Page 54 of The Monsters Within

“Have you ever willingly hurt a child, Rose?”

She pulled away and turned an icy stare on me. “Fuck you, Cash. I would never hurt a fucking child.”

I grabbed her arms and pulled her against my chest. She fought against me, but as badass as she was, her strength was no match for mine.

“Then I don’t care if you killed a fucking nun. Or kicked a goddamn puppy. Nothing, and I mean fucking nothing you tell him will make me stop loving you. There is nothing you can do that will make me let you go. No matter how hard you try to pull away.”

Chapter Sixteen

Kytten

Dr. Dunaway wouldn’t let me have the day. When I needed a break, I took the day after a tough session. This time, he told me no. And Cash backed him up.

I sat in my chair and glared at him. I couldn’t do this today. I was too raw. Too open. My insides had been flayed open yesterday, and I hadn’t even revealed anything yet. How would I tell him my secrets? How could I explain the monsters without letting him know why I needed them?

“Are we just going to sit and stare at each other?”

“We are waiting for someone to join us.”

I sat up in my chair. There was no fucking way I would talk with someone else here. He probably wanted to bring Melissa in. Yeah, I had dropped the Dr. Jefferson shit. When I got to know her a little, I realized she wasn’t all that bad.

Melissa came across abrasive. Like a cold-hearted bitch who only cared about herself and Dani. But she was a good mom to Dani. She was a real mom. The way she was with Dani made me think of my mom.

She was different with Dante too. She and Sypher had a weird dynamic. She treated him like an annoying little brother she couldn’t get away from.

Which I guess in a way was true. She would have to put up with him if she wanted Dani in her life.

She had started working with Tabby, Ellie’s little girl. Ellie said she had done wonders for Tabby. I liked little Tabby. Therewas something about her that made you feel safe. Which was crazy when you realized she was a three-year-old. But that little girl would make a big impact on the world. Mark my words.

“Who?” I asked as the door opened and my brother walked in.

Panic rose up, tightening my chest and threatening to choke the life out of me. His eyes locked on mine and I knew he wasn’t happy to be here. I only remembered Thorne looking at me like that once.

“I’m sorry, Thorne.” I cried, tears running down my face. “I didn’t mean to.”

“What happened?” Mom asked, stepping between us.

Thorne was glaring at me and if he was part of the X-men like Iceman or Pyro, I would either be an ice sculpture he could shatter into millions of pieces to melt into the floor or burned to a crisp pile of ashes that could be blown away with the wind.

Either way, I was dead, and I knew it.

“Rose broke my Nintendo.”

“I said I was sorry.” I cried harder. I hated when my brother was mad at me.

“How?” Mom asked as she looked between us.

My eyes pleaded with him not to tell her. I knew she would be mad too. But he wouldn’t play with me.

“She threw it out the window,” he said as he glared some more.

“I’M SORRY,” I wailed.

Mom pulled me into her arms, “Oh, Rosebud, why would you do that?”

My words came out broken between hiccups. “He... wouldn’t...”—hiccup—“play with me.”

I buried my face in Mom’s chest and cried.