Page 13 of Twisted Diaries of a Monster Groupie

Dear Diary,

Home sweet horror. Time to meet the parents cohabitants.

XOXO – Roxy

The early sun’s light filtered through the trees, casting long rays through the windshield right into the punk woman’s eyes making her groan. She stirred, her cheek pulling off the window like plastic wrap. Her body was tangled with Acid’s in the cramped passenger seat and ached as she tried to get her numb fingers to come alive again from sleeping against them.

The night had been long and exhausting in more ways than one, and for a brief moment, she wasn’t sure it was even real. She blinked, the haze of sleep slowly lifting as she became aware of Acid’s arm draped across her waist. He looked so adorable lying there she almost hated to stir him.

“Not a bad way to wake up.” She giggled. “Move it, green bean. My legs are cramping.”

He shifted beside her, groaning softly as his eyes fluttered open. “Morning princess. Already wanting more?” he teased, rubbing his face.

“You wish.” She stretched, before crawling into the driver’s side. “We should probably get moving before someone notices two weirdos snuggled up in a parked car with a dead body in the trunk.”

“So, that’s that smell? Damn. It smells like shit.”

“You do know that people lose bowel movement when they die, right?”

The stench got him fully awake. “So that’s where you went last night.”

“Yeah. Just so you know, I broke into your house and used that ugly rug in your foyer to wrap him in.”

“What? That rug cost a fortune!”

“You’ll get over it.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute, toots. After last night I guess I can let it slide that you used a rare Persian rug to wrap a damn corpse in.”

And that he would, because except for the stiff in the trunk, they had finished the night snuggled up under a lightning storm like it was some romantic movie moment.

“All right, let’s get to my place,” Roxy said, smacking her hands together. “We’ve got a body to get moving.”

“You say that with your whole chest like you’re enjoying this living dead thing.”

“It’s not the first time that I’ve had to handle a dead body,” she said, tossing him a wink to last night’s naughty play. “And you seem to like it.”

“That I do.”

After a bit of a drive, they arrived at her dingy home which had seen a few improvements since she left. “Good job, Hank. He painted the siding. Nice.”

“Who’s Hank?”

“You’ll see. Let’s get the stiff out of here. Come on, grab the legs.”

Together, they opened the trunk, the fresh afternoon air doing nothing to lessen the stench from inside. The body was stiff as they lifted it out and Acid wrinkled his nose, trying to hold back a gag.

“You’re such a pussy. You’re the undead. This should be a cakewalk for you.”

“That doesn’t help matters.” When his eyes went to her he looked somewhat unsettled. “You’re taking this a little lightly aren’t you?”

“It’s just part of life, Acid. Relax. Death is part of living.”

“It’s gross.”

“Says the guy who offed himself to become a living corpse.”

“Undead,” he snapped as if offended she treated him like a zombie. The nerve.

They lugged the body to her garage and slammed the door shut before anyone in the neighborhood noticed. With Roxy, they probably wouldn’t. She was the town weirdo, after all.

“There. Happy, you cry baby? Now, we ditch the stolen car and head back here to get to work.”

Acid looked at her with a raised brow. “How did I let you convince me to end up here? I’m starting to feel like you’re planning on keeping me around a lot longer than I signed up for. Did I just let you kidnap me and help you do it?”

“Maybe. I guess we’ll see how it plays out.” She flashed a grin, throwing him the keys. “You can drive Hank’s truck and follow me. My car is still at the casino, but I’ll figure out that later.”

After ditching the car, they rolled back into the yard where he finally got a good look at his surroundings. The place wasn’t exactly either of his beachfront mansions and was leaning on death’s door itself. One mansion on each side of the country, he was living a life of luxury he didn’t quite deserve while Roxy was trapped in a house built on nightmares.

“So, this is home?”

“Yep,” Roxy said, parking the car. “Come on. There’s something I want to show you.”

The front door creaked open, and Acid was hit with a blast of cool air. The interior was a throwback of dingy paneled walls, floral curtains, and shag carpet that made it feel like he had stepped into a time machine right back into a mashup of everything tacky the 80s and 90s could provide.

As they made their way into the kitchen, two figures sat at the table who looked like they were right out of the Stepford Wives movie flick. That is if it was made in a white trash community and far less pristine.

Acid’s heart skipped a beat as he froze in place. “Uh... Roxy? What the fuck is wrong with them?”

“These are my… cohabitants,” Roxy said as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Well, they were, anyway. This is my mom Darla and her husband Hank.”

Acid stared in shock. He shouldn’t have been, considering his situation, but this was different. The man and woman sitting at the table looked alive but the stiff posture and the blank look in their eyes screamed otherwise. They were still as if someone had paused them mid-motion with a remote control.

“Roxy, what the hell is this?”

She walked over to the table, running her hand along her mother’s shoulder. “My stepdad killed her,” she said casually. “So, I brought her back. And him, too. Oh, I should probably mention I killed him after I found her dead on the living room floor. More like slashed. It was pretty gruesome… and I danced around his dead body. Is that bad?”

Acid felt his stomach twist as she admitted she slaughtered the guy. She didn’t even seem like it was that big of a deal. Maybe he should have seen the signs. She was a complete lunatic, and he sort of admired her for it. “Why are they just sitting there like that? It’s freaking me out.”

“I guess they got done with their chores for the day.” She looked at him, eyes gleaming with pride. “I fixed them. Made them better. They don’t fight anymore, and Hank isn’t such a twat. They’ll never hurt anyone again. They just... exist. Sort of. I did leave them some free will. I guess you could say I gave them the ultimate attitude adjustment.”

“Exist?” Acid took a step back, his mind racing. “You turned your parents into zombies?”

“They’re not zombies. They’re more like custom Frankie’s. They help out around here, and they don’t complain. Hank even kept his job at the butcher shop. It’s an improvement, trust me. He was an asshole, and she was a drunken slut.” She fluffed her mom’s hair. “Mom, can you fix us some dinner? We’re starving. Maybe Hank can grill us some steaks on the grill, and you can make some sides.”

“Yes dear,” the couple said as they went right to work.

“Please say it’s real steak and you’re not a Jeffery Dahmer-ing people in here like a cannibal.”

“Ew, no. Are you nuts? That’s so gross. After everything that happened that night he killed her, I had to give her the life she always wanted. She has a second chance now to be happy. They still need some work, but I’ll get it right. I have to.”

Acid could hear the pain just beneath the surface of her words. They were her family, twisted and wrong as it was. Somehow she believed she had done the right thing.

“I don’t know what to say, Roxy. I guess I can’t judge you for this. Not after what I did to myself.”

“I’m not asking for your approval. But you know what we have to do next.”

“You mean the stiff in the garage? So, that’s the plan. Making him like that.”

Roxy gave a giddy shrug. “You need protection, don’t you? And I happen to have a way to provide it with a few little science projects.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at that. “You’re really something, you know that?”

“I know,” she said, stepping closer, her eyes locking onto him. “And just so we’re clear... This isn’t over. I’m letting you go for now, but next time, you won’t see me coming. You’re not going to rid me of the fun of kidnapping your green ass.”

“Sometimes you scare me,” he teased. “So that’s the plan. Turn Donnie’s guy into a Frankie and alter his mind so he’s at our service.”

“Yep.”

“Sounds good. When do we start?”

“After dinner, and then, you’re on your own.”

“On my own?”

“You can’t stay here. As much as I want to help, I have to think of my family. It’s too soon after their reanimation. You being here would draw too much attention. You know Frankie creation is illegal, and I don’t want to be locked up in the slammer.”

“Yeah.” He nodded as he watched the couple cooking. “I get it. As soon as we’re done, I’ll be out of your hair.”

“I’m sorry I can’t do more,” she said, rubbing his arm.

Stepping closer and running the back of his hand down her cheek, he smiled. “I understand, sweetheart. You have to protect your family first, even an undead one. I’ll miss you, though.”

“I’ll miss you, too. Now, let’s eat. We have a lot of work to get to.”

That evening Acid helped Roxy create the perfect bodyguard, complete with a willingness to do anything at his command. Once finished, he called an Uber and booked two flights to LA, which was far away from Donnie. At least in his Beverly Hills home, he would be safe. For now.

Just before leaving, he watched Roxy’s sad eyes tear up and the sight made his heart ache for her. He stepped closer, wiping away the wetness on her cheeks. “Thanks for everything. I’ll come back when the heat dies down. And thanks for those extra tweaks you did on my brain chip to stop the addictions. I feel a lot better.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Oh, and thanks for not making me a drone.”

She had to giggle, looking down at her clasped hands. She felt like her whole world was leaving and she couldn’t even put into words how much she wanted him to stay. For now, she knew it wasn’t safe. If the authorities found out what she did to her mom and Hank she’d be locked in a cell before she could blink.

He took her trembling hands, placing them at his heart. “I’ll come back as soon as I can, I promise.”

“No, you won’t, but it’s okay. It was fun while it lasted, right?”

“Right.” He hated the finality of it. Just before he stepped into the taxi, he kissed her cheek. “See you around, my little pink princess.”

With a nod, she turned to their new creation and patted the tall monster’s back. “Bruce, take Acid back to LA. Make sure he gets there in one piece and do as your master tells you. Understand?”

The man nodded with an expressionless face. “Understand.”

“Good boy.

With a nervous grin, Acid followed the undead man to the car. The ride to Hollywood was going to be a long one with this creep. He hoped she did fix this guy, or he wouldn’t make it home alive.

“Good boy?” the man asked Acid as he slid into the car.

“I sure hope so.”