Page 43 of Monsters in My Bed

My cheek rested on Mom’s soft head of blonde hair as I allowed myself to cry right alongside them. Her hands ran soothing circles on my back as she tried to calm me, despite her own sorrow.

My parents weren’t always perfect, but who was? What I could say was that they loved me fiercely, and I knew that if they could, they’d offer themselves up in replacement of me in a heartbeat, no hesitation.

After a few minutes, I retracted myself and sniffled, wiping my nose with the back of my hand as I leaned down to grab Gizmo, who was hitting my ankles with his little head. Cradling him like a baby, I rubbed his belly fur as his eyes fluttered closed in bliss. I put on a fake, albeit wobbling, smile as I looked at my parents sternly. “Don’t forget the scoop of sugar-free vanilla ice cream every night before bed for him.”

This caused my mom to fall into hysterical crying once more, but my dad managed to plaster on a matching fake smile as he put an arm around Mom and pulled her head to his chest as he promised, “I will, darling. He will get all of our love and all of the ice cream.”

Nodding at him, I turned to walk with Gizmo to his crate in my room. My eyes stung, having to come to terms with saying goodbye to my best friend. I moved my hand from his fluffy belly to under his chin, causing his head to fall back as he extended his neck all the way out for me, purring in delight.

A single tear fell down my cheek as I lifted him to plant a kiss on his head. Pressing my lips to his forehead, I whispered in parting, “I’ll come back, Gizmo. I swear.”

He nuzzled my face in answer, and I took a deep breath as I lowered him into his crate. I couldn’t look at him as I closed the door and brought him out to my parents. I didn’t want to see the hurt in his eyes as he realized he was being taken from me. I couldn’t bear it.

My dad stepped forward and took the carrier from me, kissing the top of my head. “Give them hell, darling.”

A chuckle came from me as I recalled how I told them that if I was ever selected, I’d be such a pain in the ass to the monsters that they’d have no choice but to hand me back over.

“I will,” I swore, steel straightening my back as I internalized that thought.

“I love you, honey,” Mom said as she pulled me into one last hug, her floral aroma comforting me. As her head pulled back to look up at me, her kind gray eyes looked broken. I wondered if they’d ever be able to move on after this. I had to show them that I wasn’t defeated by this and that there was hope.

Pulling my shoulders back, I looked at both of them and said, “I refuse to be another woman added to the statistic of sacrifices that never return. My name is Serafina Adler, and I’ll be back.”