Quiet Little Monsters

It took nearly three days to finally arrive in Rochester, New Hampshire. The town was sunny and warm, and I suddenly felt incredibly nervous, rubbing my damp palms on the floral print of my babydoll dress. Finn grabbed my hand and rubbed circles into it with his thumb. He'll love you. Just trust me.

I nodded and got a picture of Leon Watson from Finn's head. The truth was that he was really excited to see his father. I head Leon's voice in his head.

We pulled into a large white house. It looked old and the paint was peeling, but it didn't look bad at all. It looked like an artifact, a vintage snapshot. There were green vines crawling up the wall and the door was painted bright red. It was perfect.

As soon as Finn cut the engine, Leon came out. He looked exactly the way Finn saw him. He had reddish blond hair with a thick mustache. He had a beer belly and wore a red flannel shirt tucked into jeans. He was Leon. He was the man. I stayed in the car, but Finn had already opened his door and walked quickly to his dad. They hugged and I could tell by their moving lips that they were talking, but I couldn't hear them. I couldn't get into Leon's head. I sighed in relief, but I didn't get out of the car. Leon and Finn were talking in low hushed voices at the top of the driveway, and I couldn't hear them properly.

Leon suddenly strode to my passenger door and opened it. He bent down to look at me.

"Hello, girl. You and I –we're gonna matter to each other," Leon thundered with a smile.

I laughed nervously as he pulled me out of the car and lifted me up, embracing me.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to meet someone like me, Dolly!" he boomed.

I smiled and hugged him back. He smelled of coffee and cologne. "You're scaring her, Dad," Finn said. He stood beside us with a smirk on his face. Leon opened the door of his own head and it was a blinding static which filled both of our heads. "Yeah. Let's not read each other's minds," he murmured gruffly and we both fought to shut the doors in our heads. A mind reader's head is hectic enough without doubling the racket.

"Let's get inside," Leon said and Finn opened the trunk and got out our luggage while Leon pulled me into the house. "I've got some pot roast in the oven and Eve is making some tea, you want some, honey?" he said.

"Eve?" I questioned as he pulled me through the pretty wallpapered rooms and old furniture.

"She's my lady friend," Leon said with a wink, "Such a sweetheart, she is. You know she doesn't even curse or anything. Just a clean, pretty mind. You'll see," he said and we arrived at the kitchen which was a sunny yellow color with white cabinets. Inside it was a pretty white haired lady wearing white capris and a pretty pink button down. Leon always leaves the oven on too high, she was thinking just as we got in.

"I know what I'm doing with that oven, Eve!" Leon boomed merrily and Eve laughed. That's what you think, Mister, she thought jokingly. Her blue eyes landed on me and she thought, Darlin'. You can hear me too, right? Leon is so excited that you're here.

I smiled. "You know about everything?" I murmured meekly.

"Of course, sugar," she said kindly. "Do you want some tea?"

I nodded and Finn came into the kitchen. There was some sweat on his brown and his black Ramones shirt clung to his lean chest. "I've been here five minutes and you're already stealing my girl," Finn joked loudly.

"Dolly here likes me , son," Leon muttered with an eye roll.

"I wasn't talking about Dolly! I was talking about Eve!" Finn cried and Eve burst into laughter. Eve, being the only person in the room I could hear, had one of the kindest, most soothing voices I'd ever heard. Only Luella Baker could calm me as much as she did.

We gathered around the table and ate the pot roast which Leon had made himself, as he reminded everyone in the room every five minutes.

"When you go out, do you hear people at all? Or is everything tightly shut away?" I asked him, greedily taking in every word Leon said.

"It's very, very far away now. Like having it at the end of a tunnel. I've had my whole life to practice," he answered with a smile, "What about you, hon? How's it with you?"
"It's like this door. Like this door that trembles when I get nervous or distracted," I said blankly, "Like I'm always having to focus on it in order to hold it down."

Leon gave me a sad smile and murmured, "You will be okay, honey. Trust me. I am okay and I get that you have been unhappy. God knows I was unhappy. But you are you and that is that."

I gave him a wide smile and Finn looked at me. Finn was definitely this man's son. Although they looked almost nothing alike, they were the same in many ways. My heart fluttered and my throat was too full to talk anymore. I had found people who knew this and accepted my heart and head. It was too surreal to digest.

"So what have you been doing to Dolly, Finnaeus?" Leon looked at his son sternly.

"I don't know what you mean," Finn replied innocently.

"I mean what are you guys?"

"I don't comprehend," Finn muttered with a smirk at me.

"Don't play dumb, boy! Do you love the girl or not? Judging by your thoughts, I would say you do," Leon responded with a smirk of his own.

I turned beet red and sipped my tea. "Oh, you don't have to put him on the spot, Leon," Eve cried but I could hear in her head that she wanted to know too.

Finn didn't turn red or even flinch. "Yeah. I guess I do."

I choked on my tea. "Did you hear that Dolly? My son loves you. What do you say to that?" Leon said, scrutinizing my face.

I looked straight at Finn and grinned.

"I'd say... Ditto."