Monsters' Gift (Crude Hill High 2)

There were times I had no idea how it was going to work. Four men, one girl. Would they get bored of me? It was a freaking possibility. A scary one, in fact, and it terrified me that I would never be enough for them, or they would realize how inconvenient it was to have one woman, and they’d trade me in. Not to mention how they would feel if I was to actually become pregnant. Would they want me then? Could we even survive with kids? I’d seen firsthand what it was like to be a kid in this world. To have parents who were monsters. Just the thought of my men hurting our child, it wouldn’t happen. They were Monsters, but not like their parents, not when it came to their own flesh and blood.

All of these thoughts were not exactly good to have as I was traveling haphazardly down a street that I specifically recalled led to the Crude Hill High School. It would only be fitting if I actually ended up driving this death trap into the school. It was the first place where all of my troubles began. Not that I could call falling in love with Gael trouble, but if I hadn’t reacted when I did, he would’ve been dead now, and me, well, I’d be at Earl Valentine’s mercy.

I couldn’t help but wonder, though, if he wasn’t such a bad guy. During the day I’d spent with Ashley, she didn’t show any signs of emotional or physical distress. She may think I’d developed a crush on her with how many times I kept on staring at her. I loved her as a friend, but I was worried about her. Earl wasn’t a good guy, but maybe, like with my Monsters, he was good for her. Maybe he loved her and that was what made him a good guy. Again, I didn’t really know. I was hoping. That was what I was doing. I couldn’t help but hope she was happy. That she was in the best place possible with Earl and he’d give her a wonderful life. If not, then I would have no choice but to kill him.

Ashley deserved the best life. She’d given me seven years, and I hadn’t exactly been the nicest person to live with. I’d sobbed, and when she’d found positivity, I hadn’t.

Running my hands down my face, I wanted to do nothing more than sob, but instead, I controlled myself. Taking long deep breaths, I slowly brought the car to a stop, up to the curb on the school grounds.

I hadn’t even bothered with the seatbelt.

“Emily?”

I fumbled with the car door handle and finally got it open. Spilling out of the car, I wasn’t exactly graceful, but I got there.

At first, I stared at the ground. The scent of wet grass was heavy in the air. Slowly, I drew my gaze up to stare at the school.

In the dark, it looked haunted.

With my arms folded, I just stared. Drake got out of the car and joined me. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” I whispered the words, not wanting to make too much of a sound. It could wake the dead.

Licking my lips, I stepped away and then decided to take a step toward the imposing building.

“I hated this place,” I said.

“I think we can all safely say we hated this place.”

“Really? Even you?” I asked.

He smiled. “I … this was not just a place for kids of monsters, Em. This was a place where assholes like my father dumped the kids they didn’t want to own up to.”

“You’ve got a lot of issues when it comes to your father.”

“He’s the one who gave me a lot of crap. He hated me and I guess I loved him, but that quickly turned to hate.” He blew out a breath. “Damn, you know I pass this place so often and I don’t even take the time to look at it.”

I forced a laugh. “I’ve done nothing but think about this place. I hated this place, but it was by far better than my home life.”

“How come?”

For a second, I was confused, because I figured he knew about my past but then it wasn’t like he was cushy with the Monsters back then.

“My dad, he’d beat me and put me through virginity checks. My driver hated me and to make my life worse, he’d lie and say guys were sniffing around me, or he’d be this arrogant prick, and he’d get to watch me being punished.”

“Tell me he’s dead?”

“Oh, he’s dead all right. It turns out my father had been plotting to oust the Monsters. He got caught. My brother, mother, all of my family, and the driver, they were all killed.”

“You were spared.”

“Yep. I was sent to England with Ashley. Her mother was having an affair with my father.”