Page 56 of Our Little Monster
I leisurely walked past, instantly feeling the weight of the thick wet sheet of tension that always hung in the air around them, but today, it definitely seemed just a little thicker.
Was it the shirt? I was surprised the fucking house hadn’t imploded yet with the amount of static in the air between all of us.
I quickly closed the door behind me and made my way over to the washing machine, throwing my clothes in with some detergent and leaving the basket there before I sauntered back inside the kitchen.
Bastian wore his nice clothes, a similar shirt to what I was wearing tucked into a pair of slacks that had no right making his ass look as nice as it did as he leaned over the bar on his elbows. He always kept the first few buttons undone.
I got the perfect side view of him before he shifted on his feet and ran his finger over the collar of my shirt—his shirt.
“Hmm.” He looked me over with a pleased hum. “I quite like the look of you in my clothes.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I snapped back, brushing past him to sit at the bar. Nox stood leaning against the opposite counter in the kitchen shirtless wearing only his jeans while Thorne stood in front of the oven, alsofucking shirtless,and I couldn’t help but admire all the muscles working in his back as he cooked.
He craned his head over his shoulder.
“We’re having French toast, eggs, and bacon,” he said before returning to his task.
“Sounds good,” I said as I stood, remembering I left my phone in the bedroom. Something told me they were all watching, even Thorne, as I headed toward the stairs to retrieve it.
Once I turned to start going up the steps, I glanced over the railing right before my line of sight would be gone, and I was correct.
Nox was pouring himself a glass of bourbon while Bastian was already sipping on one. I guessed it was never too early to drink for Vampires. Thorne had just shifted on his feet to return to his task of cooking again, but all of their eyes had been burning holes into me as I walked away from them.
If the air got any thicker, I wouldn’t be able to breathe.
I swiftly made it to the bedroom and grabbed my phone, firing off a message to Sam.
Me: Heard anything? Any new leads?
Sam: No, nothing yet, but maybe it’s best to lay low for a while.
Me: Why?
My fingers sent the message quickly, and those three little dots popped up instantly before my phone buzzed with her response.
Sam: Because you have made a mess of things this past year.
Me: And how would you know that?
I bit my lip. I had tried to keep most of my extra hunts from her, only informing her of the hunts I did from the leads she gave me, but I knew this would come out eventually.
Sam: Because people talk. Why didn’t you tell me about all the hunts you were going on?
Me: I was busy.
Sam: Yeah, I can see that.
I could practically hear her voice through the text message loaded with all the attitude we both always gave each other.
I knew she was worried about me, but maybe she was right. I had killed a lot this past year, and what had made it even worse was that it only progressed more as the year went on. I started enjoying it…
Maybe I was a monster like the guys called me. Maybe this life had turned me into one. Or maybe it was just the pain that had.
A knock sounded on the door frame of the open door, and I looked up to see Thorne leaning against it.
“Breakfast is ready,” he said, and I nodded with a huff, looking down at my phone as I took it off the charger to bring downstairs with me. “Something wrong?” he asked as I walked out of the room.
“Nothing, just family drama,” I retorted briskly as I went for the stairs.
