattoo. I didn’t think he had any fucking open skin left to even get one.
I try to stretch my legs out in front of me but roll my eyes when my knees hit the steering wheel. This car is getting fucking annoying and I really don’t fit well in it.
Okay, that’s a lie. I fit fine—I just miss my fucking car.
I’m sick of this shit already.
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, he was tattooing me,” Leo stutters and I laugh awkwardly. Why the fuck is he being so weird today?
“All right, my bad dude. Give me a call later after he finishes.”
Leo chuckles but it sounds forced and I pull the phone away from my ear from how obtuse it is. Jesus fucking Christ. Dude’s lost his mind today.
“Yeah, sounds good.” I hear the beep from him ending the call and I chuck my phone into the seat next to me.
So much for trying to get Leo to distract me. His weird whatever the fuck that was only gave me more to think about.
Fuck today.
* * *
The sun has longsince set and now darkness surrounds me as I creep my way into the back door of the building. Now I know what the fuck is going on, I don’t risk going through the front doors and being seen.
I am wearing all black—how cliché of me—to help me blend into the shadows. The weather is thankfully on my side tonight and the clouds blanket the sky in a layer so thick, no amount of moonlight peeks through, leaving the night pitch black.It feels almost ominous.
I pull the handle to the metal door of the older brick building and slowly pull it open. The hinges creak loudly, and I roll my eyes in exasperation. Realizing pulling it open slowly is probably making it worse, I yank it the rest of the way open and step inside, keeping to the shadows.
After staking the place out for a few days, I know the ins and outs. It’s not very big at all, so there really wasn’t much to learn. It was mostly basic shit along with common sense, but the most interesting fact I learned is at night, there are only two nurses on the schedule. One makes rounds, checking on patients and such, and the other stays at the desk, doing paperwork.
Another thing I learned—which I should have put together on the first night I came here but didn’t because I was a little pre-fucking-occupied is the doors are rarely ever locked—hence how I snuck in through the back door. This place has so many fucking violations, I could call someone right now and they would be shut down quicker than shit, but that’s not my intention. I normally wouldn’t give a shit about any of it, but knowing Essa is here and these inept people are the ones taking care of her irks me. She deserves so much fucking better—or maybe not.I’m conflicted.
I keep along the wall in the dimly lit hallway as I make my way down to Essa’s room. Merely an hour before, I noted Dominik leaving in his fucking Mustang and that’s when I knew tonight would be a good night to visit my baby doll. The less people in my way, the fucking better. I wish more than anything I could rip her away from this place. I even had to take a few days to talk myself out of it, but I think sheneedsthis place and that’s the only reason I haven’t.
My baby doll’s gotta be in her best health to survive what’s coming.
Her sister was killed and I’m sure she’s a fucking wreck because of it. Therefore, before I bring her home, I need her to be back to normal—well, as normal as she can be with her new reality. I don’t know a lot about her sister, but I do know Essa was very protective of her. And now she has lost her? It’s gotta be hard.
I’m halfway down the hallway when I hear a door creak open. I suck myself against the wall and jerk my head towards the noise. A nurse walks past the end of the hall and turns the corner, away from me. I don’t move, waiting another minute before I do to be sure. My heart is beating steadily, sure. I glance down at my watch and stare at it with an impatient glare waiting for a minute to pass. Once a minute has gone by, I pull myself away from the wall and stalk down the hall again.
