Dancing With Monsters (40 page)

Toby thought Megan was the perfect
girlfriend, tall, blonde, a hot body and willing to have sex at the
drop of a hat. He had only dated a few girls before Megan, and she
was nothing like them. She had something different that he couldn’t
place. It was in her voice, the way she walked and the way she
barely touched his skin that electrified him. She made the first
advances and like a little lap dog, Toby went along with whatever
Megan wanted. He didn’t know why, and it irked him that she had
that power over him. He simply couldn’t say no. Until only a few
weeks ago, Megan was the only girl he really cared to look at, then
something changed. Internally, a match was lit one day when he
looked at Lyssa.

“
Oh, I almost forgot. We
are going to the movies with Jake and Ann tonight. Pick me up at
eight,” Megan said with her hair nearly covering her face sitting
in front of Toby. “You need a bigger truck,” She said hitting her
elbow on the window.

“
I am hanging out with
Craig tonight,” Toby said feeling his plans already shattered. “And
my truck is just fine.” He added.

“
Geez,” Megan said
playfully. “Don’t get all hissy on me.” She smiled and kissed him
hard on the mouth.

Megan then started undoing his jeans,
running her hand down the crease of his leg. Normally this would be
perfect, except they just came from a funeral of a classmate and
with Toby’s mixed emotions, it just didn’t feel right.

“
Stop,” Toby finally
said.

“
Why?” Megan asked almost
insulted.

Toby ran his fingers through his hair,
buttoned his shirt and gently moved Megan off of him as she huffed
in protest.

“
We just came from a
funeral, Lynsay Mongomery’s funeral,” Toby said starting the
truck.

“
Yeah, well I’m sorry
she’s dead, but she was a bitch and she always wanted you.” Megan’s
pouty lips curled into a pouty smile.

Toby looked out the window, shook his
head and put the gear lever into reverse. He could feel Megan glare
at him.

“
You are so lame,” Megan
said defining each word as if trying to insult him. It didn’t work.
He only gave a chuckle; Megan didn’t even know the meaning of
lame.

They rode in silence. Toby didn’t want
to talk to Megan and glanced over at her a couple of times. Sitting
with her arms crossed she looked like a spoiled child. Megan was
just that, a spoiled child that he had as a hot girlfriend; a
trophy he could show off. Yeah the sex was great, but he needed
something more than that. For the first time in Toby’s life, being
shallow wasn’t deep enough.

Megan left with a slam of the door and
Toby left with his tires spinning gravel. The more he thought of
Megan, the more he began to not like her even though she was good
looking. She was selfish and heartless not to mention cold. He knew
Lynsay liked him, and he knew Megan hated her, but to say something
bad about her was disrespectful. Toby couldn’t stand it anymore.
Driving around town he stopped and got something to drink at Wild
Bill’s Gas Station and drove some more.

His aimless drive led to where the
pavement ends and the openness of pasture grounds replace the
cookie cutter ranch style homes that sit all in neat rows. He had
been thinking about Lyssa more and more wondering what she was
like. She was mysterious and quiet, uncharted ground for Toby who
never really had a relationship based on anything but sex, drinking
and partying. She was none of this and for some reason, captivated
him. In front of a Yield sign, he looked down the desolate, gravel
road that led to Lyssa’s house.

Lyssa

Lyssa screamed with her hands pushing
against the animal. A very wet and sandpaper-like tongue ran over
her cheek. The beast that chased her all the way down the gravel
road was Sam the yellow, three-legged lab that belonged to her
neighbor. He was only a puppy when he lost his leg when the
mailman’s truck ran him over, and is none the slower as a result of
it.

Lying on the floor, Lyssa’s heart
raced at the sound of Sam’s feet scratching against the floor.
Lyssa put her hands to her forehead knowing she’d better get the
cat-chasing dog before he destroyed the house.

“
Lyssa are you O.K.?” A
concerned voice said in front of her.

Quickly removing her hand, she looked
up at the most mesmerizing pair of green eyes. Did she hit her head
too hard or was Toby really standing in front of her? She felt her
face flush with blood, and then jumped to her feet with her heart
pounding. Lyssa didn’t know what to say as she stood with gaping
mouth and dog slobbers on her cheek.

“
Toby,” His name felt good
rolling off her tongue. “What are you doing here?” Lyssa felt
confused enchantment take over.

Toby looked baffled like she was
asking him a trick question. “I was, umm, just, uh, driving by and
seen your door open.”

Lyssa was filled with everything going
on around her. She was aware of the drama of the cat and dog chase
behind her, and ignored it staring into Toby’s eyes. He looked
really good in black with his broad shoulders and slightly wavy
brown hair the color of a Hersey’s Kiss.

“
You might want to get
your dog,” Toby said pointing behind her.

“
He isn’t mine; he’s the
neighbors’ dog.” Lyssa corrected him just before the crashing of
glass broke not only a vase but the enchantment Toby had on
her.

Lyssa turned to see Beyoncé clinging
to the curtain, claws embedded into the thick material with Sam
barking beneath her declaring victory.

“
Sam!” Lyssa yelled
getting the dog’s attention.

Grabbing the leash she kept for
emergencies like this, she went over to Sam who sat on the floor
with big, innocent, brown eyes.

“
Bad dog,” she said
putting the leash around Sam’s neck.

Lyssa looked back towards the door at
Toby who stood looking at her. Why had Toby come to her house now?
Just driving by and noticing her door open wasn’t something that
needed investigating. Lots of people leave their door
open.

“
Do you need any help?” He
asked stepping in and petting Sam.

“
Well, you could hold Sam
for a moment while I pry my cat from the curtain,” Lyssa said
handing him the leash. She was embarrassed, but what was she going
to do.

Her hand glided past his, and in that
one moment she felt a spark run through her. Quickly she turned
from him and paw by paw released Beyoncé from the curtain. The
tabby cat ran off and hid with only one bark from Sam.

“
Thanks,” Lyssa said
taking the leash from Toby.

“
So does this happen a
lot?” He waved his finger in the air.

“
Only when Sam gets the
urge to chase my cat,” Lyssa said petting Sam behind the ears which
led to him rolling to the ground belly up, legs bent expecting a
belly rub.

“
Sam!” Lyssa said, pulling
on the leash. “Get up boy.”

The dog didn’t listen even when she
pulled on the leash. Lyssa was embarrassed as Sam lay on the floor
not listening. She usually played with him a little before taking
him home, but with Toby there she felt like dragging him out. Lyssa
continued to pull on the leash telling the stubborn dog to get
up.

“
Come on Sam,” Toby
suddenly said walking towards the door.

The dog listened to the command
without hesitation. Lyssa stood baffled. Toby could have any girl
at school, was liked by teachers and perfectly gorgeous. Now he can
make deaf-command dogs listen in a heartbeat.

“
You just have to make
them listen to you,” Toby said with a smile.

“
You were just lucky,”
Lyssa said with a slight scowl not knowing why she did.

They took Sam outside, Toby handed her
the leash, their eyes met. Sam sat beside Toby with his tongue
hanging out watching them to see what would happen next. Lyssa
wondered the same thing only she kept her tongue in her
mouth.

“
I have to get Sam home,”
Lyssa said breaking the silence. “Thanks for helping me
him.”

“
No problem. I was glad I
drove by,” Toby said as he put the tailgate down. “Do you want a
ride to your neighbor’s house? We can put Sam in the back of the
truck.”

“
No he hates vehicles,”
Lyssa said looking down at his three legs. “He lost his leg to the
mailman’s truck a long time ago and you can’t get him to ride in a
truck.” No sooner had she said that than Sam bolted for the truck,
jumped in, and looked back at Lyssa as Toby petted him. She wasn’t
buying Sam any more dog treats with her own money again.

Lyssa stood amazed eating her own
words as Toby laughed.

“
It isn’t funny. Sam is
scared of vehicles. I’ve never seen him ride in one.” Lyssa looked
at the tail-wagging dog that had leaped into the truck
bed.

“
Get in,” Toby said with a
wave of his hand. Was she supposed to leap in the vehicle as well?
This unexpected event had her confused, angered and absolutely
astatic.

Lyssa got in the truck feeling like
she shouldn’t. The lingering smell of Megan’s perfume was a
reminder that Toby had a girlfriend and Lyssa wasn’t it. Toby was
just driving by saw an open door, investigated it, helped her with
Sam who made a fool out of her and that was it. Surely she had just
entered an alternate world, and was living a different version of
Lyssa Cleverthorn’s life.

“
I take it that Sam is Mr.
Johnson’s dog.” Toby asked letting his truck creep down the
road.

“
Oh, yeah, Sam, he belongs
to Mr. Johnson.” Lyssa was still a nerd even if this was her
alternate life.

Mr. Johnson was an old man with a
large garden and lived by himself. His wife died a few years ago,
and now he grows produce to sell at the local farmer’s market.
Pulling up in front of a two story, white farm house, Sam leaped
from the truck to greet his owner. Dressed in bib overalls and a
ball cap advertising seed corn, Mr. Johnson waved at Toby and Lyssa
as Sam barked at them.

Darkness slowly crept in turning the
sky to indigo blue mixed with fiery oranges. Everything about this
day seemed not real to Lyssa. Lynsay Montgomery funeral, Sam
scaring her, and now, Toby coming to her house to help her with the
neighbor’s dog; everything was surreal.

“
Sam is an amazing dog;
you know only having three leg,” Toby said suddenly evidently
thinking about Sam.

“
Yeah, he’s an amazing
dog.” She replied thinking of the glass she had to clean up when
she got home—amazing.

“
It was a sad funeral.”
Toby continued. “It’s going to be weird to not see Lynsay at
school.”

Lyssa looked at Toby. She really
didn’t know her, but just being around someone your own age who was
now gone was weird.

“
Yeah, it doesn’t seem
possible. The whole town has change,” Lyssa said keeping the
conversation going even though it involved the grim topic of
death.

“
Do you ever buy any of
Mr. Johnson’s strawberries?” Toby suddenly asked.

“
I usually help pick them,
and they are pretty good,” Lyssa replied feeling the conversations
was like being on roller coaster.

Lyssa looked over at Toby and smiled
and then out the window watching her house go by.

“
Hey, don’t forget to drop
me off!” Lyssa was jolted forward when Toby slammed the brakes
on.

She sat up and realized she smacked
her head on the dash. Gingerly she touched her forehead and felt a
bump already.

“
Are you alright?” Toby
asked turning to her.

“
Fine,” she said getting
out of the truck quickly. “Thanks for the ride.”

She began to walk up her sidewalk when
from nowhere came a large blackened figure. She screamed at the
same time the figure had its hands raised and growled at her. Just
as fast as it came out of the bush, it was laughing at her removing
the rubber werewolf mask from his head.

“
That was perfect!” Craig
said bending slightly and laughing at her. “Perfect.”

Craig was tall with short blonde hair
that stood out from his black clothes. His broad stature skidded
past Lyssa to Toby’s truck.

“
I thought you were coming
to my house. I had to follow you here. What’s up?” Craig said
getting in the truck.

Lyssa could see Toby lean over and
look as though he was going to say something to her, but before he
did, Lyssa quickly went into her house and locked the door. She
could hear Toby’s truck drive away. It was nothing more than a
prank Lyssa thought. Why else would Toby Winslett bother to come by
her house?

Lyssa cleaned up the glass, made
dinner that she ate alone, and then went upstairs to get a shower.
She looked at herself in the mirror. A small bruise looked back at
her that she got in Toby’s truck.

About the
Author

M.M. Gavillet lives in west central
Illinois with her husband, two children, one dog, three cats,
several ducks and two demanding guinea pigs where she drinks more
tea than any sane person should and likes to play in the dirt
planting flowers. She has been spinning stories since she was
little, but only recently discovered her passion for
writing.