BEAUTIFUL MONSTER

46 : Artist

Ethel blowing kisses was creepy. I felt my Maybe-Now-Is-The-Time-To-Call-The-Police bells going off. But I didn't move from the spot I was at the window, waiting for Ethel's to do something else other than give me bad shivers. When it became painfully obvious that the kiss was her last move and she wasn't going to take her wider-than-life eyes off of me, I hesitantly opened my window.

I figured I had more than enough time to slam the window shut should Ethel decide to show me any new flying powers. I cleared my throat, trying to keep my voice low enough so I wouldn't wake anyone up but loud enough so it would reach Ethel's ears. "Were you, uh, flirting with me?"

Her silence was hard to understand.

"Oh. I see. Playing hard to get, huh? I like that. Hey Ethel, maybe we could do this some other time. Would you mind doing this some other time?"

I nodded. "Alright, nice having this conversation with you." I made dismissive gestures. "Run off back to Maximal."

She took a step forward, twisting her face to the side, and horrified, I caught her twisted and deformed face in the moonlight. "What the fuck?"

She gnashed her extremely large, abnormal teeth together before twisting around, swallowed up in the darkness of the street. I quickly shut the window, disgusted.

These monsters are getting freakier and... na-asty.

*****

Darius was a smug bastard. The expression on his face irritated me. He was a fly I wanted to squash to nothing. He took up the large sofa, lying down with his broad body making the room look smaller in comparison. "Are you looking forward to the holidays next week, Ellie?"

"Yeah, I can't wait," Ellie replied to her father, giving him a kiss on the cheek before she left for school.

"It's good to know some kids take their education seriously." Darius made the off-side comment casually. "At least they'll get somewhere in life."

"Preferably, far, far, far away from you," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" I sourly wished Mum hadn't left for work. The atmosphere in the house was fast becoming unbearable.

"You have a bad habit of mumbling to yourself, Beatrice. You should be careful, someone might mistake you for insane - if they haven't already."

I scoffed lightly. "Whatever."

If I had a bat I would knock Darius' smugness so far it would land in some part of Australia. Or better yet, knock him, maybe underground. Darius turned on the TV, sandwiching the remote into his armpit. "Why would we need to watch the news when we get the paper delivered to our door?" I groaned loudly. I had been hoping to catch up with an episode of America Horror Story.

"Go do some housework instead of complaining."

"Dickhead," I seethed quietly. I rolled my hands up into fists, sighing often and noticing how annoyed Darius was becoming by me.

I wasn't planning it but as soon as I said it, I couldn't take it back so I decided to go to the hills with it. "I wonder what Mum ever saw in you."

"Excuse me?"

"Deaf, abusive and well, a loser really."

"I suggest you -"

"What, do some housework?" I made a noise of scorn, leaning back into the armchair, not making eye contact with Darius just yet. "You're dumb as a rock if you think I'll ever do what you say."