I'm the Last One That You'll Ever Remember
Chapter 106: Monsta, Mommy!
Frank sprinted upstairs to comfort his son, Jasiah, who's crib was located in his bedroom. The twins, Venetia and Lorenzo slept in their own separate rooms. As much as Frank cherished every single one of his babies and wanted to be around them all the time, he wasn’t about to have them sleeping in his bed every single night...outside of the exception of nightmares and falling ill. Why? Because he wanted them to have their own spaces, so they’d gain some independency. Besides, his mom told him about one of his cousins who gave birth to their first child and proceeded it to spoil to the point where she couldn’t go to the restroom alone without her baby having a tantrum right outside the door. She had clung to that child so much she taught her son to be just as clingy with her as he got older. To this day, she still uses the restroom with her 10-year-old son keeping her company! Clingy was not something he wanted his children to grow up to be with him. He needed to be able to take a dump in privacy without being bombarded by three overly clingy kids at his feet! As he rushed down the hall to his bedroom where his wailing baby was making a ruckus, Lorenzo’s and Venetia’s bedroom door opened simultaneously to reveal their drowsy but inquisitive faces. “Mommy?”
“It’s okay, my loves, it’s just your baby brother. Go back to bed, please.” Frank hurriedly soothed them as he passed them by. He needed to get to Jasiah because that boy could shatter a window with his screaming if he wasn't tended to soon enough. Hoping his children would obey to him and return to their beds but knowing they most likely wouldn’t, Frank let out a weary sigh when he heard their tiny feet pitter-patters along behind him.
Bursting into his bedroom, Frank quickly flipped on the lights and immediately lifted his red-faced baby into his arms to appease him. Sensing two presence behind him, he knew it was his twins observing him coddling their brother. “Mommy, I scared.”
Frank glanced down at his twins to see them in their pajamas with their dark brown hair tousled from sleep. They were both pouting for attention, especially Venetia, who was becoming a spoiled drama queen thanks to her grandparents. “Scared? What are you scared of, my loves? There’s nothing be scared of.”
“Squeamings.” Lorenzo replied, rubbing his tiny hands over his arms as if to ward off a chill.
“Screamings?” Frank corrected before his hazel eyes drifted to his daughter who was nodding in agreement.
“Loud monsta down in house.” Venetia explained as she stepped forward to cling to his leg.
Loud monster? Frank took a minute to decipher what she meant by that before recalling that he and Poison had been hollering downstairs. Oh! THEY were the monsters downstairs she was talking about. “Oh, no, baby, there’s no monsters downstairs. I-It was the TV. I accidentally left the volume on very loud the last time I watched a movie and turned it on without thinking.”
“TB?” Lorenzo repeated confusingly.
“Yes, TV.” Frank confirmed before reaching down to pick Venetia up and place her on his bed before doing the same to Lorenzo. He watched the twins crawl up the bed towards his pillow and make themselves comfortable beneath his comforter. Feeling a pounding headache form what with all the drama unfolding tonight with Poison’s sudden, unwelcoming arrival, Frank too crawled onto his bed to sit in front of his twins while rocking a blubbering Jasiah. “Sorry, my loves. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“No monsta?” Venetia asked him with only the top half of her face exposed from beneath his comforter. Her big light brown eyes were wide with terror from the rambunctious sounds that woke her.
Frank nodded. “Absolutely, there are no monsters downstairs.” Sensing a third presence, he quickly glanced over his shoulder to see Poison had finally arrived and was studying the family on the bed silently. Well, except that one, Frank wanted to say to his kids, but didn’t. He refused to alarm his children anymore than they already were as he waited to see what exactly Poison would do now that he’s caught him with their children all in one room.
Poison was beyond confused as to what he saw before him. The twins, Venetia and Lorenzo, were curled up beneath Frank’s comforters but…they belonged to Aunt Edith and Uncle Peter the last time he saw them. Why were they all the way across state from their own parents with their Uncle Frank?
The twins followed their mother's gaze and caught sight of a man standing in the doorway dressed all in black, with vibrant cherry red hair and pale white milky skin beneath a yellow mask over his eyes. Simultaneously they tensed up beneath the comforter and began to hyperventilate in panic of the man. Their mommy told them there wasn’t any monsters in the house and yet right there by the doorway was one in the flesh! As if they sensed how the other was going to react, Lorenzo and Venetia both let out a scream of horror and scrambled back against the headboard, tears of terror filling their eyes. “MOMMY! MOMMY!”
Frank jumped at the sound of them screaming, and again when Jasiah burst into tears a second time. With wide eyes, he tried to rock his baby quiet while trying to pacify his older children. “No no no no, darlings! Everything is alright! Calm down, okay?!”
Lorenzo pointed a tiny finger towards the doorway and shouted out a watery cry. “MONSTA, MOMMY!”
“No! He’s not a monster!” Frank tried to defend frantically, needing them all to slow down before he too lost his cool. “H-He’s just a friend!”
“Why the hell do you have three kids in your house with you?” Poison asked so casually it was any wonder if he even knew that his presence was petrifying the children on the bed. He didn’t appear at all remorseful to the further chaos he was causing by just dropping by unannounced.
Frank had managed to get his kids to stop screaming and were now reduced to a whimpering mess. Jasiah was still crying though and as he continued to rock him as he shot Poison a glare over his shoulder. “Would you just get out of here, please!? You’re scaring m- the kids!”
Poison hesitated for a minute before silently turning around and leaving the bedroom.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Frank turned to his children gently tried to simmer them down by rubbing their bellies while simultaneously bouncing Jasiah. “It’s okay, he’s gone now. See? There’s no one there anymore. It’s just us now.”
“B-But monsta…” Venetia wailed out, tears streaming down her round cheeks.
“He’s not a monster, he’s just…dressed up for a college play, is all!” Frank straight out lied.
“A cowage pway?” Lorenzo repeated curiously, his cries reduced to whimpering now as he wiped his chubby cheeks dry of tears.
“Yeah, a college play.” Frank assured them.
“What a pway?” Venetia asked him, rubbing her pink nose as she sniffled.
“A play is almost like going to see the movies in the theatre, like when we watched SpongeBob’s movie, remember?” Frank beamed when his twins began to smile from the memory of going to the theater with him on a lunch date. “Yeah, of course you guys do! You had a fun time, huh? A play is kind of like that but instead it’s real people acting it out in front of you.”
“A rweal Spongeboo!?” Lorenzo asked in awe, not believing that he could have an opportunity to see the infamous sponge face to face in his lifetime.
“Uh…well, not exactly.” Frank struggled to explain because he didn’t want to disappoint his twins in case they retreated back to crying again. Holding up a hand to silence them, he decided to move on from the subject and focus on getting his children to sleep. He still had Poison to deal with downstairs before he could it a night. “I’ll explain it tomorrow, but right now I need you guys to go back to bed.”
At the same time, the twins’s eye enlarged with despair of going to sleep in their own separate rooms in the dark. “BUT MOMM-”
“Lower your voices!” Frank softly scolded them as an almost silent Jasiah let out a irritable whine. “You can sleep in here tonight with the lights on and watch SpongeBob instead of going back to your rooms, okay?”
“O-Otay.” Venetia and her brother nodded as they watched their mommy get up and turn on the lamps on the nightstand, dim them and then set up their favorite show on his TV.
By that time, Jasiah was fast asleep, so Frank lowered his baby back into his crib and tucked him in carefully so as not to reawaken him up again. When he succeeded in that, he whispered out to his twins who were beginning to get too engrossed in their favorite show to pay him any mind. “Keep your voices down so you don’t wake your brother, or else you’ll get in big trouble tomorrow. Now, I’ll be right back, I have to deal with my friend downstairs. If you hear voices, it’s just us, okay? No monsters.”
The twins nodded as they glance at him with lingering concern.
“Good.” Leaning forward, Frank gave them both a kiss on the forehead. “I love you both so much. Don’t worry about any monsters coming to get you anymore tonight, okay? They’ll have to get past mommy first.”
“It’s okay, my loves, it’s just your baby brother. Go back to bed, please.” Frank hurriedly soothed them as he passed them by. He needed to get to Jasiah because that boy could shatter a window with his screaming if he wasn't tended to soon enough. Hoping his children would obey to him and return to their beds but knowing they most likely wouldn’t, Frank let out a weary sigh when he heard their tiny feet pitter-patters along behind him.
Bursting into his bedroom, Frank quickly flipped on the lights and immediately lifted his red-faced baby into his arms to appease him. Sensing two presence behind him, he knew it was his twins observing him coddling their brother. “Mommy, I scared.”
Frank glanced down at his twins to see them in their pajamas with their dark brown hair tousled from sleep. They were both pouting for attention, especially Venetia, who was becoming a spoiled drama queen thanks to her grandparents. “Scared? What are you scared of, my loves? There’s nothing be scared of.”
“Squeamings.” Lorenzo replied, rubbing his tiny hands over his arms as if to ward off a chill.
“Screamings?” Frank corrected before his hazel eyes drifted to his daughter who was nodding in agreement.
“Loud monsta down in house.” Venetia explained as she stepped forward to cling to his leg.
Loud monster? Frank took a minute to decipher what she meant by that before recalling that he and Poison had been hollering downstairs. Oh! THEY were the monsters downstairs she was talking about. “Oh, no, baby, there’s no monsters downstairs. I-It was the TV. I accidentally left the volume on very loud the last time I watched a movie and turned it on without thinking.”
“TB?” Lorenzo repeated confusingly.
“Yes, TV.” Frank confirmed before reaching down to pick Venetia up and place her on his bed before doing the same to Lorenzo. He watched the twins crawl up the bed towards his pillow and make themselves comfortable beneath his comforter. Feeling a pounding headache form what with all the drama unfolding tonight with Poison’s sudden, unwelcoming arrival, Frank too crawled onto his bed to sit in front of his twins while rocking a blubbering Jasiah. “Sorry, my loves. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“No monsta?” Venetia asked him with only the top half of her face exposed from beneath his comforter. Her big light brown eyes were wide with terror from the rambunctious sounds that woke her.
Frank nodded. “Absolutely, there are no monsters downstairs.” Sensing a third presence, he quickly glanced over his shoulder to see Poison had finally arrived and was studying the family on the bed silently. Well, except that one, Frank wanted to say to his kids, but didn’t. He refused to alarm his children anymore than they already were as he waited to see what exactly Poison would do now that he’s caught him with their children all in one room.
Poison was beyond confused as to what he saw before him. The twins, Venetia and Lorenzo, were curled up beneath Frank’s comforters but…they belonged to Aunt Edith and Uncle Peter the last time he saw them. Why were they all the way across state from their own parents with their Uncle Frank?
The twins followed their mother's gaze and caught sight of a man standing in the doorway dressed all in black, with vibrant cherry red hair and pale white milky skin beneath a yellow mask over his eyes. Simultaneously they tensed up beneath the comforter and began to hyperventilate in panic of the man. Their mommy told them there wasn’t any monsters in the house and yet right there by the doorway was one in the flesh! As if they sensed how the other was going to react, Lorenzo and Venetia both let out a scream of horror and scrambled back against the headboard, tears of terror filling their eyes. “MOMMY! MOMMY!”
Frank jumped at the sound of them screaming, and again when Jasiah burst into tears a second time. With wide eyes, he tried to rock his baby quiet while trying to pacify his older children. “No no no no, darlings! Everything is alright! Calm down, okay?!”
Lorenzo pointed a tiny finger towards the doorway and shouted out a watery cry. “MONSTA, MOMMY!”
“No! He’s not a monster!” Frank tried to defend frantically, needing them all to slow down before he too lost his cool. “H-He’s just a friend!”
“Why the hell do you have three kids in your house with you?” Poison asked so casually it was any wonder if he even knew that his presence was petrifying the children on the bed. He didn’t appear at all remorseful to the further chaos he was causing by just dropping by unannounced.
Frank had managed to get his kids to stop screaming and were now reduced to a whimpering mess. Jasiah was still crying though and as he continued to rock him as he shot Poison a glare over his shoulder. “Would you just get out of here, please!? You’re scaring m- the kids!”
Poison hesitated for a minute before silently turning around and leaving the bedroom.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Frank turned to his children gently tried to simmer them down by rubbing their bellies while simultaneously bouncing Jasiah. “It’s okay, he’s gone now. See? There’s no one there anymore. It’s just us now.”
“B-But monsta…” Venetia wailed out, tears streaming down her round cheeks.
“He’s not a monster, he’s just…dressed up for a college play, is all!” Frank straight out lied.
“A cowage pway?” Lorenzo repeated curiously, his cries reduced to whimpering now as he wiped his chubby cheeks dry of tears.
“Yeah, a college play.” Frank assured them.
“What a pway?” Venetia asked him, rubbing her pink nose as she sniffled.
“A play is almost like going to see the movies in the theatre, like when we watched SpongeBob’s movie, remember?” Frank beamed when his twins began to smile from the memory of going to the theater with him on a lunch date. “Yeah, of course you guys do! You had a fun time, huh? A play is kind of like that but instead it’s real people acting it out in front of you.”
“A rweal Spongeboo!?” Lorenzo asked in awe, not believing that he could have an opportunity to see the infamous sponge face to face in his lifetime.
“Uh…well, not exactly.” Frank struggled to explain because he didn’t want to disappoint his twins in case they retreated back to crying again. Holding up a hand to silence them, he decided to move on from the subject and focus on getting his children to sleep. He still had Poison to deal with downstairs before he could it a night. “I’ll explain it tomorrow, but right now I need you guys to go back to bed.”
At the same time, the twins’s eye enlarged with despair of going to sleep in their own separate rooms in the dark. “BUT MOMM-”
“Lower your voices!” Frank softly scolded them as an almost silent Jasiah let out a irritable whine. “You can sleep in here tonight with the lights on and watch SpongeBob instead of going back to your rooms, okay?”
“O-Otay.” Venetia and her brother nodded as they watched their mommy get up and turn on the lamps on the nightstand, dim them and then set up their favorite show on his TV.
By that time, Jasiah was fast asleep, so Frank lowered his baby back into his crib and tucked him in carefully so as not to reawaken him up again. When he succeeded in that, he whispered out to his twins who were beginning to get too engrossed in their favorite show to pay him any mind. “Keep your voices down so you don’t wake your brother, or else you’ll get in big trouble tomorrow. Now, I’ll be right back, I have to deal with my friend downstairs. If you hear voices, it’s just us, okay? No monsters.”
The twins nodded as they glance at him with lingering concern.
“Good.” Leaning forward, Frank gave them both a kiss on the forehead. “I love you both so much. Don’t worry about any monsters coming to get you anymore tonight, okay? They’ll have to get past mommy first.”