Chapter 30 Monroe
MONROE
Six Months Prior to Present Day,
Morning After the March Full Moon Ceremony,
Sigma
“Itold you, it’s not fucking happening.”
Kieren’s loud voice startles me awake, and judging by the bright light flooding the bedroom, I must have been out for several hours.
“No, that’s bullshit. I’m not letting that freak touch her. She’s mine, Father.”
I strain to listen as the conversation pauses.
“No, it’s not that serious.”
Another pause, and I feel my palms start to sweat.
“Maybe I will offer her, but on my terms and my timeline… Yes, I do get to dictate this… Because it’s not your neck on the line or his, it’s mine…
No. No, she’s not… Because I care! I’m the one who should reap the blessings, not him or any of the other fuckers in the room…
Yes, of course I meant our family, not just me.
Listen, Father, I have to go. I’ll speak to you when I’m home. ”
The key turns in the lock, and Kieren’s eyes flick to mine when he enters. I do my best to subdue my confused expression and greet him with a neutral face.
“You’re awake,” he comments with surprise. “How are you feeling? I was worried I would need to take you to the hospital.”
“Fine,” I rasp. “My head is killing me.”
“Here, drink water,” he insists, sitting next to me on the bed as he unscrews the top of a bottle. “I brought us lunch. When is the last time you ate?”
I shrug. “Maybe lunch yesterday.”
“Has this happened before?” he asks, concerned.
“Yeah, I have a low red blood cell count. I’ve been anemic my whole life.”
“You’re anemic?” he asks with shock. “And you didn’t think to tell me this in the three years we’ve known each other?”
“Sorry. Sometimes I forget I have this issue.”
“Jesus Christ, Monroe. For a second there, I literally thought I fucked you to death.”
I snort, spitting water all over my lap. “It wouldn’t be the worst way to die,” I laugh.
Kieren scoffs. “You have a twisted sense of humor, Monroe. I caught you when you fell, by the way. Barely, but I caught you.”
“Am I supposed to thank you?” I jest.
“Wouldn’t hurt, seeing as I stopped you from falling on your face and breaking your nose.”
“You like my face too much to let anything happen to it.”
I take a sip of water; the room now strangely quiet.
“How’s your dad?” I ask, changing the subject. “I heard you say ‘father’ and assumed you were speaking to him on the phone.”
Kieren scowls. “Oh, you heard that? What else did you hear?”
“That was it,” I lie.
He sighs, leaning back on his elbows. “Nothing. He’s fine, but all up in my shit, which is annoying as fuck.”
“Is he excited to see you?”
“I doubt it. You know we’ve never had a typical father-and-son relationship, and he’s not a very warm and fuzzy guy, even after what happened last summer.”
“Am I going home with you?”
I’ve known Kieren has planned to visit his parents in Connecticut over spring break for weeks, and yet he’s not once mentioned bringing me with him.
Maybe the state of his father’s health remains too fragile to introduce someone new, but it feels odd given the amount of time we spend together, not to mention our years of history.
The words he said to me in a drunken rage at his birthday dinner in New York City during winter break our freshman year continue to haunt me, and in the back of my mind, I suspect they still hold true.
“If you’re a good girl,” he says with a menacing smirk. “But you’ll have to earn it, puppy.”
I roll my eyes at him and slide off the bed to open the takeaway bag. Breakfast bagels, thank god. I need real sustenance.
“I’ll drive you to the sorority or your apartment to get clothes and anything else you need after we eat,” Kieren comments.
“Why?” I ask before biting into the overstuffed egg and cheese sandwich.
“Because you don’t have many things here.”
“That’s because I don’t live here,” I answer, covering my mouth with my hand as I chew.
“You’re my girlfriend, you should stay here. Besides, the thought of you not being here at night makes me spiral. I need you here for your safety.”
“For my safety?” I ask incredulously.
“Monroe, I don’t think you understand. When I said you were mine, I meant it in every sense of the word. Why wouldn’t you want to live with me? Is there someone else? Did you not mean it when you told me you loved me?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I retort through a mouthful of bagel sandwich.
“Then what’s the problem? I’m getting sick of your fucking games, Monroe.”
The bite I had taken sits partially chewed in my mouth as I furrow my brows at his capricious accusation.
“Do you remember what you said to me earlier this morning?” Kieren asks.
I give him a slight shake of my head because I barely remember the shower I took.
“You said you didn’t think you could do this.
You were sewing your seeds of doubt, like you always do right before you run, and there will be no more running, Monroe.
You can’t keep telling me you love me and then leave the second things don’t go your way.
After last night and that stunt you pulled, we’re going to do things differently, starting with your security.
Whenever you leave this room, it will be with me or with an escort. ”
I manage a painful swallow. “You can’t keep me captive in your room, Kieren. That’s absurd!”
“No, what’s absurd,” he snaps, sitting up to glare at me as I huddle on the floor at his feet, “is that you fail to comprehend the target you have on your back as my girlfriend. Do you think I don’t hear the whispers?
The envy of what we’re doing here at Sigma?
The jealousy wielded at the women who have been initiated as Sigma Little Sisters?
Everyone is getting an escort, Monroe. Sigma protects their own, especially you.
Above all else, you, so do not forget, Monroe, that you are not only a part of this now, but as my girlfriend, you are the face of Sigma Little Sisters.
Every dick with a pulse is out to fuck you, and I’ll be damned if I let anyone touch what’s mine, because the only one who gets to make you scream is me. ”
“Kieren, this sounds incredibly paranoid, even for you. Escorts? Security? You sound like you truly have lost your mind.”
He closes his eyes and laughs to himself. “Yeah,” he agrees with a mocking sneer. “I lost my mind a long time ago, Monroe. My mind, my soul, my humanity. But you know the one thing I refuse to lose?” he asks, looking at me with determined zeal. “It’s you.”