The Monster (18+)

Chapter 20: In The Doghouse

Chapter Twenty
"In The Doghouse"

The bell rang above the door, alerting everyone that someone was entering the diner. Impulsively, I jerked my head in its direction but felt my heart sink in my chest when I saw a family strolling in.

My eyes narrowed on the table in front of me, my lips pressed together. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. No, actually, that was a lie. I've been waiting for him.

Dimitri has felt like a ghost for over a week; his presence lingering in the air as I moved throughout the day, but I couldn't see him. He didn't want me to see him. And it's been like that since he left my apartment. If I thought about it long enough, my thoughts would darken to how frustrated I was, but I never dwelled on it too long. I didn't have the right to be upset with him. He's leaving me alone. This was what I wanted. Right?

I knew that. My mind knew that. But there was this tugging feeling in my chest, squeezing my heart every time a door opened. Every time I was walking home from work. He's got me accustomed to him, and he has the audacity to leave when I'm in the right to be upset with him?

At this rate, I'm not even mad about the past anymore. I'm mad at how he handled me being mad at him. Completely ignoring me. Like a coward. He hasn't even been texting me. The only time I know I still have his attention is when Boris texts Luba—who isn't telling me what they talk about.

A sharp cough took me out of my thoughts, making me snap my wide gaze off the table and to the girl sitting across from me, glaring.

Luba, who was dressed in her work uniform, pursed her lips in a pout before stabbing the crepe in front of her. I didn't need to be a genius to know she was imagining me on the plate. I grimaced.

"Welcome back to earth," she said dryly, still not pleased with me. Mostly because I refused to talk about that night with Dimitri, which she wasn't happy about. "Would you like to tell us what you were thinking about? Or is that a secret too?"

By us, she's referring to Annabelle—who was sitting on my right, completely indifferent to our conversation as she ate her waffle.

I sighed. "Lubs—"

"Anna, you hear that?" She gasped dramatically, shooting her surprised eyes to our friend. "She's not a robot."

"Ha ha. So funny." Still, I sent her a smile before taking a bite of my crepe. It was Sunday crepe day, and while it was usually the two of us, I invited Anna because I thought she'd ease the tension. Definitely thought wrong.

Upset with my indifference, she frowned harder before taking a large piece of her food. We had a comfortable moment of silence, until she finished chewing. She dramatically threw her fork on the plate and crossed her arms before huffing.

"Anna, talk to her," she exasperated, throwing her hands in the air. "She thinks because I'm younger, I don't know about sex. I know sex, Savannah."

I flinched when I saw some people turning our way. "Luba, lower your voice."

"Why? It's just sex!" She spoke louder now. "People have sex. How do you think we're here? Through sex. So, I don't know why you can't tell me what happened between you and—"

"Luba," I leaned forward to hiss. "I already told you. There's nothing to say. It happened once, and it's not happening again."

She scoffed so loud you could hear it across the diner. More people were glancing to our table while Annabelle continued munching on her food. She was never one to force answers out of people. She always said they would talk to her when they were ready, and if they didn't tell her, she was okay with that too.