We Are Monsters 🌕 Book 1 || gxg

Two Forward, One Back

Sam's phone buzzed under her back, and she started, resting the journal on the coffee table. She wouldn't normally answer so late, but it was Ada, and curiosity was pestering her. Sam greeted her cheerfully, but the energy was not met. Her breath came in agitated, shallow pulses, and she spoke too softly for Sam to understand. Her audible distress made Sam's spine rigid.

"Deep breath, Ada. I need you to talk a little louder for me, 'kay? What's wrong?"

She did as Sam said. "My brother just pulled up outside!" Sam didn't know what to say right away, but she didn't wait for an answer. "I don't have time to explain it all right now, but there's bad blood between us. The last time I saw him he was getting stuffed into a cop car." There was rustling from her end, the whir of a zipper. "He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't know where I live!"

Sam's heart was hammering against her rib cage. "Does he know you're home?"

"No, I don't think so. He's still in his car; he's just sitting there. I don't think he can see my desk lamp from out there."

Sam sighed in relief and headed for the kitchen to grab her keys. "Can you get out of there without being seen?"

She paused for a moment. "I should be able to get from the stairwell to the back exit without being seen through the front."

"Okay, meet me in the Tim's parking lot, I'll be there in ten. Call me if anything happens. Oh, and bring your cat."

They signed off as Sam dashed out the door in her sweats. She drove too fast through the thin slush on the roads, but the trip was short and she knew what her car could handle. She parked in the last spot, right by the drive-through entrance and waited in the stark silence after cutting the engine. From here she had a view down the street Ada should be taking. Her phone was silent in her hand, which she took to be a good thing. If she let her mind wander to the possibilities, a horrible tugging began in her sternum. Sam rubbed it absently, watching.

A figure appeared in a streetlight in the distance, hooded and unsteady with a heavy bag on one shoulder. Their hands were stuffed in their pockets. As they approached, Ada's features became clearer. Sam got out and waited beside her car as Ada waited to cross the street. She scaled the snow-covered median beside the parking lot. Sam reached for her then and helped her down. One hand remained pocketed.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, concern dripping from her voice.

"I'm fine."

Ada didn't stop, arm snaking around Sam's waist and pulling her close. She didn't resist, and as she returned the embrace, it became apparent why her hand was still in her coat. It was supporting a fluffy orange cat who popped its head out of the top of the zipper and turned brilliant chartreuse eyes on Sam. He gave a soft, musical meow.

"This is Percy," Ada said, giving him an affectionate grin.

"He's handsome." He leaned into Sam's scratching.

"He's an idiot."

Laughing, Sam held the door before getting in herself. She cranked the heat; Ada's fingers and nose were red. Sam was a little toasty herself, but she could handle it until they got home. The tension Ada had brought with her into the car dissipated as blocks rolled by. She scratched Percy's head in slow, rhythmic circles as she stared far out the window.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not right now. He's such an ass-hole."

"No problem." Sam nodded to herself. "I don't really know what that's like, but I'm sorry."

"Thanks ..." Ada let the conversation drop there, and Sam left it at that.

She stopped at a market near her house and ran in to grab cat things and milk while Ada stayed in the car. She worried about Ada; not being alone, but in general. She didn't want to meet anyone who could rattle Ada so badly. Though it was rather vain, Sam hoped she could comfort her even just a little.