Quiet Little Monsters

I stayed in the only extra room Leon had in his rickety, old house. It had a beige and copper quilt neatly spread across the small bed and there were paintings of red roses on the walls. Eve had decorated it herself. Leon, however, decided that Finn had to sleep on the couch in the living room, even though I was pretty sure he knew what had happened... time and time again during our journey to his house, Leon still insisted that we act "appropriately" under his roof. Finn rolled his eyes and kissed me goodnight when the house's lights went out. I lay in bed with the quilt up to my chin in my "granny" nightgown, as Finn so kindly put it.

It was couple more minutes, after I checked through Eve's thoughts that Leon had gone to sleep, I tiptoed out of the room and found myself in the living room, lifting up the blanket covering Finn on the pull out couch. He was awake too.

"I was gonna go to your room," he informed me as I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my ear onto his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I missed you," I whispered.

"We were apart for an hour," Finn said, yawning.

"Yeah. I know –it's bad," I whispered.

"That's okay. You're alright."

"Alright?" I snorted quietly.

"Yep," he replied casually. He was locking me out of his thoughts, but I heard his smile through his voice in the darkness. I ran my hands across his bare back and he sighed, "You are something else, Dolly Gunn."

"You are something else, Finnaeus," I teased and pressed my lips against his.

"My dad has really bad hearing, you know," Finn whispered against my skin.

"Oh shut up," I said and pushed him off. He laughed and wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head. "What are we going to do when we get home?" I asked him.

"I dunno. I wish I did," Finn said softly.

"You quit your job," I said offhandedly.

"You have a boyfriend waiting for you," he replied stiffly.

"No. Don't say that," I whispered, "Gavin is a good man. He will understand."

"I don't know about that one," Finn murmured back.

"Stop, stop, stop. Trust me."

"What are we gonna do about your mom?"

"Ignore her," I scoffed, "She's ignored me for nearly three years now. It's my turn to ignore her," I said spitefully.

"Dolly. Think about it," he whispered.

"I have. I don't want to talk to her. If I hear how she really feels about me right now, I don't know if I'll be able to keep my mouth shut anymore. I've just come to the realization that I'm really, really mad at her. I dug myself into other people's thoughts so I wouldn't have to think about it, but I really am angry," I whispered hurriedly.

"Then tell her yourself. Don't let it fester," Finn murmured.

"You can say that. Your parents love you," I sighed.

"Hey –your mom loves you too," Finn said defensively.

"I guess," I said.

Finn kissed me one more time and I again wrapped my arms around him and listened to his heartbeat as I fell asleep.



When I woke up, I wasn't in the living room anymore. I was back in the guest room, wrapped in the quilt. Then I remembered Finn's voice in my dreams. I'm moving you back. I'm moving you back.

There were eggs and bacon sizzling in the kitchen when I walked in. Eve was standing over the stove in a black and white polka dotted dress. I was wearing a semi clean pink rose printed dress with my comfiest leather gladiator sandals. Morning, sugar! Eve greeted me with her honey voice and I smiled.

"Morning! Where's Finn and Leon?" I asked her and sat down at the white table.

"They went for a walk," she said merrily, "Those men –they like walking."

"Really?" I asked, "Finn never told me that."

"Yeah! Whenever Finnaeus is home, they go out for hours, just talking on the trails."

"Hmm," I muttered as she handed me a heaping portion of eggs and bacon shaped into a smiley face on a white plate. I grinned and took a huge bite. I was just going to take another serving of orange juice when Finn and Leon came into the kitchen. Finn was wearing a white v-neck and some brown jeans while Leon was still in his flannel. Finn smiled at me.

"Hey baby," he said and gave me a peck.

I blushed and whispered How was your walk? in his head. He nodded, telling me it was fine and I smiled at the men.

"So when are you two going back to California?" Leon asked us as he served himself some breakfast.

"Probably tonight, Dad," Finn murmured.

"What? You just got here, boy!"

"I know, but Dolly has a bakery back home and we need to get back. She's been gone for a while, you know."

"I know," Leon said, "But that's irrelevant," he teased with the same smirk his son had.

"Oh shut up, old man," Finn said with a grin.



Leon gave me a hug when we packed up the hunter green sedan. "You take care of my son, Dolly and he will take care of you," he murmured into my ear.

I smiled at him and saw the tears in his eyes and couldn't help my own from smarting. It was overwhelming to meet someone you loved so quickly.

"Bye dad, I love you! Love you too, Eve," Finn called out as we pulled out of the driveway.

"Bye kids, drive safely!" Leon called out.

"He loves you," Finn said aloud and nodded his head. His dark hair was stuffed into a beanie and he had nicked himself shaving.

"Thanks, Finn," I sighed.

"For what?"

"For just putting up with my shit and getting me here."

"It was my pleasure," Finn said and gave me a genuine smile.

"I kind of don't want to go home. I just feel like staying away forever," I whispered meekly.

Finn nodded his head and murmured," I feel like a kid dreading school or something."
"Exactly," I muttered and nodded.

And it was this moment. This moment that we realized we had been living in a dream. And it was this moment that we knew things wouldn't be the same. Not in San Francisco.