All Chapters of Pretty Little Monster: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The first baseball game of the season was always memorable, though this summer it would be mundane compared to what the rest of the hottest months of the year had to hold. Later, as they pulled the body out of the lagoon on the east side of the ball park, Beth Monroe would remember back to that first game, when everyone was innocent and her worst worry was whether or not her shorts made her thighs look big. By then, Beth would long for the simplicity of life in small town Barryville 1993, before everything came unraveled.Before the new girl appeared, out of thin air, out of the shadows near the parking lot, out of a nightmare, Beth Monroe had thought her biggest problem was the fact that her older brother Shane, a senior, captain of the football team, and the shortstop on the Babe Ruth baseball team their dad coached, was an asshole who did everything he could to humiliate Beth to the point that not a single guy in their entire high school would ever da

Andi had schooled Lexy in the correct lyrics of the new hit by Tag Team while Beth appeased the plumber by day, umpire by night who still didn’t seem happy with their performance. Luckily, it was the final inning, and they’d all be out of there soon enough. She was ready to get in the minivan and crank up the air conditioning, not that she wouldn’t have to stand around and wait for her dad to load everything up and go over the game with his assistant coaches for a half an hour before he finally headed home. She desperately wished her dad would just let her take the car. She’d had her permit for a few months. But her parents would never let her drive the car by herself until she was fully licensed. Next year, her dad had told her. But then, next year her brother would be in college. This was likely their last summer for Babe Ruth League ball. A pang of sadness hit the pit of her stomach, and her eyes automatically searched for Sammy. This was the su

Something about Ryan’s tone sounded different, like he wasn’t really all that happy for her, and she wondered if he had something against Sammy. He wouldn’t be the only guy who felt that Sammy’s opinion of himself was a little unwarranted, but Beth couldn’t remember ever hearing Ryan say anything bad about him before. Her eyebrows knit together as she tried to determine how to respond. Should she thank him for the compliment, even if it might’ve been laced with sarcasm, correct him for essentially calling Sammy an ass hat, or explain why his reasoning was wrong? In the end, she did what she always did in similar situations and obliterate any twinkle of hope from her miserable existence.“Actually, once he said that, he walked over to a group of popular girls.” Beth could hear the misery in her own voice. “God, you should’ve seen the way Carly Lyles draped herself on him.” She shook her hea

The booth was relatively quiet for most of the game, and Beth was able to concentrate on the game for once. While she didn’t like to think her friends were upset at her or each other, at least Mr. Cooper didn’t have to turn and shout at them about the score being wrong. He did have to ask the people in the bleachers to keep it down a couple of times, however, and by the second time, Beth began to realize there was a lot of chatter going on down there. She had no idea who it was, however, because of the way the scorekeeper’s booth was situated. The fan was drowning out all but giggles now and again and the high pitched din of muffled conversation.It wasn’t until Brittany made her way up the stairs halfway through the seventh inning that any of them got a clue. “Hey chicas!” she announced, her blonde, curly hair a little saggy since she’d come from work but otherwise looking pretty and put together. “How&rsq

The sound of his voice caught her off guard, and goose flesh sprung up all over her arms. If it wasn’t for the sound of her friends “oh, my God-ing” to her left, Beth would’ve thought she was asleep, that the question had only taken place in a dream.She turned her head to see Sammy standing in the dimly lit parking spot, the moon illuminating his perfect face as he waited for a response. Behind him, Robby and Michael lingered, their arms crossed as they watched, a goofy grin on Robby’s face while Michael looked much more serious.“What was that?” Beth asked, still unable to process what was happening. How in the world was it possible that Sammy was actually asking her out? If this was true, it was a miracle form heaven….“I said, would you go out with me? I mean… I want to go ask Carly out, but these two assholes keep telling me there’s not a girl in