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Chapter 20
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2021-02-25 05:18:24“You look hot.” Zoey spun Beth’s chair around so she could see herself in the mirror. She had to agree—but then she looked nothing like herself either. Zoey had done her makeup and hair so that she looked like one of the girls in her Seventeen magazine, and while it had taken over an hour, Beth thought maybe she could replicate the look, if she got some more expensive products. She was also wearing an outfit borrowed from one of Zoey’s friends who was Beth’s size, since Zoey was a good four inches taller and a size smaller than Beth. She’d have to spend her scorekeeping money and everything else she’d been saving up for the last few years to afford something this nice, but the effect was worth it.
“Now, here’s hoping Dee Dee’s shoes fit,” Zoey said, looking at her equally stunning blonde friend. “You have to have Keds, Beth. You can’t wear your old sneakers or yo
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Pretty Little Monster Chapter 21
When she walked outside, the familiar sounds of a squeaking bike chain caught her attention, and she turned her head to see Ryan standing in his front yard with Craig, the bike upside down, and several tools scattered on the front porch, alongside an oil can. She hadn’t spoken to Ryan since their argument two evenings ago, and she wasn’t about to start now.“There’s your cute neighbor!” Zoey whispered, a mischievous smile on her face.“Yeah, I guess,” Beth replied with a shrug. Ryan was staring at her with his mouth hanging open, and she was sure he wouldn’t approve of her makeover, but she ignored him and hopped into the back seat of Zoey’s Chevy Cavalier. Zoey and Dee Dee both waved at him and then started giggling before jumping in and taking off. She had no idea if he waved back since she refused to look at him again.They pulled up to Sonic and all ordered cher
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Pretty Little Monster Chapter 22
Several players were already there on the field, playing catch to warm up, and she heard her brother’s car pull in just as she stepped over to the dugout. She really didn’t want Shane to see her, not yet anyway. She was sure he’d have some smartass comment for her, and she still hadn’t quiet worked out what to say. She hurried over to her dad, deciding she’d have to interrupt. “Dad? Book?”“Beth?” Mr. Burk said, stopping mid-sentence, his comments about quality oak furniture from the turn of the century losing meaning.“Hi, Mr. Burk. Can I have the book, Dad?”“Sure, honey,” Richard replied with a bit of a sigh, like he couldn’t stand thinking about his daughter all grown up. He looked at Mr. Burk for a second, almost holding the man back with his eyes, as he handed over the book. “I don’t have Lockton’s lineup yet, th
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Pretty Little Monster Chapter 23
Beth headed back toward the scorekeeper’s box and noticed Tiffany had company on the bleachers. Amber, Carly, Jessica, and a couple of other girls were sitting with her, and it was obvious from their expressions they were talking about her. With a deep breath, she plastered a smile on her face and forced her feet to head that direction. “Hey girls,” she called in a sing song voice. “How’s it going?”“Oh, my God, Beth! You look so… different!” Carly said, not smiling so much as looking confused.“Yeah, well, I was just tired of being so… you know… lame.” Beth said with a shrug. “My friends from Lockton stopped by. They’re totally awesome.” She pointed back at Dee Dee and Zoey who were chatting and not even paying the Barryville girls any attention at all.“They look like supermodels,” Amber, who was one of the
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Pretty Little Monster Chapter 24
It was the bottom of the eighth inning when she heard footsteps on the ladder and knew her friends were there. She could hear them chatting even over the fan, which she had on high in an attempt to keep her face from melting and her hair from drooping. She knew Zoey would retouch her makeup before they went to the square, but she didn’t want to walk out of the box looking like a clown.She turned her head to make sure the noise was actually her friends and smiled as Brittany, Lexy, and Andi’s heads popped up from the ladder one at a time. “Hey, girls,” she said, turning her head back to the game.“Beth? Holy shit!” Andi spoke first, darting across the box and grabbing her shoulder. “Oh, my God! You look amazing!”“Oh, Mylanta!” Brittany agreed. “Where are these friends of yours? I could totally use their help.”“I wouldn&rsq
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Pretty Little Monster Chapter 25
A few minutes later, Lockton’s batter hit a pop fly to center field, and Shane back pedaled, plucking it out of the air for the third out. The game was over. Andi clicked on the mic and said, “Final score, Barryville three, Lockton two.” The girls cleared the scoreboard while Beth finished up her book, and then they all headed down the ladder, Beth glad her drink was empty and in the trash so she didn’t have to carry it back down. She was thankful the scorekeeper’s box had its own private bathroom, so she hadn’t had to use the nasty ones behind the concession stand when all that Dr. Pepper had hit her bladder earlier.“Why don’t you let us take the scorebook to your dad?” Lexy offered, looking at Zoey and Dee Dee with intimidation on her face and noting that Michael was still in the dugout.“Okay,” Beth agreed quickly. Avoiding her brother and Tom seemed like a good idea.
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Pretty Little Monster Chapter 26
The square was fairly crowded considering it was a Tuesday evening. Zoey pulled her car into an empty spot, and they waited to see if they were in the right area. The group of popular girls was still sitting on the benches talking to Shane and his friends when they left, and Beth had never been a welcome member of their group before, so she wasn’t completely sure they were parked on the right side of the square. She noticed Brittany pull in way down on the other side, like she knew her car would be scoffed at if she parked where the popular kids hung out. Beth’s three friends slowly began to walk in her direction.“Should we get out?” Dee Dee asked, looking out the window.“Hell if I know. I haven’t been on a square in eons,” Zoey replied. “Not since my sister brought us up here when we were, what, eleven?” she asked, looking at Beth.Beth remembered the few times Z
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Pretty Little Monster Chapter 27
Beth let out a sigh, sad to see Michael go, and slightly disappointed that he seemed to think she was doing something wrong, not because she cared so much what he thought but because it was uncomfortable to receive critical judgment from him. He was normally one of the few who wasn’t judging her.Beth headed back over to the group of giggling girls. “He didn’t know where she lives. Neither did Sammy.”“Who?” Carly asked, her forehead crinkled.“Halley, goofball!” Amber gave her a playful shove in the arm, and Carly started laughing hysterically at her own stupidity. Beth giggled along with the other girls, wondering how in the world anyone that stupid ever got her driver’s license.A few minutes later, she realized that Brittany was gesturing for her to come over. “What’s going on?” Beth asked, keeping her head up so that she woul
Last Updated : 2021-02-25Pretty Little Monster Chapter 28
Beth snuck to the bathroom and scrubbed the makeup off of her face, using some eye makeup remover of her mother’s she found in the medicine cabinet. While she hated to see her normal reflection in the mirror, she felt relieved that she could be herself again now that she was home, and since there was little chance of the outside world knocking on her bedroom window tonight, she didn’t even have to worry about impressing anyone while she was in her room.The door to the stairs squeaked, and Beth made her way up in the pitch black carefully, a wave of exhaustion hitting her. She made the last turn and readied herself to attempt to retrieve the chain to the light when her face made contact with what felt like a brick wall. She stumbled backward losing her footing and tripping into the wall. A pain hit her ankle, and she gasped, trying to figure out what had just happened when the light came on.Shane was standing there on the l
Last Updated : 2021-02-25
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Pretty Little Monster Epilogue
The sun was sweltering the day they put Hannah Day in the ground. It wasn’t a dreary, stormy morning like in the movies, but it seemed fitting that Hannah’s funeral wouldn’t quite fit the mold either. She certainly hadn’t.Beth and Ryan held onto each other as the preacher said a few words about the beautiful girl who had meant so much to so many. There was no mention of the fact that she’d drowned trying to commit murder, and that according to the journal she kept, this was her second such act. Unfortunately for Brock Hill, there’d been no one there to save him.As the preacher finished his remarks, Beth squeezed Ryan’s hand, and they gave the casket one last look as Hannah’s mother began to wail. Beth couldn’t blame her for being unable to accept what her daughter had done—or what her daughter had been through herself. The journals were full of secrets Hannah hadn’t con
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 50
“Damn,” Beth muttered, hoping she was okay. She might be batshit crazy, but the thought of anything permanently damaging happening to her made Beth sick to her stomach, especially since she’d been the one to push her.“What happened?” Michael asked. “You’re bloody, Beth.”Beth hadn’t realized her face was scratched up so badly until she dragged her hand across her cheek, and it came back pink. Halley had made contact quite a few times while they were under the water, but she had hardly felt it at the time. Now that her adrenaline was starting to die down, she was sure it would all come back to her.Sheriff Bill Jones ran up, flashlight in hand, before Beth could answer Michael. He snaked his way through the fence. “You kids all right?” he shouted, straightening his glasses and running his spread hand across his mustache.“No, we n
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 49
It wasn’t enough to scare her off, though, and Halley lunged at Beth as Ryan began to float away, still not conscious enough to help himself. Beth was aware that the creek meandered for about a quarter mile before a small, but powerful waterfall merged the creek with the lagoon. She couldn’t let him get away from her, but Halley was coming at her again, and this time, Beth was close enough for Halley to scratch her face.Beth pushed her back as hard as she could, balancing on one leg as she brought her other knee up and made contact with Halley’s gut. The smaller girl groaned, and Beth shoved her backward as hard as she could. Halley stumbled, regained her footing, and came at Beth again, but this time, Beth was out of the way, already moving toward Ryan. She dove into the water, reaching for his outstretched hand when she felt Halley latch on to her ponytail.Halley wasn’t pulling her up, though, she was pushing
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 48
There was no time. All of it seemed to speed up and slow down, to move backward and forward at once. Beth could hear a struggle, somewhere in the water, and she recognized Ryan’s voice even though it was strained and groggy. She couldn’t make out what he was saying as every word was clipped by the sounds of splashing and gurgling. Frantically, she hunted for the entrance in the fence and was just about to give up and climb over when she spotted it—and spotted them.Beth could see Halley in the water. It was deeper here than Beth had expected as it hit her above the waist. Either that, or the girl was on her hands and knees. Her face was lifted to the sky like she was praying, and though it was difficult to see, in the light reflected off the surface of the water that swirled past her, Beth could tell Halley’s eyes were closed.At first, she was confused, not understanding where Ryan might be, but then his hand ca
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 47
Rushing over to her friends, she pressed the lid back down on Ryan’s drink. “Lexy, hold onto this. Don’t let it spill, and don’t drink it. Brittany, can you drive Andi down to the pay phone? Call your uncle, the sheriff, and get him down here, okay? I’m not sure what’s going on, but we might need him.”“Do you think it’s that serious?” Lexy asked as the other two started to move.“Maybe. I don’t know.” Beth didn’t have any more time to talk about it. If Ryan really was in trouble, she should’ve already been moving.She took off running, not sure of where she was going, but instinctively, she thought the creek would be the most logical place for Halley to take him if she was really trying to injure him. She hadn’t given him enough of whatever it was floating in his drink to kil
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 46
“Hey, where’s Ryan?” she called when she was a few feet away from them. All three stood with their arms crossed, serious expressions on their faces.“We aren’t sure,” Lexy admitted. “He got up about ten, maybe fifteen minutes ago, and walked off, that way, into the park. With Halley.”Beth was confused. She peered off into the darkness. There were no lights at all in that section of the park. Across the street that circled the ball field, there was mostly just wide open space where people flew kites or lay on blankets in the shade. A few hundred yards away, off in the distance, she knew there was a chain link fence that separated the creek from the park so that no children accidentally ran into the water, but she couldn’t see it from here.“Why? Where were they going?” Beth asked, trying to keep her voice calm.“We don’t kno
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 45
The baseball game Thursday night was at home against Juniper, one of the smaller towns in the area, and there was a pretty good chance Barryville would win by the mercy rule. Beth climbed the ladder to the scorekeeper’s box alone since her friends decided they wanted to sit on the bleachers where they could keep a better eye on things. Beth remembered Ryan mentioning he wanted to go to this game back when he’d first won his freedom, and she thought there was a possibility he might show up with Halley. Since Beth wouldn’t be able to see the bleachers from her post, her friends had volunteered to observe, even though they had no idea of the potential threat.Beth hadn’t told them about the pills or all the details of Halley’s mysterious past. They only knew that there was a chance Halley wasn’t who she said she was and that Beth thought she might be up to something no good. Telling Andi, Lexy, and Brittany that she thoug
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 44
It must’ve been a day for cleaning because that’s what her mother was doing, too. “There you are. Your phone has been ringing nonstop since you left. I really wish it wasn’t so loud.”“Sorry,” Beth muttered wondering who was calling her now. She headed to the door to the stairs, her mother still talking behind her.“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Your dad just got home from work. You really should go out in the back yard and play with him and the girls. You never do that anymore.”“Okay,” Beth said, but her hand was on the door. How was she supposed to figure out who was calling so that they’d stop and also spend time outside with her family? Her mother continued to run a rag over the old piano in the corner of the room, the one no one knew how to play, and Beth headed upstairs, hoping whoever had been calling had good news.
Pretty Little Monster Chapter 43
Mrs. Wilson opened the door on the second knock. A surprised, yet pleasant, look crossed her face. “Beth! How nice to see you. How are you, dear?”“I’m good, Mrs. Wilson. Is Ryan here? I need to talk to him for a few minutes, if he’s not busy.”“Oh, uh, sure.” She looked worried, like she was afraid Ryan might be unduly stressed by having to talk to his unstable friend. “Come on in.” She gestured at the living room, and Beth walked in slowly. In all of the time she’d been neighbors with Ryan, she’d never come to his house before.The living room wasn’t what Beth had expected. It was clean, but the furniture looked much newer than the outside of the house would indicate. The television was small and built into a cabinet that sat on the floor, like the one Beth’s parents had had when she was little. She took a seat on a green and white ch
