Gods & Monsters

See, David and Delilah were never supposed to fall in love with each other, let alone have a baby together. Delilah was David and Peter’s first cousin. She came to live with them when she was only a child and her parents had died. Basically, she grew up with David and Peter, and everyone treated them as real siblings as opposed to cousins. It horrified everyone when they found out about the affair. It was wrong and immoral and sick. And that baby? People called it an abomination. The devil’s spawn. They said only monsters could be created from a love like David and Delilah’s.

Some say they went to New York, the big, bad city. But some say they left the country. I bet my mom knows. She knows everything but obviously, she’s not going to tell me. According to my mom, they both were monsters and they should’ve been committed to a mental asylum. Or maybe a camp where people get electric shocks to get their brain chemistry right. Yeah, that’s my mom’s solution to everything.

I’ve heard countless stories where mothers kept their daughters under a strict watch after the scandal. They wouldn’t let them stay out too late. Curfews were insane. Every boy in the town was suspected of wrongdoing. Every love story was thwarted and stomped upon. Mrs. Weatherby, the town’s gossip and my mom’s best friend, calls it the dark times, when love had died and the purity of it was stained.

“All because of those sinners: David and Delilah,” she said. “God only knows what happened to that baby. It couldn’t have survived, you know. There’s no way it could have. Babies like that never come out normal. They die before their time comes.”

So David and Delilah are our own Adam and Eve, and fourteen years ago, they gave birth to a boy. His name is Abel.

He’s very much alive, though. He’s the boy with golden hair and a black t-shirt. He’s the one who kind-of sort-of smiled at my dirty feet and grass-stained dress.

He’s my new neighbor. Abel Adams.

Last night was the worst yet. I’ve never seen my mom so mad. Sky was intimidated too, and she’s never afraid of my mother. We waited in tense silence until Mrs. Davis, Sky’s mom, came to pick her up. Mrs. Davis is the sweetest lady ever, with the same dark hair and gray eyes as Sky. I love her; she’s way more fun than my mom.

Once they both left, with Sky giving me a sympathetic look over her shoulder, the screaming started. My mom yelled about how dirty and savage and uncouth and uncivilized and unrefined I was. Well, not in all those fancy words but still. Then she sent me straight to the bathroom where she blasted cold water on me while I was still wearing clothes, and scrubbed my feet and legs for hours. It was a good thing the shower was on, actually. My mom couldn’t see my tears.

“And what were you doing staring at that new boy?” Her dark eyes were so harsh, I actually had to take a step back. “You’re not to associate with him, do you hear me, Evie? That boy shouldn’t even come close to you. If he does something, you tell me, you understand?”

I wanted to ask why, but I only nodded. At the time I had no idea who that new boy was. But I knew if my mom was going so crazy, then he must be related to the Adamses.

After dinner, I overheard my mom and dad talking in the living room. Mom told him about the arrival of the new neighbor and asked if all the rumors were true. My mom’s voice is shrill and in contrast to that, my dad’s voice is lower and calmer. I moved from the dining table where I was reading a book and hid behind the wall to listen in.

That’s when I knew the monster baby was alive and he moved here from New York City, the big, bad city, after all.

“David and Delilah are dead,” Dad said. “They died in a car crash. Peter’s his only living relative.”

“Well, good riddance, then. God sees everything. It’s time justice is served and evil is defeated.”

My mom is a big believer in God and monsters. I don’t know where she gets these ideas from because in church, we don’t talk about the devil. Father Knight talks about forgiveness, but whatever. My mom thinks God has a way of punishing the evil and taking out the monsters. God’s always watching, she says. My dad, however, is super chill. He never raises his voice and never argues with Mom. I try to imitate that. It’s better once Mom has it out of her system. So we can all have peace.

But right then, I was angry and sad. So sad. David and Delilah were dead. Full disclosure: I don’t hate them, not like other people do, not like my mom does. I don’t think they are monsters. Though I will admit that I’m curious. Over the years, I’ve wondered how it all happened. How could they have fallen in love where there was no chance of ever falling in love? It’s like growing a flower in a swamp. How does something like that happen?