Monsters Among Us by Monica Rodden

Author:Monica Rodden [Rodden, Monica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2021-01-05T00:00:00+00:00

The next day or so passed in lurches and stops, the hours dragging but the nights arriving abruptly, so that Catherine found herself settling into bed with surprise, as though she’d expected each day to continue on indefinitely. But they didn’t. The sun rose gray-yellow and set in amber to reveal the moon above the trees. Fog pressed against the windows, settled on the ground, and the air developed a strange, acidic tang from the rain mixing with car exhaust before soaking into the asphalt.

Catherine, like most in west Washington in winter, spent her days indoors, watching shows on her laptop and finally answering a few text messages from her high school friends—including Hania—who wanted to hang out catch up how are you what are you doing for New Year’s let’s go out omg is college not the craziest thing ever I have to tell you—

Shared lockers and AP classes, drowsily copying each other’s homework before first period. Passing stupid notes about stupid boys and asking why MAC makeup was so expensive and would it be the worst to steal just once from Sephora when they already shopped there, like, all the time?

Catherine texted back vague excuses. Most, like Luiza and Julia, were understanding, but Hania was more persistent and eventually Catherine stopped responding, a dull sadness warring with her frustration. She was being unfair, she knew it. They had promised they wouldn’t grow apart after high school, swearing it over last summer’s Firefly and lemonade—Hania’s drink just the latter—their shoulders tanned under thin white straps, their shorts dark and denim and a little too expensive for so little fabric.

We’ll never change.

Never forget.

Like some tragedy had happened or something. Even then, toasting with a plastic cup on Hania’s deck, laughing and day drunk and feeling actually beautiful, Catherine had thought distantly, We don’t mean it.

Amber was better; she and Catherine messaged on and off, though Catherine couldn’t help but feel that Amber was checking up on her. She half wished she hadn’t told Amber anything, but it was too late to undo that now.

Catherine put down her phone. She was lying on her stomach on her bed, her laptop open to HBO. It was Tuesday afternoon. The last day of the year—New Year’s Eve. Tonight she’d probably stay up until midnight with her parents, feeling decidedly lame watching the ball drop and people kiss in the freezing cold on the other side of the country.

Outside her bedroom window, the light was weak and fading, even though it was barely four-thirty, and the fog was back, the cold crystallizing on the window where, just nights ago, the Amy from her dream had made her bleed.

Catherine shut her laptop with a snap and grabbed her bag from beside her nightstand.

She had to get out. At least for a little while.

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