Single mom Selina Sardi would do anything for her 6-year-old son. Eager to turn their new house into a real home for him, she's devastated when she discovers that the monster under his bed is not a figment of his imagination but the real deal.
Elia...
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Selina woke up to the spectacular sight of Elias' blue eyes when the first rays of morning announced themselves through the skylight.
"I haven't been gawking at you all night, promise." He smiled with his mouth half open, revealing a hint of fangs and a cheeky expression that said, 'I might be telling the truth, but also ... maybe not.'
She hadn't expected to wake up at the center of his attention. She also hadn't expected it to feel this good. Given that their last night had come to an end, this realization tasted bittersweet. "Morning, you. Are you hungry?"
He looped her hair around her ear and placed a sweet kiss where his talon had grazed her skin. "I'm not hungry. You fed me well. Thank you."
"Are you sure? You can scare me one more time if you need to."
"I don't need to. Can I clean up a little before I go? In your bathroom?"
"Sure."
She waited in the hallway, a heaviness grounding her to the vintage tiled floor that lead to the door. When Elias floated down the staircase, he looked disturbingly kissable.
"Are you going to try to find Sue?" It was ridiculous to be jealous but there was no other word for the sharp sting to her heart.
"It's not going to be easy, but I need to know what happened to her."
"Are you sure you're strong enough?" She heard how the words came out. So goddamn needy. 'No wonder he's leaving,' the witch puppet cackled in her mind.
"Hey, you did more than enough. You need to get your son home, okay?" Elias placed his palm on her cheek and his lips on her mouth, sucking up the witch puppet and catapulting her where she belonged. His coat of nightmares brimmed shortly as the witch joined the ranks of serpents, spiders, and savage beasts.
"You're not too needy, Selina. You're strong, smart, and capable. Deep down you already know that. You don't need anybody else to survive, but perhaps there's more to life than surviving. I think you deserve somebody next to you. Somebody good. I hope you find him."
"Get out, bogeyman," she mocked as suppressed tears squeezed her throat. "You're overstaying your welcome. I'll be fine. I've survived a monster, you know."
"That you certainly have." He pinched her cheek and whirred out the door. Sheltered by the shadows of the tall row house, he made a steep ascent and found a grey cloud to blend into. The world shook with a rumble of thunder and that was that.
The bogeyman was gone.
When she drove Lowie home a few hours later, the skies were still howling thick rivulets of rain. In tune with the windshield wipers, Lowie fidgeted in his seat. "Did you get him, the monster? Is he gone?"
With pursed lips, she gave a few quick nods. "Won't be back."
Won't be back. Won't be back. Won't be back. Why did her stupid heart have to drop lower and lower in her chest to the rhythm of that beat?
