Page 30 of The Monster I Loved
The man lifted his head shamelessly from under the blanket and shuffled up to lie next to Summer.
Felix.
Now, it all made sense. That son of a bitch had probably been eager for me to start my prison sentence all those years ago and prayed I got life, just so he could steal my woman. Well, not mine. Technically, we were exes by then, but damn, he knew the rules.
When Felix pulled a wool cap over his head, I stared at Summer. Except, it wasn’t Summer. I strained to see, ignoringmy beloved Freddy Kruger. It was Ashley, Henry’s wife. Felix was screwing over a friend, but it wasn’t me. Relief filled my chest, followed by shame.
That’s so fucked up! How dare he!
Rage erupted from within me. I’d let a lot of things slide in my past. However, serving over a decade in the system hardened me into a man who didn’t joke about principles and morals, and Felix was clearly a man without either.
“Isn’t that Felix?” Lily asked, but I was already marching over to them.
Not caring about the movie, I weaved between each of the blankets.
“Hey, sit down, you’re blocking the screen!” someone yelled.
I didn’t care. In a matter of seconds, I crouched beside Ashley. “You two enjoying yourselves?”
Her face flashed with panic and other warring emotions until it settled on fake confusion. “What are you talking about?”
Felix was very quiet.
Looking away from her, I stared at him. “Your friend’s wife’s pussy taste good?”
“Hey, man, it’s not what you think.”
I grabbed him by the collar. “There are three people I’ll kill for. One was my mother, Lily, and the other, Henry.”
“Please,” Ashley begged. “Henry knows. We just told him earlier. Don’t hurt Felix.”
This sounded worse. Felix told our long-time friend he was stealing his wife and celebrated by snacking on her pussy during a movie? I raised my fist.
“Can you guys please keep it down?” someone shouted. I paid them no attention. I wanted to slam my fist into the bastard’s face.
Summer
I recognizedThaddeus’s voice instantly, even though he was supposed to be at his engagement party. The party had been the talk of the town. I thought I’d be safe at the movie; a blissful night where there’d be no guarantee of bumping into him. Like everyone else, I’d heard the woman moaning. I figured it was just some high school students exploring. That was until I heard Thaddeus’s voice. I ran over and arrived just in time to hear that, apparently, Henry knew.
Thaddeus stood, towering over the cowering couple. His fists were wrapped up in the collar of Felix’s jacket. This was a murderer, and the glint in his eye told me he wasn’t above taking another life.
“Thaddeus!” I shouted, trying to make sure he could hear me above the movie. He didn’t look at me. “Thaddeus, if Henry knows, you should go be with him. He’ll need a friend.” My hand reached out toward him of its own accord. It stopped just shy of touching him.
My words fell on deaf ears. The hair on my body rose. The only other time I’d seen Thaddeus like this was before he shot my dad. He was locked on, seeing red.
“Dude, it’s okay. Henry knows.” Felix attempted to calm Thad down.
“Did you just fucking say the word okay? Really?” Thaddeus asked.
His words were animalistic. His nose almost touched Felix’s.
I couldn’t watch Thaddeus kill another person.
“Thad, let’s go!” Lily marched over and grabbed hold of his shoulder.
At her words, Thad released Felix. He stood at his full height and spat on the ground. “Stay away from me, or I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Thaddeus and Lily left. I could see Lily whispering in his ear, probably trying to calm him down further.
