Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 107

"You don't actually trust yourself." Mike shook his head. "You can give me speeches about the way things actually are, but you're wrong." Almost like magic, everything fell into place.

"Prove it," said Ingrid. "Prove me wrong."

"Oh, that's easy. That little girl, the one down at the beach. You said it yourself earlier, that she doesn't matter. She saw and experienced terrible things that you, as an adult, have to live with. Well I hate to tell you this, but you're still that little girl. When we grow up and become adults, we don't magically stop being the people we were. We carry them inside us.

"When I was little, my mother was a tyrant. I spent a lot of years trying to forget, but even just the memory of her was enough to yank me back to years of emotional abuse. Nobody was there to take care of that small, frightened child. And yes, it took a bit of magic and more than a few lucky breaks, but I learned that even though I'm an adult now, that child still exists. If I don't take care of him, who will?"

Ingrid groaned. "Ugh, this is more of that 'love yourself' bullshit. I hear it in therapy all the time."

"Wrong." Mike gestured toward the beach, where young Ingrid and Tink were dancing around a massive conch shell covered in glitter. "That little girl watched monsters eat her parents, but still has enough love in her heart to trust a green-skinned stranger to show her wonders on the beach. Where's your sense of wonder, Ingrid? When did you forget how to find joy, to see the magic in ordinary things? You've worked so hard to drive that little girl away that the only reason she's still stuck in that cave is that you refuse to acknowledge that part of you. I'm glad that you're a survivor, I don't need to explain that to you. But until you learn to love that little girl, that forgotten part of yourself, you will never be able to thrive."

Ingrid's face turned red and she drew a wand from her pocket and pointed it in his direction. Mike crossed his arms and glared at her.

"Go ahead. Setting me on fire won't change the fact that you aren't whole. And while you will never truly be whole again, she's the closest thing you will ever come to it."

"You don't understand," Ingrid hissed, tears in her eyes. "It's too hard."

"Hard things are worth doing." Mike stepped forward and touched Ingrid's wand. It popped like a bubble. "So maybe it's time you get to know yourself a little better. C'mon. I'll help."

He took her by the hand, and she wordlessly followed him down to the beach. Child Ingrid paused what she was doing to watch them approach, a technicolor crab in her hands. Slashes of red, blue, and green were all over her arms.

"Look what I found," she declared, then ran up to herself. "This one doesn't bite, he just leaves paint marks!" Sure enough, the crab took a swipe at her fingers, leaving behind a streak of gold.

Ingrid let go of Mike's hand and knelt in front of her younger self. Mike took a step back and watched, the surf becoming loud enough to drown out their conversation.

"You're giving me DILF vibes so hard right now," said Lily from nearby. She was sitting in a lounge chair with a massive margarita glass stuck in the sand. "Not going to listen in on their conversation?"

"Nope." Mike moved to sit with Lily. "Some things are meant to be private."

They watched and waited as Ingrid's inner child showed her the things she had found on the beach. There were plenty of tears followed by laughter, and Ingrid eventually looked up at Mike, nodded, then crouched down to pick herself up. Together, they walked along the beach until they disappeared like ghosts.

"Good job, Romeo." Lily pushed him down on the chair. "Guess who's stirring in the real world? I've slowed things down a bit. You can totally have your way with me for a couple of hours if you want, it will only be a minute there."

Mike grinned. "You know, that sounds like a lot of--" He heard a loud crack from above and rolled onto his back as a pane of glass fell out of the sky and shattered right next to them. Up above, a dark void had formed and eyes, hundreds of them, peered through the gap.

"What the actual fuck?" Lily jumped to her feet. "I understand why we saw them in her head, but they shouldn't be here! Why are they here?"

"That would be my fault, I'm afraid." The husky voice carried over the surf, and Mike turned his head to see Titania standing atop a nearby rock, all four of her arms crossed over her chest. "They sensed my presence and have latched on. A temporary issue, I assure you."

"Wait, what are you--" Lily popped out of existence, leaving behind rainbow smoke.

"What did you do?" Mike asked, looking at where Lily had been.

The Queen of the Fae stepped down onto the beach, silver and golden flowers forming beneath her feet. "You and I need to have a talk, Caretaker. The fate of your world depends on it."

The Queen of the Fae may have killer forearms, but you have to give Opal a hand for the job that she did.

(Okay, I'll stop)

Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to click those stars, the more the better. If I get enough, I either get into Heaven or receive a 10% discount on my next sandwich purchase from Subway. Well, that's how I'm going to justify it, anyway.

Also, this chapter was a bit long, so make sure you take some time to stretch, then go do something nice for yourself. Maybe a nice cup of coffee, some candy that doesn't taste like grandma's ass (or does, I won't kink shame), whatever it takes to put a smile on your face.

I'll see you next time, you beautiful deviants!

~Annabelle Hawthorne