I bit my tongue in my thoughts. Monster, monster.
No monster was as civilized, kind, and respectful as Alexander and his son. Calling Andre that felt despicable. They had never treated me like a “mere human,” nor as if I were weak or useless, and that was with only a couple of hours of conversation between us. I sighed and, fists clenched, said goodbye:
“All right, I’ll go to my room. Make yourselves comfortable—it looks like it’s going to snow again soon, so we’ll have to put more logs on the fire, and—”
“I’ll take care of that, if you allow me.”
“…Oh, sure, that’s fine,” I accepted Alexander’s offer cautiously and smiled a little.
“One more thing—may I use your phone? I need to make a couple of long-distance calls.”
I shut myself in my room and didn’t actually go back downstairs un
