My monster

Suddenly my ribs feel normal again and the cold smooth surface of his boot leaves my side. I'm grateful knowing his size 11 foot is rightfully in its place again. My cheeks dry up like the Sahara and the palms of my sweating, trembling hands suddenly find my face again just as my knees push themselves off the dirty carpet. Peek-a-boo reinvents itself in my fingers when the ripples on my cheek evaporate into my skin one by one. My head whips back around, facing the beast whose tense shoulders ease into position, and clenched fist returns to his side. My monster reaches for me and we waltz across the room. He takes three steps back and I follow his lead, taking two steps forward. Again I follow him and free fall into his arms, closing my mouth to suppress the ugly words now scrambling to find their way back down my throat. The couch caresses us both and our eyes meet just as the movie beings again. I see my monster partially in disguise with soft hands that were as hard as bricks. I notice that all this time the screaming turned to muffled gibberish as if two seashells glued themselves to my ears. I’ve never heard anything more peaceful in my life.

The monster returns to his cave resuming hibernation and the innocent girl outside of his hideout retracts her clean fist from the cold door and returns her hand to her pocket. She slumps back down the stairs and nestles herself into her adjusted driver’s seat, puts the car in drive and reverses out of his neighborhood.