Page 2

Matty

S creaming. Blood everywhere. A knife hacking away at an unsuspecting victim.

Matty tucked himself deeper into his multilayered blanket burrito, popping more sour candy into his mouth as the movie played. When his phone rang a moment later, he already knew whose name he’d see on the screen, requesting a video call.

Only one person ever called Matty. And that person was usually living in the same house with him, so there wasn’t much occasion for it.

But now Matty’s housemate Sascha and his demon husband, Kai, were off on vacation, and Matty was alone, so Sascha was calling him daily to check in.

Alone in the house. No one to protect you. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it .

Maybe Matty should have felt more pathetic about Sascha feeling the need to check on him so regularly, but he could only feel grateful.

He swallowed his candy and lowered the volume on the TV, picking up on the second ring. “Hey, Sascha.”

“Matty!” Sascha cried. He looked beautiful as always, with his light hair and pale-blue eyes and delicate features, and his smile was loose enough that it was clear he was tipsy. “I was worried you might be asleep already.”

“Not yet.”

It was well past midnight, but Matty had no intention of going to sleep, not until he absolutely had to. He could already tell it would be a nightmare sort of night, and he was choosing avoidance over bravery. As per usual.

He planned to keep watching his horror movie marathon through increasingly dry and itchy eyes, relying on a mix of sugar and stubbornness to stay awake.

He’d stocked up on sweets before Sascha and Kai had left, so wouldn’t run out of candy, at least. With any luck, he could stay up all night, not passing out until it was light outside and the horror of waking from another dread-filled dreamscape would be less potent.

Not that Matty was going to tell Sascha any of that.

Sascha already worried too much about Matty. They weren’t even related or, like, normal friends, so it wasn’t fair to him. Matty was just a stray Sascha and Kai had picked up and were reluctant to kick out.

A fact for which Matty would be eternally grateful for the rest of his life.

He owed them both so, so much.

“I got your texts,” Sascha told Matty, his brow furrowing. “But I have to ask: Are you extra, super, one hundred percent sure you don’t want them to come stay with you this weekend?”

“Am I extra, super, one hundred percent sure I don’t want your scary older brother and his sex demon to reluctantly babysit me? Yes. ’Fraid so.”

Sascha laughed, his face lighting up again, and Matty felt a quick flash of pride. Even that much sass had been beyond him six months ago. It still was, more or less, with anyone other than Sascha or Kai.

There was a reason Sascha’s family called Matteo his resident mouse.

“You know Ivan would never actually hurt you, right?”

Matty did know that, actually, but before he could say so, a loud scream erupted on the TV.

Apparently loud enough to be heard on the phone even with the lowered volume, because Sascha groaned.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re watching one of those movies alone at night. I don’t know how the hell you do that.”

Because I’ve met real monsters, and these Hollywood make-believe creations have nothing on them.

Matty didn’t say that out loud. Instead, he said what he’d already told Sascha a million times, “I just like them.”

Sascha grimaced. “To each their own.” Then, in a falsely casual voice he was definitely too tipsy to pull off, he asked, “So, um, have you left the house since our departure?”

Matty had practiced for this. “Yep,” he said easily.

“He lies,” Kai’s deep voice accused on Sascha’s end of the phone. Matty saw the edge of sleek black hair and a blue cheek before the demon ducked back out of view.

Well, damn. If Matty didn’t think Kai was one of the best nonpeople around—Matty’s literal savior from another realm—he’d be really annoyed with him right now.

“Kai,” Sascha scolded, glaring off to the side. Then, in a much softer tone, he addressed Matty again. “But, see, Seth already told us you haven’t been to the bakery at all. He made extra lemon bars for you and everything.”

What. The hell. Seth was going around tattling on Matty? Traitors. Traitors all around.

Although, a lemon bar did sound good right about now.

Sascha had started looking plaintive, and Matty let out a breath. “I’ll go tomorrow, I promise. But I have been out on the porch,” he added, maybe a little sulkily. “So I wasn’t actually lying.”

“Of course you weren’t,” Sascha soothed. “Kai’s just drunk.”

“Kai doesn’t drink human alcohol,” Matty pointed out.

“Well, then I’m drunk.”

“He tried to keep up with the vampires,” Kai butted in again, apparently jonesing to call everyone out mercilessly tonight. “He did not succeed.”

Sascha shushed him noisily before turning back to Matty. “But, Matty, are you…You’re okay?”

That was a question Matty didn’t have an answer for. He cleared his throat. “How’s Colorado?”

Because he was good and sweet no matter how much he denied it, Sascha let Matty change the subject.

“Oh my God, we’re having so much fun!” he cried, color high in his cheeks.

“Alexei’s vampire den is a total trip. Like, I could definitely get a reality show going with this cast of characters, I swear… ”

Matty listened to Sascha gush about his brother’s new home as the slasher on-screen kept gutting unsuspecting teens. With his movie, his blankets, and his housemate’s voice, Matty could almost convince himself he was safe. Almost.

His eyelids started drooping as he made little sounds of disbelief and encouragement back to Sascha, who was raving about someone named Soren’s fabulous fashion sense.

Matty was half-dozing when Sascha abruptly cut off. “Oops, we have to go! We’re late for our car. We’re going out dancing in the next town over.”

It was like a cold bucket of water on Matty’s head, and he was instantly alert. “O-Of course,” he said, straightening in his blankets. How had he let himself get so close to falling asleep? “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Not that you have to—or that we have to—”

“Tomorrow, Matty,” Sascha said with a smile, breaking through Matty’s stammering. “I promise I’ll call.”

Matty hung up before he could do something stupid like burst into tears.

Sascha and Kai would be gone on their vacation for three whole weeks, visiting Sascha’s brother Alexei and then taking their trip international.

It was the first time they’d left for so long since adopting Matty into their home.

Originally, they’d talked about Sascha’s brother Ivan and his demon mate staying with Matty while they were gone, but Matty had chickened out at the last minute.

It was one thing relying on Sascha and Kai, but Matty was an adult—he should be able to last three weeks on his own. It was pathetic that everyone thought he needed a babysitter.

Even if he kind of maybe did.

There’s another option , a tempting voice whispered in his head, and Matty’s gaze darted over to the bookshelf, where Kai had once told him a demon’s summoning mark was hiding, just waiting to be called.

But Matty couldn’t. No way. Demon protectors were for people with real issues. People like Sascha, when he’d been targeted by Matty’s now deceased ( may he rot in hell ) mobster stepfather.

Matty didn’t have real problems, not anymore. Because Sascha and Kai had saved him, and now no one knew where he was. It was even possible that no one cared. Even…even him .

What Matty had were ghosts. Neuroses. Nightmares.

And that would be truly pathetic, wouldn’t it, to trade a piece of his soul to keep bad dreams at bay?

Matty could do this. He could get through this night, and the next, and the next after that.

And he’d even do what he promised and go out and be seen by Seth tomorrow so Sascha wouldn’t worry. Because Sascha deserved to have a fun vacation without stressing over Matty.

Something creaked in the house, and Matty jumped, his heart racing.

He waited to hear another noise, but it had just been the old house adjusting to the weather. The bones settling, as Sascha called it.

Matty turned up the volume on his movie again. All the doors and windows are locked , he reminded himself. And while he’d turned off the lights in the rest of the house, every lamp in the living room was blazing bright. He was safe as he could be.

He tried to get lost in his movie again, to find solace in the over-the-top violence of it.

Sascha might have thought it was weird, a scaredy-cat like Matty watching so much horror, but for Matty it was comforting. Every ridiculously mauled dead body was just a reminder that at least some monsters weren’t real.

If only Matty could say the same for the ones that haunted him.

Against all odds, Matty survived the night.

Well, it probably wasn’t actually against any odds, but it made him feel better to think that it was.

He’d passed out around dawn, into a (thankfully) dreamless sleep, and he’d caught a whole four hours. He was feeling almost good now. Refreshed.

Hungry as all hell.

It was possible he’d forgotten to stock up on actual groceries when he’d stocked up on sweets.

Matty had gotten away with a lot of delivered meals so far—thank God for the “leave on porch” option there—and then eating leftovers for lunch.

But now he didn’t have anything in the house for breakfast, unless he counted his remaining candy.

So Matty was going to do what he’d promised to do and go to the Bakeshop, to be seen by Seth and get delicious pastries for breakfast at the same time.

Lemon bars were a suitable breakfast food, right? They had fruit in them and everything.

Matty showered, changed into a clean oversize hoodie and more size-appropriate sweatpants, and headed out.