My Beloved Monster

051

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I pulled the car up the driveway and noticed there were no other cars assuming no one else was home. I went inside and shut the door. I leaned against it and sighed in relief. I hung my coat up and called for Bruno so I could feed him. I walked in the living room and jumped out of my skin.

"You know the thing about back roads is that they take a hell of a lot longer." Bam said smugly petting Bruno next to him on the couch, but I saw the anger in his eyes. "I would have guessed that you knew that by now Knobs. Being here more than two months and all."

I looked at Bruno happily curled next to Bam basking in this attention. Traitor. I gulped wondering what he knew. I jumped once more hearing the door snap shut. "I'm home Adel."

I thanked God she came at just the right moment. Maybe she could save me from this.

"We're in here." Bam called out. "Why don't you come join us?"

Chills ran down my spine from the tone of his voice, as I stood paralyzed in my spot. "Bam, Adel?" Ape looked confused, but noticed too that Bam wasn't in the best of moods. "What's going on?"

"Well, I would like to know what you've all been keeping from me." He said getting annoyed. He looked at Ape, "How could you keep that from me that she was here? With a fucking ridiculous fake name no less. Did you think that I was that stupid?"

"Yes." I glared back finding some confidence. I sat in the chair across from him "I did."

Ape knew that Bam inherited his temper from his MumMum. She looked uneasily between the both of us. "I'm going to let you handle this Adel. This is the moment you've been waiting for."

"Yeah, time finally ran out on me." I said dryly still staring at Bam. I was afraid that if I did look anywhere else he would finally stare me down enough that I would bolt.

She tossed something in my lap. I looked in my hands and saw it was the inhaler for emergencies. "We don't need any more close calls. I'm not going in another ambulance with you no matter how much I love you. Do not think you can cheat death again."

Bam looked confused briefly having not clue what we were talking about. Since when did Adel almost die?

Ape looked at Bam. "I don't care how angry you get at her with what you learn Bam, go easy." Bam shrugged not caring and looked back at me. "I'll give you two some room. 911 is number one on speed dial now. Let's hope we don't have to use it." She excused herself with that warning.

Bam briefly thought over this inside joke about Adel dieing. But, he looked at me intently, daring me to run. "How stupid did you think I was?"

"Very." I met his stare daring him back wondering how many buttons does it take for Bam to blow. "Ask away Bam?

"And you'll tell be the truth to every question?" He looked at me skeptically.

"Every last one." I waved my hand nonchalantly.

"When did you first fly here?" He sighed giving in just wanting to know what the fuck has been going on.

"The week Phil was in the hospital in January."

"Jesus, you've been here for at least three months and I'm just finding out now?" Bam looked at his hands briefly before regaining eye contact with me. "Why?"

"Because I was scared of you." I said honestly.

"Scared of me. What the hell would do that?" Bam asked incredulously. I sighed and shrugged not giving him a verbal answer. I saw he wasn't too pleased by this, but he let it slid for now. "So why the alias name?" Bam wiggled his fingers mockingly doing jazz hands. "Novak was very proud of himself coming up with that."

"It was a last minute thing outside the elevators in the hospital." I chuckled remembering the conversation.

Bam squinted his eyes recalling someone. "You were the one being smothered by the balloons." I chewed on my lip and nodded. "Huh." Bam said to himself and looked up at me. "Well?"

"So you wouldn't find out about me; to keep up my charade. There were some things that I wasn't ready to tell you." I rubbed my stomach as I felt the familiar fluttering inside. "Though, everyone name dropped so you would find out. Apparently you're very thick. It was amusing how frustrating everyone was getting. They still are."

Bam rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. "So are you ready to tell me now?" He asked about my earlier comment.

"No." I said simply. "But, maybe you will ask the right questions."

Bam looked me over now even more determined to find out everything. "So I already know about Aschenputtel and that scheme." Bam thought out loud.

He resisted fiddling around with something to make him appear more confident that he was feeling, especially with his next question. "Did you have a fling with Jussi?"

"Like ours?" I smirked. He opened his mouth, but shut it taking Ape's advice and going easy on me. He knew that if said something right then and there, he might regret it. "Worried, it was hotter and steamer than ours?" I sat forward more in the chair trying to cross that deadly line. I saw how he held his tongue before and knew that he would most definitely no be able to last much longer. "No strings attached wasn't that what I was?"

"You know that isn't true." Bam mumbled.

"Oh really?" I raised my eyebrows. "Those weren't you're exact words?"

"Well if you had just seen me, you would have known!" He stood up yelling at me frustrated.

I was slightly taken back when he finally did blow up at me. Though, I definitely was not going to take this sitting down. I stood up and threw my hands in the air. "I was in fucking India!"

Ape heard their voices rising. She hoped and prayed that this would finally just all be done with now. She knew that one everything was all said there would still be a lot to fix, but at least everything would be out in the open.

Ape turned her head towards the nails clicking across the tile. She smiled amused seeing Bruno leaving the living room and began wagging his tail as he approached her. "I don't blame you." She laughed softly petting him and scratched behind his ears. "That was a wiser decision leaving them. I wouldn't want to get caught between their rain of fire either." Ape looked over to the back door seeing Phil coming through. "Is Vito with you?"

"No." He shook his head reassuring her. He took off his jacket laying it over the back of a chair and took a seat in it.

"Good." She sighed relieved. "I definitely wouldn't be able to put up with him on top of all this at the moment."

Phil noticed the yelling and looked over at his wife confused. "What's going on?" He nodded his head towards the living room. "Sounds like World War III is being battled out."

"Might as well be." Ape rolled her eyes. "Bam and Adel are finally having a little heart to heart talk."

"Oh." Phil nodded understanding. "You think she'll finally tell him?"

"I won't let them out of there until she does." Ape joked. "Though, I think if they get each other angry enough she'll spit it out eventually. They'll egg each other on until they both break."

"You sure that hasn't happened already?" Phil chuckled amused.

"Yeah right." Ape scoffed. "That yelling is nothing. We'll know when they finally break." Phil laughed knowing how right she was. "Hopefully they just don't throw my good stuff at each other." Ape said trying to have some hope that her good china will survive World War III being heated out in her living room.

"Bull shit." He spit back.

"After you treated me no better than a paid whore, I went to my fathers." I shot back. "In India."

"Then-" Bam tried putting everything together.

"They lied to you!" I placed my hands on my hips. "They didn't think you were good enough after the way you treated me."

"You were leaving anyway." Bam yelled getting his voice back. "What did it matter?"

"I was offered to skate when they opened the Rockefeller rink in New York. I was going to come back after the championships!" Then I laughed at myself. "Well, that was until I found out I was just a whore."

Bam swallowed the bitter taste in his mouth. "Then why did you not pick up your phone?"

"It fell into the Allepey, the river I had to take to my dad's." I said through gritted teeth.

"Missy ended our relationship today because of Knobs." Bam brought up bluntly.

"How did she find out?" My eyes widen slightly surprised.

"Why was it part of your plan?" He asked ill humored.

"Fuck you Bam." I sneered. I laughed cynically at the quick judgment. "Despite everyone's protest, especially with this unexpected news I held, literally, I wanted you to be happy. I didn't want to stand in your way."

"Stand in my way? Ha!" He laughed sarcastically. "I bet you were just seething with jealously." He stepped closer getting into my face.

"Jealous!" My eyes widened with anger. I grabbed the closet thing to me and chucked it at him.

He sidestepped the object just in time and it crashed against the wall breaking into pieces.

Ape and Phil sighed as they heard the glass break. "Don't worry Ape, I'll get it this time when they're finished." Phil volunteered to clean up whatever mess would be left over from Bam's and I World War III.

"I should have made a bet on it." She chuckled. "I bet you that at least one more thing will get broken by the time they are through."

"And what do I owe you when you win?" Phil laughed knowing it would be pure stupidity to suggest otherwise.

Ape laughed softly with him. "A beautiful fancy dinner out."

"I'd love to." Phil smiled. "It's a bet."

Bam looked at the wall where the vase collided. 'That could have been my head.' He thought briefly. He turned back to me all his anger radiating off of him. "That just proves it."

"That is only a piece of what I'll give you." I picked up another vase anger flowing out of my pores as well. "You were always so fucking full of yourself!"

"It's called confidence." He said smugly glaring.

I looked at the vase tossing it from one hand to the other trying to contain myself from throwing another one at him again. Though, this time I promised my self I will not miss. I shook my head. "I guess I really was a fling when you got together with her right way."

"It's called moving on. Maybe I wasn't to far off about the whore part, though it was nice that you came cheap." He smirked knowing he definitely touched a sore spot and began to pick at an old emotional wound.

I chucked it at him and cursed when I missed again. That wall seemed to have a gigantic invisible bulls eye on it.

"At least I didn't go and get myself knocked up after us." He added.

I glared daggers at him wishing I were holding another vase.

"Still can't figure out the father though." He tapped his chin pretended to ponder on the thought. "Maybe you don't even know."

I socked him good in his jaw to shut him up. He stumbled backwards falling to the floor not expecting a fist to come flying his way. "You should fucking know since it was your doing." I spat at him and walked out of the room.

Ape and Phil scrambled out of the kitchen hearing the loud thump; worried something had happened to Adel.

They sighed in relief seeing me leaning against the wall taking my inhaler and nursing my hand.

"I'll take Bam, you get her." Phil sighed.

Ape nodded and gently lead me into the kitchen.