A mixture of excitement, anxiety, and uncertainty swelled inside Odion as Mr. Arévalo pulled inside twenty seventy-nine Silvius Drive and parked into the driveway of unit twenty-four. Returning to the scene of the crime ignited a lot of terrible memories, but irrespective of what happened in the past, this was still considered home.

“My God does it feel so good to be back home,” Marcella said, folding her hands together as she looked toward the ceiling, lips moving silently. She made the sign of the cross after she finished. “They always say there’s no place like home, and my goodness are they right.”

“Amen to that,” Mrs. Arévalo said.

“I can’t thank all of you enough for picking me up. I couldn’t wait to get out of that damn hospital,” Marcella said as everyone shared a laugh.

“Hang tight,” Mr. Arévalo shut off the SUV and pulled his shades to his forehead, “I gonna help you take the stuff inside,” he said in his thick Cuban accent. He popped open the trunk and opened the door, his crisp Hawaiian shirt fluttering in the wind.

Odion undid his seat belt and climbed out, assisting Marcella carefully out of the vehicle. She groaned as Odion took her hand and pulled her outside. “Take your time, I gotcha.” He rested one of her thick arms around his neck to aid with her balance.

“Oh, thank you, sweetheart.” Marcella groaned again, leaning nearly all of her weight against him. Odion twisted his face with strain, surprised by how heavy she’d become. He firmly wrapped his arm around her waist so that he was strong enough to keep her upright. I gotta get jacked over the remainder of the summer.

“Here you go,” Mr. Arévalo said, handing the walker to her.

“God bless you,” Marcella replied, cautiously wheeling herself toward the steps.

“It’s okay, Odion, you take the walker,” Serenity said. “Mamá and I will help guide her up the stairs.”

“Bet,” Odion said, folding the walker by its seat and lifting it just a few inches above the ground.

“Odion, mind you don’t fall carrying that thing. I’d hate it if we had to go back to the hospital.” Marcella laughed, gingerly climbing the steps one at a time. “I don’t plan on going back there anytime soon.”

Odion nodded and smiled. It was fantastic seeing her in such good spirits, especially considering how it all started. According to Koji at the time, it didn’t seem like she was going to make it. Yet there she was, by the grace of God. Even though she needed to use a walker for the rest of her life, it was great to see her back at home, smiling and cracking jokes. Odion fished for the keys inside of his pocket and unlocked the door. The smell of the eucalyptus plants along the wall greeted him as he stepped inside. He kicked off his shoes, setting Marcella’s walker on the floor.

As soon as Marcella reached the top of the steps, she carefully wheeled herself toward the bathroom to wash her hands. After she finished, she headed straight to the living room as Mr. Arévalo carried a bag filled with her belongings and medication she needed to take for the pain she was still experiencing.

“Where would you like these to go?” Mr. Arévalo asked.

“I’ll put ’em inside her room,” Odion said, taking the bag and racing up the stairs, appreciating the hardness of the wooden steps. Even a small thing such as being able to run up and down your own staircase without having to worry about the rules of the house dragged a smile across his lips. He couldn’t do that at Serenity’s crib out of respect for her parents, and on top of that, their staircase was carpeted, preventing him from receiving the proper spring he needed to lift into the air as he pushed off with each leg.

After dropping Marcella’s things off, he quickly washed his hands and felt his heart palpitate as he slowly made his way back to his room. He couldn’t pinpoint why all of a sudden he became nervous, considering he couldn’t sense any of Apollo’s negative energy pulsating from the other side of the door. Perhaps it was learned behavior. Odion rested his hand on the knob, turned, and cracked the door open, peeping inside. For some strange reason, he imagined Apollo sitting at the edge of his bed, staring out the window as he so often did.

In reality, there was nobody.

If Odion never saw him again, he wouldn’t have lost an ounce of sleep over it. We’d probably end up killing each other anyway. A large wave of laughter coming from downstairs broke him out of his thoughts. Light footsteps made their way up the stairs and Odion turned to see Serenity approaching him from the hall.

“So … this is where it all goes down, huh,” she said, looking around the room. “What happened over there?” She pointed to Apollo’s dented work desk.

“Don’t ask,” Odion said, refusing to revisit those memories. “I’ll probably end up trashing it before summer ends. It’s just taking up space in the room.” Serenity pursed her lips and nodded. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but the timing was off. The conversation they had Friday night was still fresh in his mind, and it was most certainly still fresh in hers, he would assume. “Serenity—”

“Not now.” She shook her head and folded her arms. “I know what you’re going to say.”

“What?”

“You’re sorry about the conversation we had on Friday.”

Odion chuckled. “Well, I definitely ain’t sorry,” he said, watching the uncertainty screw up her face, “but you were sorta close.” He shrugged as a subtle smile formed across her lips. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Serenity’s eyebrows drew closer together.

“For everything,” Odion said. “For your hospitality, for convincing your parents to let me stay in your guest room … for being a great ‘friend.’” He used finger quotes, and Serenity rolled her eyes.

She unfolded her arms and extended them wide to her sides. There was something about the way she was looking at him that made his heart skip. “Are you going to leave me hanging or what?” she asked.

Odion’s breath came in quick as he walked into her arms and felt them wrap around his back, his nose filled with her scent. It was heaven. He knew he was simping hard at the moment, but he couldn’t lie to himself, especially when she ran her soft hands across the back of his neck, her fingertips cool against his skin. I wish this moment lasted forever. Odion broke away from her and stared deeply into her eyes.

He became tense, anxious, excited all at the same time. The rumblings in his stomach started to flutter. Being they were the only ones inside the room, the sexual tension was building, his eyes fixed on her mouth. Her lips were nice and full and red. Odion dreamt about planting a passionate kiss upon them, but those dreams were not meant to come true.

“I’m … going to head back downstairs.” Serenity turned away and headed for the door. No, come back! Odion worked his mouth to say something, but no words came. “Are you coming, or you’re staying up here?” she asked.

I want you to stay here. “I’ll join you.” Odion followed her downstairs, cursing himself at such a fumble. He wasn’t trying to be that dude, but teenage hormones were a real thing, and they were raging at the moment. His body tingled, both hot and cold at the same time. You had her right there! Just the two of you inside the room, alone, and you fumbled it! Odion bit down on his tongue and balled his hands into fists.

“Are we ready to go?” Mrs. Arévalo looked to Serenity and asked. Marcella and Mr. Arévalo were still in the living room cracking jokes, their laughter wafting throughout the entryway.

“Yes, Mamá.” Serenity nodded.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Mrs. Arévalo,” Odion said. “And once again, I’m sorry about your toilet.” He looked away, embarrassed.

“Oh, Odion, don’t mention it.” She walked up to him and embraced him with a firm hug. “You’re welcomed back anytime.” Mrs. Arévalo broke away and smiled a great big smile.

“Odion,” Mr. Arévalo sauntered from the living room, extending his hand, “always a treat seeing you.” He grabbed Odion’s hand and shook it firmly.

“Likewise, sir.” Odion smiled.

“Thank you all once again,” Marcella said, wheeling herself toward the door. “Get home safe, and may The Lord be with you on your travels.”

Odion opened the door and watched as they headed back toward their SUV. Serenity turned and waved one last time before entering the backseat, shutting the door. It was difficult watching them leave, Serenity in particular. Odion extended his hand in the air and waved goodbye as they pulled out of the complex, Mr. Arévalo honking his horn twice before disappearing down the street.

Odion waited outside for a moment before heading back in, reminiscing about the time he’d spent with Serenity. He reached for the iPhone in his pocket, and out of sheer habit, when into his contacts, tapping Toki’s name to text. A sinking feeling of loneliness slapped him across the face at the thought of what happened. Odion shoved his iPhone back into his pocket, holding back tears.

“Now that they’re gone, I think I’m going to take a nap,” Marcella said, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Those folk are really good people. You don’t find too many of their kind these days.” She wheeled herself into the kitchen and turned the kettle on. “Would you like some green tea?”

“Nah, I’ll be okay.”

“More for me.” Marcella shrugged, humming one of her favorite hymns.

Odion made his way upstairs to the bathroom, clicking the door locked. He stared at his reflection, a part of him disgusted with what he saw. It was as if Apollo was staring back at him. Although he’d never fully be able to get rid of the resemblance, he still needed to find a way to differentiate himself from that monster—especially now that Apollo was probably the most wanted criminal in the country. Odion didn’t want a case of mistaken identity happening to him. I’m gonna have to cut these dreads short.

He pressed open the mirror cabinet and searched for a pair of scissors, rummaging through a countless number of loose papers, old toothbrushes, and boxes of Band-Aids. There you are. Odion took the pair of scissors out and closed the mirror, holding a few strips of locked hair in one hand. “It was fun while it lasted,” he said, placing the scissors on his locks. He drew a deep breath and sighed before proceeding to cut through his dreads as long, hard strips of locked hair fell into the sink, one after the other.

“That’ll have to do,” he said about half an hour later, running his hand through his newly chopped head. With much shorter dreads, no one should’ve been able to mistake him. Of course, there’ll always be a handful of idiots who will. Odion bundled up the loose strips of locks in the sink and dumped them into the garbage. Just as he was about to exit the bathroom, the iPhone in his right pocket jingled and danced. Who’s calling me now? He pulled out the iPhone and saw it was a private number. “Leave a message,” he said, shoving the iPhone back into his pocket.

Not even a minute later, it rang again; same number. Odion furrowed his brows, answering. “Hello?”

“It’s Detective Matthews,” the voice on the other line said.

“Shit,” Odion mouthed silently, stomping his foot on the ground.

“I’m going to need you to come down to the station. There are a few questions I’d like to ask you regarding your brother, Apollo.”

Odion rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Look, detective, I don’t got any answers for you regarding my brother.”

“Oh, but I think you do,” Matthews said matter-of-factly. “Tell me something, you ever heard of a cosmotan?”

Odion’s heart immediately leaped to his throat, his eyes bursting wide like a frog. “A what?”

“A cosmotan.” Matthews’ voice grew deeper the second time. “They’re supposed to be paranormal entities possessed with cosmic energy, and I’ve got a sinking feeling you’re one of them. Now, you can either head down to the station where you and I will discuss the matter at hand, or I’ll have members of the Cosmotan Emergency Response Unit pay a visit to your house,” he said, and Odion looked at his reflection as if he’d seen a ghost. Who the hell was the Cosmotan Emergency Response Unit? “Either way, I will get some answers out of you whether you like it or not. The choice is yours, so choose wisely.” Matthews hung up.

Odion held the iPhone to his ear for quite a moment before finally resting it back inside his pocket. Multiple streams of thoughts crisscrossed through his mind at once. There are far more powerful people coming … for all of us. The old man’s words rang through his mind, and Odion gasped.

“Is it them? Are these the individuals that old man warned me about?” Odion stared at his reflection again and realized this nightmare had only just begun.

If you made it to the end of The Monster Within, I'd like to thank you for reading. I wholeheartedly hope you enjoyed reading the first saga of Odion & Apollo's journey as much as I did writing it. All of your comments and reviews mean a lot to me.

You can follow me on social media to stay up-to-date on all the latest on my "A Life of Fear" series. I'm currently writing book 2, so when that's finished, you'll all hear about it. Thank you once again for taking part in this journey. There's a lot more to come to stay tuned!

Twitter: @AuthorMarcel