Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Kassie
The excitement fluttering in my chest about yesterday was too much; I had to let it out. I was so glad that Harlow asked me to move in with her. I worried our personalities wouldn't align when she asked me to move here, but we actually complemented each other well.
She’s the orange cat to my black one.
Harlow came thumping down the stairs, eyes half-closed and fingers absently scratching her cheek.
The pink satin bonnet on her head was askew, probably concealing what I imagined was a wild nest of bedhead underneath.
I blinked twice at the sight; the disheveled morning version of my usually put-together roommate was quite a contrast to her normal appearance.
“You okay?” I asked with a mouth full of cereal.
Harlow grunted and headed straight for the coffeepot. She poured half a cup into her Hello Kitty mug and filled the rest with vanilla creamer and sugar.
Once she finally sat down, she let out a sigh.
“Yes,” she shakily replied and took a sip. “That’s good stuff.”
We both sat in silence until I finished my cereal. “Did you not sleep well then?”
Harlow tilted her head, her eyelashes fluttering to meet mine. “I slept great. The best. Really, would repeat the night, actually. Which reminds me, I probably should go charge my vibrator.”
She went to stand up, but I grabbed her hand. “I’m about to explode. I must tell you something. It’s serious.”
Harlow’s eyes widened. “What is it?” She leaned over the table.
“I met this guy, yester…”
Harlow screamed and jumped up out of her seat before the words left my mouth.
She knew my preferences, knew that I was…
particular. That I had read too many novels involving monsters who doted on their women.
It had distorted my view of the human male…
but other than human? Yeah, bring me some of that.
I knew it would never happen, so why waste my time on any human, if I couldn’t get what I really wanted?
I’d stick with my fiction stories and my trunk of collectibles.
However, there was something about Atlas I liked.
Harlow turned around in a circle before she picked up the frying pan. “This calls for pancakes!”
I rolled my eyes. There wasn’t any use in telling her no.
She pulled out a bag of flour. “Everything! Tell me everything!”
So I did. How Atlas fell right into my line of vision, quite literally. The large, clumsy giant was a bashful lumberjack who didn’t appear to fit into his body. He was knocking over things in the shop yesterday that I didn’t even think he could knock over.
He made this cold heart flutter.
Maybe it was the way his red flannel stretched across his shoulders, worn in all the right places.
Unlike those gym bros with their chiseled six-packs, Atlas had this solid, bearlike build—the kind of body that promised warmth when curled against it.
At almost six feet, I rarely find guys who make me feel small, but Atlas?
Standing at what had to be seven feet tall, he made me feel downright petite.
“What attracted you most to him?” Harlow hummed as she put a stack of pancakes on my plate.
I drummed my fingers against the table, eyeing the mountain of pancakes with dread.
"It wasn't just his lumberjack aesthetic," I said, pushing the food around my plate.
"It was how this giant of a man seemed terrified of me.
Like he might accidentally break me if he got too close.
" I caught myself grinning at the memory.
How crimson had crept from his cheeks to the tips of his ears, probably spreading beneath that wild beard of his like a forest fire.
“Then, I felt his arms. They were huge, bulky. Made me think of what else was huge.”
Harlow squealed and curled herself up into a ball, shaking her hands around like a child. “I’m happy for you! And not a monster or some supernatural being!”
Harlow paused and placed her legs down, then gazed around the room. “Wait, do you think…”
I leaned close to Harlow and whispered, “That was something else I wanted to talk to you about yesterday. I was visited last night by those red lights again. They were eyes. I know they were. They had vanished by the time I went to the window.”
Harlow squeezed her hands into fists. “Let’s check the cameras. I was able to get them set up yesterday.”
Another thing that Harlow and I had in common was a love for the supernatural, the paranormal, the unexplainable.
Harlow was born with a gift she never fully understood when she was a child.
She was always afraid of the dark. Said she could feel the darkness move, could see swirls and faces no one else could see.
Her parents ignored her and left her to deal with the spirits alone in the dark.
After moving out of her familial home, she’s figured out ways to suppress seeing such things, but lately, Harlow questioned everything. Whether things were true or not, such as the paranormal, vampires, werewolves and all sorts.
Harlow didn't just randomly choose this town; the universe practically shoved her here.
First came the real estate listings appearing in her social feeds, then the recurring dreams of forest-lined streets she'd never seen, and finally those suspiciously specific email promotions about local businesses.
She recognized the pattern for what it was: an invitation she couldn't refuse.
When she found the townhome for sale and for her price range, she knew she was walking into something deliberately orchestrated.
She had further suspicions, especially after the last party she went to. The costumes were just too real.
Harlow stomped her foot. “Dino Nuggets, it’s blurry!”
The cameras that were set up were motion-activated, but the picture of the supposed animal was blurred so much you couldn’t see it. All except for red eyes.
“What is a creature that has red eyes?” I rubbed the side of my face. “That’s too big to be a raccoon. I don’t care what the mayor says.”
“The mayor is in on it. Why do you think I’m trying to be all sweet with him?”
Oh, thank the gods. “I thought you actually liked the bald man with a giant head and weird teeth.”
Harlow blushed. “He has a pleasant smile.”
I turned around and huffed. “What could it be then? And why would it be at my window?”
Harlow gathered the dishes and carried them to the sink.
"What if you've already crossed paths with whatever was at your window?
Some people around here wear costumes that look impossibly real, while others are clearly just playing dress-up.
I'm thinking the ones with the flawless disguises aren't wearing costumes at all.
They're actually supernatural beings hiding in plain sight. "
I rubbed my chin. “It’s a possibility. That means there are witches in town.”
Harlow nodded. "Just look around town: crystal shops, herbalists brewing teas that cure things modern medicine can't explain, grocery stores that have some really odd things on their shelves.” She shivered. “Who buys frog eyes?”
I barked out a laugh. “We are smack dab in the middle of it all then. The question is, are we safe?”
Harlow smiled and put her hands on her hips. “Of course! I saw a human girl with one of those monsters at the last party. It was a Lycan. He was carrying her around and sniffing, licking and doting on her. Everyone congratulated them on being a couple. They both looked thrilled.”
“Then, monsters are pairing up with humans?” I grinned.
Harlow leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “Could be, but they look for something particular in each human; they don’t just grab anyone. They are selective.”
Interesting. I twirled a streak of green-highlighted hair. What could have been at my window with red eyes? Who have I met?
I wanted to smack myself. How stupid I was!
Atlas and Lucien are the only two I’ve talked to besides the mayor. Atlas said he was coming as a Mothman.
“Mothman!” I whispered to Harlow. “Atlas is a Mothman. Think about it. He told me he is going to the party dressed up as a Mothman, with the big, red eyes.” I put my hands over my eyes to look like I had big binoculars.
“Think of every time someone has tried to get a picture of a Mothman, there is never a clear picture, always fuzzy!”
Harlow grinned. “Sounds like it then. Wow, Mothman. You got yourself a Mothman stalker.”
I did a Harlow squeal and danced on my toes, turning around in circles. “I still don’t like human men!” I fist-pumped into the air.
“That’s not really a flex, but yeah!” Harlow fist-pumped into the air as well.
I was on pins and needles for the next couple of hours.
I wasn’t sure what I was more excited about: that paranormal creatures exist or I had one who was attracted to me.
I should wig out about this. I should leave town.
But I am 95% sure it’s Atlas, and he wouldn’t hurt a fly.
Erm, should I be making bug jokes?
Was that offensive?
I needed to confirm my suspicions before letting myself get too excited about a potential Mothman admirer, so I tidied up my bedroom and arranged my collection of books and figurines on the bed.
The doorbell rang, and I raced down the stairs to find the door already open, with Harlow standing there, one hand on her hip as she looked Atlas and Lucien up and down.
“Geez, you guys are tall. You really ate your vegetables, huh?”
She was not subtle at all.
“Do you eat lots of carrots so you can see well at night, too? I heard if you eat a lot of carrots, you can see in the dark like cats and rabbits, orrr maybe even a…”
I slapped my palm over Harlow's mouth and yanked her backward.
"Ignore her," I said with a forced laugh. "Please come inside.” As they maneuvered through the doorway with my new, oversized triangular shelf unit for empty corners, I gestured toward the stairs. I might have picked it out because Atlas chopped down the tree for it and helped carve it out. I was flirting hard yesterday, and I don’t think he even knew it.