The Patron Saint of Monsters

Chapter Four Part Five

Oleander has not spent much time with her family, they didn’t really do the whole tired and true family dinner thing. Oleander ate in her room and her dad ate in his study, Oleander didn’t know where her mother ate. Except for those times when they tried to do the whole family night dinner thing, Oleander remembers one dinner in particular the sounds of silverware clinking onto the dinner china still ringing in her ears. She was nine years old and wracked with pre-pubescent angst that would soon morph into the adolescent angst that she was praying wouldn’t become adult angst.

“Am I crazy?” She had asked while looking down at her play and swinging her legs back and forth, she had been too short for her feet to graze the ground.

Her parents both fumbled, dropping their knives and forks before stumbling through halfhearted assurances that she wasn’t insane. Reassurances that they themselves did not believe. They had come to terms with their little insane girl, they weren’t entirely sure what was wrong with her; they had spent many a late night pondering and discussion, there had been speculations of schizophrenia but neither were brave enough to have her diagnosed, they knew they couldn’t handle the knowledge that it was true.

Oleander thought back to that night and smirked with vindication. Muttering “Looks like mom and pops were right. I’m not fucking crazy.” as she washed her dirty dishes in the kitchen.

“Hm?” Trent asked looking up from his seat at the kitchen island.

“Nothing.”  She said feeling slightly embarrassed, there were few things that seemed more crazy than randomly announcing that you aren’t crazy while confessing that you almost thought you might be.

“Are you hungry?” She asked.

“No.” He answered blandly.

“But you haven’t eaten since our last tea party.” She pointed out.

“I don’t feel hunger or thirst. I no longer require sustenance to survive; but if you’re trying to get me to attend another of your lovely tea parties I will do so gladly.” He finished cheekily.

She rolled her eyes and contemplated throwing one, she wondered if she could get him to wear one of her tiaras like she used to. “Can photographs be taken of you?” She asked.

“If I want to be photographed it’s possible.” He replied.

She nodded and imagined taping a picture of a Tiara clad Trent to her mirror, the idea made her smile. She decided that one day she would get Trent in one of her princess crowns, she started making a list of other things she wanted to get Trent to do but she quickly found herself in major need of stopping. She ducked her head to hide her blush and sat across from Trent.

“Tomorrow when I’m at school you can use my laptop if you want, I can take off the password and just lock all the things that I don’t want you snooping through.” She offered awkwardly.

“No it’s fine, I’m content with just watching you during class.” He refused.

“You can’t come to school with me anymore.” She argued.

“I am unable to not follow you to school Oleander, I am bound to you.” He stated.

She sighed, “Fine, don’t let anyone but me and the girls see you alright?”

“But of course.” He conceded.

“What about when I have sex?” Oleander blurted out a few minutes later.

“Why are you going to be having sex and school?” He asked feigning perplexity.

She sighed heavily, “I’m not. I mean in the future, are you going to be watching from the corner or laying under my bed?”

Trent opened and closed his mouth, biting his cheek to stop his comment about about being in the bed from rolling off of his tongue. He then had to bite down harder to stifle down the jealousy that he felt, triggered by the idea that maybe she would be sleeping with someone else.

“I would probably just turn around and stare at the wall. Just in case I needed to save you.”  He clarified.

“Yeah because deaths by dick happen all the time.” She said frustrated and sarcastically.

Trent shrugged and said “Some are just that big.”

“Is yours?” she bantered back.

The expression on Trent’s face reminded her of the one on her parents’ at that family dinner years ago. She snorted and rolled her eyes, swirling around on the island stool before hopping down to saunter back to the fridge to make dinner. She only stumbled slightly when he called out a resounding “Yes.” She knew better than to look back at the smirk on his face.