Page 10 of Monster
Vincent
Six months ago
After two fuckingweeks of lying in this uncomfortable ass bed, I’m finally being discharged and as I step out of the hospital doors, I take the biggest breath, relishing in the fresh air. Leo blares his horn as he parks his car right in front of me and I glare at him through the open window as I jump into his shiny black Cadillac Escalade.
“You know I got shot, right? Probably shouldn’t scare me,” I point out.
“Yeah, you got shot by a woman who then left your ass for dead. Pretty sure you can handle it.” He smirks as he pulls onto the road, heading towards my house.
“Fuck you,” I snarl. He only laughs as he cranks up the volume on the radio which I’m okay with. I have a lot of thinking to do, none of which involves talking about. “Popular Monster” by Falling In Reverse comes on next, and the lyrics flood my brain.
All I know is I need to find Essa. She ismineand she needs to know she can’t run away from me and act like nothing happened. Because somethingdidhappen and I’m man enough to admit it. Maybe she feels she made a mistake and wants to come back but is too scared to? Scared of me…
Yes, that’s probably it. I just need to find her to tell her everything is going to be okay, and we can make this work. But she won’t come back to me as long as her parents are still around, which is a little annoyance I’ll have to deal with as soon as I’m up to par.
I’ll even let her sister move in or pay for her to live nearby. I’ll do whatever it takes to get my baby doll home to me.
“Leo, can you get in contact with Mike and tell him to give me a call?” I ask, not bothering to look at him as he pulls down the long drive to my house. Seeing the trees at the beginning of my property makes me feel better. I already feel at home, and I know the feeling will only continue to grow the closer we get. It’s still such a surreal feeling to me after all this time—a place feeling like home.
I glance over to Leo when he still doesn’t answer and see his brows are drawn together, as if he’s thinking.
“What?” I deadpan. I already know he’s about to say some shit which will most likely piss me off—he’s good at that.
Mike is a detective for the Portland Police Department and usually when we need someone found, he can do it for us. Leo knows why I’m asking him to get us in contact.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, man.” He shakes his head.
“I don’t give a fuck what you think. Tell him to get a hold of me, Leo,” I practically growl. Who the fuck does he think he is?
“Yeah, well, I give a fuck. The bitch shot you and thenleftyou, Vincent. She.Left.You. And she did it with premeditation. She doesn’t want you and you going after her is only going to end with you getting hurt.”
I scoff. “Withmegetting hurt? Oh no, man. You’ve got it all twisted. I want Mike to find her so I can bring her back and do what I do best.” I chuckle, hopeful the lie isn’t evident in my tone because when I do get her back, she is going to pay, but maybe not as bad as I like to think she will.
He pulls up to the house and shifts the car into park, so we sit with the car idling. “Yeah, and what exactly is that, Vin?” An evil smirk pulls at the corner of my lips as I turn my head and nod in the direction of the trees lining the property in the distance, one tree in particular sticking out amongst the rest.
I peer back at Leo with thoughts of Essa tied to that tree swirling around in my mind. “I think you know.” He glances at me with a grim expression, but only nods his head slightly before shutting off his car and pushing his door open.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I question him as I get out of his car myself, struggling a bit with only being able to use one arm. We both round the car and come to stand at the front of it. Leo leans back against the hood of the car and glances around my property.
“I guess I don’t understand.”
“What exactly do you not understand?” I ask, confused as to where he’s going with this. I lean on the car next to him, moving to cross my arms over my chest before hissing in pain when my right arm won’t move. I’m still not used to wearing this damn sling. I don’t like not being able to move freely.
I give a half shrug out of annoyance before shoving my left hand inside the front pocket of my jeans. My right remains in the sling the doctor practically forced me to put on before leaving the hospital. As much as I hate to wear the fuckin’ thing, keeping it stable is already helping with the pain.
We stand in silence for a few minutes, our almost silent breathing permeating the air around us. It’s always so blissfully quiet here, at least it is until there’s someone screaming in pain.
“Why do you want to look for her?” he asks. “And before you go all caveman on me,” he chuckles before continuing, “I’m asking because look around man. Look at everything you have and everything you’ve accomplished.” He gestures out with his arm and so I take a glance around the land I have memorized, almost seeing it with new eyes.
“You remember when we first met? You were merely a scrawny little kid—okay not little—but young and fighting for your life. You were homeless, alone, constantly fucking miserable. And look at you now? Look at your home, your life, your-fucking-self.
“You’ve made quite a life for yourself, Vin. I guess all I’m trying to say is I don’t want you to throw it all away for a girl who clearly does not want you. She made a choice and I think it’s one you simply need to accept.” He turns toward me and puts his right hand on my left shoulder, squeezing slightly as he says, “You need to let her go.”
The all too familiar feel of white-hot rage surges through my bloodstream and I use my good arm to shove away from Leo with a growl. He stumbles back, his eyes wide with shock and I take a step toward him. I get right up in his face, our noses almost touching with our close proximity. My anger is rolling off me in waves that he can probably feel radiating onto him.
My lip curls with a snarl as I move an inch closer, the tips of our noses now touching. “She’smine.I’ll never fucking let her go and I won’t stop until I have her again.” Every angry word that spews from my mouth causes my lips to brush against Leo’s, but he doesn’t move away and neither do I. My chest heaves as my breathing accelerates and my hands are clenched into fists. The urge to knock Leo on his ass is overwhelming, but I somehow manage to fight it because I know I don’t really want to hit him.
I think.
Leo’s tongue slips from between his teeth to wet his lips and when it does, his tongue runs along mine as well and it snaps me back into focus. I step back from him, and he smirks. “Don’t fuck with me,boy.I get you’re angry, but don’t take it out on me. All I’m trying to do it to get you to see the bigger picture here. I’ve done nothing but help you all these years and you don’t want me to embarrass you by knocking you on your crippled fucking ass.”
I can’t help it; I laugh a genuine fucking laugh that he joins in on as we both make our way to the house. “I’ll give Mike your number but don’t be fuckin’ dumb,” he chastises me.
“Yes, sir,” I mock, which makes him roll his eyes with a chuckle as he pushes the front door open.
I wish I could say it felt the same, but it doesn’t. That forever familiar feel of home disappears the second I walk through the door. All I can smell is Essa and her minty-orange scent that has somehow become a fucking addiction, just like the rest of her.
