Page 6 of Claimed By Her Monsters
Chapter Six
If The Shoe Fits...
I settle onto crossed legs, sitting on the floor in front of the low coffee table in the living room where they have the game set up. My glass of water rests next to my hand, on a wooden coaster with a picture of a seashell on it.
Caspian deals out my share of Monopoly money, his long fingers moving quick and precise. I line it up into neat piles in front of me—tens, twenties, fifties, one- and five-hundreds—like order might keep the weirdness of this night at bay.
He says they’ve just started this round, so it’s the perfect time for me to join.
Then he flashes a thin-lipped smile. It looks wrong on his face, like someone pasted it there, but against all logic it calms me.
Maybe because it feels like effort, like he’s trying for me.
Like he wants me to like him but doesn’t know how to make that happen.
He’s clumsy, awkward, and also weirdly endearing.
I’ve just smiled back at him, my widest grin, when a voice slices through the air like a whip against skin.
“No. Absolutely not.”
Alister stands a few feet away, shoulders rigid, eyes locked on me. They’re blue now, no trace of the black, but that doesn’t soften the glare. “She can’t play with us.”
Just like that, I’m ten again, shunned on the playground for being too weird.
Only this time there’s no mom to run home to, no arms to hug away the pain in my chest. For a second I almost press my palm there to ease the sting, but instead I suck in a breath, force my chin up, and plant my hands on my hips. “Why not?”
“Because we only play together.”
I glance at the board, then at him, then at the box that lays on the floor. “It says you can play with up to eight people.”
He crosses his arms over his chest. “I said no.”
My laugh is sharp, sarcasm threaded through it. “Not sure who made you God.”
His scowl deepens, breath huffing out. “More like the opposite of God.”
Before I can bite back, Paul Bunyan storms in with a grin as wide as his chest. “Wonderful!” he booms, clapping so loud Caspian nearly jumps out of his skin. “Maddie’s playing with us. How fun!”
He shakes his head like a dog fresh from the pool, water droplets flying everywhere.
The rest of us raise our hands to ward it off.
“Starting to rain outside,” he announces, beaming like it’s the best thing he’s ever heard. “A fearsome storm. Perfect for Halloween night.”
As if on cue, thunder cracks and rattles the windows. The lamps flicker, shadows leap across the walls, stretching long and monstrous.
The lumberjack throws his head back and laughs, delighted, the sound rolling like the thunder itself. Even Caspian looks lighter, the corners of his mouth tugging upward. Almost happy.
The lumberjack strides closer, clapping a heavy hand on Alister’s shoulder so hard it makes him stagger. “Come on, Al. Let’s have some fun.”
Just like that, I’m in.