Howl (Monster Boyfriends #1)

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

RAEGAN

A few hours later, I’m riding through the center of town with Jamie in his light blue pickup. The string lights that line the buildings along main street are just beginning to flicker on as the sun sets. I see Maurice opening the awning at Bones and setting up the outside tables for tonight’s performance. Every weekend he features a different local artist. Turns out Shadow Hills has a lot of singer-songwriters. Jamie and I were there for dinner a few weeks ago, and we saw a really talented young ghost playing guitar and singing about the boy she liked when she was alive. Jamie chuckled when I got misty eyed over the moving performance but still slung his arm around my shoulder.

Every building we pass has been decorated to the nines for the Halloween season. Everyone displays little hints of Halloween throughout the year, but our Founding Day Festival is the biggest tourist draw. On October 30th, tourists flock to Shadow Hills to experience the ambiance of a spooky small town. Orange and yellow foliage wraps every street light, sign, and railing in sight. There are pumpkins at every doorstep, stacks of hay strategically placed on every street corner, and each business leans into their own theme. Kiki’s Cafe is my favorite. It’s the most popular spot to eat in town, and right now it’s covered in fake cobwebs and cut out bats stuck to every square inch of the windows.

As we make our way through the roundabout in the center of town, I take in the slowly changing leaves that fall sporadically between the buildings. Shadow Hills truly is beautiful in the fall. It’s the season that makes our small town charm truly shine.

We continue on past the pharmacy, behind the strip mall, and take the back road to my apartment complex. Because yes, I live in the same complex as Patrick, luckily in opposite buildings. We actually met when the dryer in my building was broken and I had to take a basket of sopping wet clothes over to his instead. The flirting had felt straight out of a romcom. He knew all the right words to say to sweep me off my feet, and for a casual relationship, the convenience worked well.

For a while.

I think the first time I knew something was wrong was when he lost it on my cat, Cleetus. Patrick had been sitting on my couch, casually sipping on a hard cider when Cleetus jumped into his lap. As Cleetus’s mother, I know he’s just overly friendly and wanted to introduce himself to a new person. Unfortunately, this caused Patrick to spill his drink and trigger what little patience I wasn’t aware he had to get lost in a hissy fit. He jumped to his feet, sending Cleetus flying across the room, and started screaming at him for being a dumb animal.

He later apologized, of course, but from that moment I started thinking of a way to tell him this wasn’t going to work. I mean, who curses out a cat? What a douche.

Jamie pulls in and parks a few spots away from the stairwell that leads to Patrick’s second floor apartment.

I open the passenger door and hop out. “Remember,” I tell him, “stay in the truck.”

He rolls his eyes and scowls, and I know very well that’s not going to happen. To be honest, it makes me feel safer knowing Jamie is here if something does go wrong.

Jamie has always been a safe place for me. I’ve known him since he was the new kid at Shadow Hills High School his senior year. I was a sophomore with no friends and no social life, but I certainly acted like I ran the place. Truthfully, we probably would have never met if I hadn’t been the one assigned to show him around on his first day. Because of my good grades, I was allowed to work in the office as a student assistant for one hour a day. Most of the time it was boring, filing papers and keeping record of student attendance, but that day was one I’ll always remember.

I’d just turned sixteen with braces on my teeth and fresh-cut bangs that were too short for my forehead, and there was this beautiful older boy standing in front of me. He had a quirky smile with naturally straight teeth, dirty blond hair that curled around his ears, and a presence that made you want to look at him when he entered a room. I was immediately infatuated, but I was too scared to tell him.

Throughout that year, we became friends. We shared a few classes, enjoyed similar hobbies, and eventually decided we preferred each other’s company to anyone else. We stayed in touch for two years after he graduated, but it wasn’t until we both worked on Main Street that we became what we are now.

As for my crush, I continued keeping that to myself. After building such a solid friendship, I was too afraid of ruining it. And though I feel a bit jealous when he dates other girls, it’s only because I’m used to having all of his time. It has nothing to do with envy. Or anger…when I see him kiss someone else.

We’re much better as friends. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have Jamie. As much as I’ve made a big deal about him staying in the car as I confront Patrick, I know he’ll come running the moment I need him.

I give him a reassuring smile as I close the door, and he returns it as he rests a toned arm over the back of the seat beside him. It’s moments like this when I remember how absurdly attractive he is. It’s not that I forget (how could I?), but I’m constantly having to tuck that little observation away.

As I walk slowly up the concrete steps and down the breezeway to Patrick’s door, I feel a knot of nervousness forming in my stomach. I made it seem like this wasn’t a big deal, but truthfully, I’m worried he won’t take it well. Based on previous reactions to less serious situations, I’m prepared for a bout of yelling. He might even punch a wall. But I don’t think Patrick would ever physically hurt me.

Would he?

I swallow my nerves and knock twice. Several seconds go by, but I don’t hear movement from inside.

Maybe he’s not home. Awesome! Now I can put it off another day.

Just as I’m about to give up and turn around, I hear a deep, angry voice rising from the parking lot. I walk to the end of the breezeway to glance over the railing, and to my surprise, I see Patrick standing next to Jamie’s truck, arms flailing as he animatedly accuses Jamie of trespassing.

“Just great,” I mutter to myself. The two of them have not had the best interactions, and it’s usually my job to diffuse the situation.

I race carefully back down the stairs and intercept Patrick before he lands a fist on the hood of Jamie’s truck. At the sight of me so close to a swing, Jamie leaps out of the driver’s seat and slams the door.

“Back the fuck up,” he tells Patrick, his voice low and controlled. I can hear the fury in his tone, something I’ve never witnessed from him before, but his demeanor is somehow calm, alarmingly calm. He holds his posture steady, eyes fixed on the threat ahead of him—the threat against me. The only hint Jamie’s close to losing it is the way he’s clenching his fists at his sides.

“Here we go,” Patrick chides, throwing his arms wide. “Haven’t I told you before, bud? This doesn’t concern you.” He steps right into Jamie’s face and I cringe as he taps a pointer finger on Jamie’s toned chest. “I’m the boyfriend. You’re the friend. Get it straight.”

Patrick has muscles, but he’s bulky and unevenly proportioned. Jamie’s physique is toned and lean. At first glance, it doesn’t look as if he’s that strong, but he was lying earlier when he mentioned his lack of upper body strength. I know for a fact he bench presses over three hundred pounds at the gym.

I see the veins in Jamie’s neck strain at how hard he’s clenching his jaw. But then he smirks, and my stomach drops.

“Correction,” he says, and I swear I hear him snarl, “I’m the best friend. And you’re the ex. Bud .”

Patrick’s eyes go wide for half a second as he realizes why I’m here, unused to being taken by surprise. Did he truly not expect me to break up with him? Is he that oblivious to his own behavior? Then those baffled eyes shift to me, and I take a step back. Jamie takes my hand and moves me to his side, out of reach in case Patrick chooses to take another swing and aim it at me.

I watch as Patrick’s face goes from surprise to anger to smug acceptance. He looks straight into Jamie’s scowl but directs his statement at me. “I knew you’d end up fucking him eventually.”

Before I can register what’s happening, Jamie has Patrick by the throat, and is spinning him around to slam against the side of the truck. Patrick winces, eyes already watering from the pressure Jamie has on his jugular.

“First of all, do not speak to her that way,” Jamie tells him, no hint of a waver in his tone. “Second, she’s done with you. That means from now on, who she fucks is none of your business.” He loosens his grip but doesn’t release his hold. “And if I hear from anyone you’ve tried to contact her in any way,” he pauses for effect, “you and I are gonna have some one on one time.”

Finally, Jamie steps away, and I’m left staring in shock at what I’ve just witnessed. I have never seen him reach his boiling point before. He has the tendency to be a bit confrontational, but he’s never completely lost his temper. Something about what Patrick said must have really set him off.

He was probably just being protective. Jamie has always seen me as a little sister—someone to keep his eye on and stick up for—but something about this was different. More primal. And I'm not sure how to feel about it.

Jamie glances at me but doesn’t make eye contact. “Raegan, get in the truck.”

I snap out of my shock and make my way around the hood to scurry into the passenger seat. When I’ve closed the door, Jamie slowly gets inside and buckles his seatbelt, all the while keeping his eye on Patrick.

Feeling salty, I give the asshole a sarcastic shrug of my shoulders as if to say ‘what can I do?’ as we back out of the parking lot.

As we turn back on to the main road, I look over to Jamie to make sure he’s okay. I can tell his anger hasn’t had enough time to simmer yet, because his hand is gripping the wheel a little too tight, so I place mine over top. “Thank you.”

At the sound of my voice, he relaxes. But his tone is still sharp when he says, “You’re coming home with me.”