Page 1 of Monsters in Love

FINDING HER MINOTAUR

EVANGELINE PRIEST

Karis

“Call us and let us know when you get there so we know you’re alright! Love you, Kar-Bear.”

Ihad let my mom’s phone call go to voicemail when I struggled with unearthing my suitcase from the belly of the bus. As I listen to her message now, my heart crumbles into even tinier pieces.

I play it again, her slight southern accent drawing out the “you,” as if she could hang on to the digital connection of me just a while longer.

God, I wish I let her.

Instead, I flew halfway across the country, then took both a bus and a train into New York only to find out that the love of my life decided that he needed a break from us so he can spend his immediate future upstate impressing his new friends.

The same friends we were supposed to be sharing our new apartment with.

Funny how he didn’t bring any of these issues up two days ago when I gladly transferred money to his cash app for my half of the down payment for the apartment.

So, now I’m basically homeless and have less than $100 in my bank account. The twenty dollar bill that my dad slipped into my hand for snacks is now $5.22, thanks to my overpriced latte and the damned box of condoms that I thought was a good idea to buy.

I should’ve bought a sandwich instead. Would have satisfied me better and longer than Liam ever could have, that’s for damned sure.

Okay, options. Who do I know in the city? Answer: No one.

All the contacts I have are Liam’s contacts, and they all thought that abandoning a girl in a new city would be an acceptable idea.

Bright side: My phone battery is full, and I have my charger in my backpack.

I can always call home...

If I tell my parents that I need money, they would send it to me immediately—well, once I walk them through how to use their app on their phone—and it would hit my bank account within minutes. They would welcome me back home without question, and say that everything happens for a reason Kar-bear, and this is the Lord’s will.

My stomach twists at the thought. I do not want to reinforce my parents’ need to look for signs from God in order to make every. little. life decision.

I made such a big deal about heading out on my own and being in love and how Liam is the one and how much I trusted him and so they needed to trust me, too.

God, just thinking of him makes me see red.

Liam didn’t even have the decency to tell me in person he no longer wants to be with me. He let me come all this way, and by the time my phone finally got a signal, his text came through.

I’m still fuming over the text message heat rising into my cheeks, but now that reality is sinking in, I’m realizing that I’m alone in a city that I don’t know. I can easily become a statistic, and I hate Liam even more for putting me in this position.

Fuck Liam.

Raised voices cut through the red haze of Liam’s elaborate death and torture that I’m fantasizing for him. Looking around, I don’t see anyone in obvious distress. Tourists are scuttling about like good little ants, checking out the various announcement boards on their way to their terminals.

It’s only at a second glance that I see a barely lit alcove off of the corridor. Had that been there before?

There is a man wearing a hoodie and baggy pants, towering over a petite woman. It looks like a lover’s quarrel the way he is all in her space, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable to take a discreet picture. My parents wouldn’t raise their voices at each other even if they were on fire, so seeing a couple fight always triggers me.

I try to ignore them, turning my attention back to my phone when I see the man yank the woman’s elbow when she tries to walk around him.

How dare he put his hands on her!

Just as I practiced in my self-defense classes, I plant my feet firmly on the ground, trigger the release on my asp baton, and call out in a voice supported by my diaphragm so it can carry. “Hey! Get your hands off of her.”

The man looks my way and freezes. His hood is up, so I can’t see his face clearly at this distance, but I swear I see a flash of glowing red eyes and scales for a moment before his face becomes a nondescript scruffy-looking guy again. He takes in my stance and my asp, then bolts away.

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