Page 63 of The Monster I Loved
“Maybe she’s recruited Daisy in a new plan to kill you,” Henry said jokingly as he joined me in watching them.
Chuckling, I started the engine and checked my side-view mirror for approaching cars so I could pull out of the parking spot. “Push comes to shove, I’ll use my cock to save myself again.”
15
THE CURSED KISS
Summer
Daisy toldme she was staying in the pizza place after we’d finished eating, as she was meeting another friend there for a drink. After settling my part of the bill and walking out into the bright sunshine, I decided to give Eden a call and check in with her.
“I’m in the line at the movie theater,” she said when she answered. “I was going to be brave and go by myself, but I’m lonely already.” She laughed. “Wanna join? I’ll buy the popcorn.”
A grin tugged at my mouth. I’d known Eden for a long time. She, Daisy, and I went to the same public schools, from elementary to high school, and we’d all grown up with Felix and Henry, as they lived in the neighborhood.
“I’ll be right there.” I grinned. I could use a distraction.
How the hell was I supposed to tell a man I just tried to kill, who was engaged to a woman I couldn’t stand, that I was having his baby? I felt like one of those trashy daytime talk show characters whose lives were so fucked up that the people watching thought it was all made up for TV. Here I was, livingproof. I was carrying the baby of my dad’s murderer. Shaking Thaddeus from my head, I drove to meet Eden at the movie theater. She was waiting in the lobby, exactly where she said I could find her. I waved as I approached. “Wow, you look beautiful. You’re glowing!”
Was I? That, and vomiting, were the two pregnancy symptoms that had showed up early for me. Not ready to explain the situation I got myself into, I tried to move Eden off the subject and steered her toward the ticket office. “You know how much I love Halloween; I can’t wait for the parade.”
Thankfully, Eden took the bait, and we talked all about the Halloween events coming up as we grabbed tickets, popcorn, and two medium sodas. I was ready to sit in the dark, relax, and watchHocus Pocus, forgetting all my troubles. In the end, I didn’t catch most of my favorite movie because I was either taking breaks to pee or vomit.
As I slumped in a stall for the sixth time, Thaddeus flickered in my thoughts.I forgot he has a warm side to him, I mentally noted, thinking about how much he cared for Wylie. I was sure it would be all coldness and bitter feelings upon his release from prison.
But yesterday I’d seen a spark of the man I once fell in love with. It felt strange to recount now, my stomach twirling and my mind foggy.This is the same guy who put a bullet through your father’s skull.
He’d combed the streets for Wylie as if his life depended on it. Honestly, watching the sweat pour down his face, I didn’t think Thaddeus would accept any option but finding Wylie safely that day.
That was far from the selfish image I’d painted in my brain. The Thaddeus I hated would yank people from their homes if it got a business deal, wouldn’t hesitate to take another life if it meant feeding his thirst for revenge.
Yet, he can also care for others too?
Conflicting emotions swirled inside me. Half of it from the morning sickness, I’d imagine, and the other half from the buried feelings that were starting to rise. Was it possible that I’d got it all wrong? That I’d let my feelings cloud seeing who he truly was?That inside him, a good person can still be hiding after all?
I left the bathroom and returned to my seat next to Eden for a while before the bathroom called for me yet again. Eden observed me suspiciously. I was on what felt like my 25thtrip to the bathroom when she finally asked, “Okay, what gives? Why do you keep going out there?”
My plan was to come clean, but my bladder insisted I do it after the movie. Which I did when I exited the restroom and spotted Eden outside the door.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
Her jaw fell open. Then, she quickly fixed her face into a smile. “Well . . . that’s good news . . . isn’t it? Congratulations.”
I took the hug and braced myself for the next question. Eden didn’t ask it, and I was grateful and impressed by her restraint. We walked from the theater to the parking lot in silence when I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “It wasn’t planned.”
Eden nodded.
“And now I’ll have to face the music and sit down and have a talk with the father.”
Eden chuckled. “Unless you’re going to tell me Felix is the father, this is nothing compared to the mess in our former friend group.”
Thaddeus
I’d beatenmy father to the office this morning. We needed to talk. While hanging out with Henry yesterday, one thing had become painfully obvious, I wasn’t marrying Mimi. She’d clearly told him I’d called things off, if the thundercloud across his face was anything to go by, but I’d still seen a press release about my wedding in the paper this morning. That was of his doing.
“The wedding isn’t happening,” I announced as soon as he walked into his office.
After one glance at me, my father removed his coat and tossed it on the hook. “Thaddeus, be reasonable. There is a lot of money on the line. Marry the woman and screw whoever you want; nobody is stopping you.”
