Ian was in his bed with the blankets pulled up to his chin, he was severely frightened. He could not remember what had woken him up but he knew that he was something. Ian did not really consider himself to be a cowardly boy but he supposed that tonight was proof that he was. His thoughts were racing and he heard something, but his breathing and the words inside of his brain, that he was certain would resemble a derailed train if he were able to view them, were far too loud for him to be sure. He held his breath and listened, trying and failing to keep his thoughts in check. He needed to focus on listening for scary sounds. His lungs were burning and he could feel his face reddening but he was determined to not breathe. He could no longer refrain from breathing, he inhaled quickly and louder than he wanted.
He was convinced that whatever had made the original noise had made another during his intake of air. He could not bring himself to move, he wanted to leave his room but he was afraid that something was under his bed. It vaguely reminded him of something Rebecca had told him about a monster under Oleander’s bed. Rebecca had really been creeping him out lately and he was frustrated with his girlfriend. He adored Oleander but she was distant and different. Something had changed and she refused to tell him why. He wanted to know what happened more than anything. Ian knew that he could not fix things unless he knew what was wrong. He was worried about her.
Ian blamed Rebecca for Oleander’s behavior lately, he was pretty sure that she was upset and stressed out due to her friends’ insane behavior. That’s what he continuously told himself at least. He was still blaming himself for not going over to Rebecca’s house with Oleander when Izzy died. Ian did not know what to do but he wanted to fix things more than anything. Ian loved Oleander but sadly the girl seemed perfectly at ease with making him perpetually uneasy.
She was missing school like it didn’t matter and sometimes he found himself wanting to scream at her as if loud words could knock some sense into her but he knew that yelling wouldn’t fix anything, especially when he did not have any experience with what she was going though. He also thought that maybe he could not fix things unless she wanted him to fix things. He did not want to accept that as truth though. He didn’t want to be sexist but he felt like it was his job as Oleander’s boyfriend to take care of her. He wanted to make everything better for her because Oleander made everything better for him just by existing.
Ian stared at the ceiling of his bedroom and pictured Oleander’s face. He imagined her head thrown back in a laugh, and then he pictured Oleander’s expression growing serious and sultry. He slid his right hand down his stomach towards his waist until Oleander’s face contorted into something sinister and mean. She looked cruel and evil and Ian’s breath began to quicken as his arousal dampened. He did not know what to do but he thought he heard the noise again, something akin to a wheezing breath from beneath his bed only this time it was accompanied with a scratching at his window. Ian rolled onto his stomach and pressed his face against his pillow. He was now certain that he would not be sleeping well tonight.
YOU ARE READING
The Patron Saint of Monsters
Dla nastolatkówA girl falls in love with the monster under her bed.
