  “Shit,” Sebastian hissed under his breath when he made another mistake. Annoyed with himself, he dropped the pencil and slumped back, the leather of the couch moaned under his movement, veiling his face with his massive hand. He had been working in the living room since their return from the store after they put the groceries away. Nadine helped, a little bit, and that was only because she was looking for the magazine. The moment she found it, she was off.
  A small fire crackled in the stone fireplace. The shifting light danced over the papers on the coffee table. Alone, Sebastian decided to get some work done. But, like always, his mind kept escaping him, and he was messing up left and right. The frustration built like a turmoil inside Sebastian. When he gazed up, he found Nadine standing in the hallway entrance, staring back at him with her wide emerald gold eyes. His breath seemed to leave him.
  “Oh, I’m sorry,” Sebastian quickly murmured as he shoved the papers together into a presentable stack. He could feel Nadine’s continuous gaze linger on his every move. “Did I wake you?” Sebastian murmured in a weary tone. “I’m sorry.”
  Nadine inhaled as she quietly leaned against the wooden frame of the hallway’s entrance. She watched him, her face void of any expression as if she were thinking of something—losing herself in her thoughts. Her soft ribboned braids laid against her collarbone. Sebastian sighed.
  She pushed off the wall, and quietly padded into the kitchen. Sebastian could hear the faint sounds of bare footsteps, cabinets opening and closing, the fridge roaring to life from the door being opened and crushed ice moving around, clanging against the edge of a glass cup.
  With a heavy exhale, Sebastian leaned his head against the top of the couch and stared up at the ceiling.
  Nadine poured the bottle of brown liquor she had seen Sebastian drink from several times whenever he worked past sunset. She heard him sigh from the living room area and peeked over her shoulder. The way his head rested against the top of the couch, audible exhaustion, Nadine began to feel crestfallen. She could see the weariness in Sebastian all day. In small movements like when he’d run his hand down his face. She walked the drink to Sebastian in the living room. His gaze fell on her. The way the crackling fire lit up the side of her face, outlining her gentle features, in the dim lighting, she looked almost older.
  Sebastian ran his hand over the back of his neck. “Thanks,” he uttered under his breath as he took the glass she held out like an offering. Nadine trailed toward the fireplace. She ran her delicate hand along the shelf above the dancing flames, from the center towards the edge by the record player and vinyls. She showed obvious interest as she ran her finger along the turntable.
  “That was my grandfather’s,” Sebastian said into his drink as he observed her. “He got it in France.” She crouched down in front of the record player, her white cotton nightgown pooled on the carpeted floor around her legs, and went through the collection of vinyls. She pulled one out and began playing it. The melody came alive, and Sebastian nearly forgot he even had the record. A jazzy-like song filled the room. Her gaze darted back to him, and Sebastian swallowed. The liquor burned his throat. But he welcomed the feeling when his muscle began to loosen and he relaxed ever so carefully. Nadine pushed off the floor. Her dress pulled up, and her petite, crimson knees flashed. His gaze focused on her as she walked over to the leather couch beside him. When she sat down, her scent surrounded him—bubblegum and an artificial cherry smell filling the air with its sweetness.
  Nadine rested her head against Sebastian’s shoulder, and he stiffened. Unsure of what to do, he stared into the fire for a long moment as they sat in silence together. In an airy tone, Nadine murmured for Sebastian to tell her a story. Serenity filled her pure voice. Sebastian inwardly chuckled as he brought the glass to his lips. “I don’t know any,” he confessed. He was never told any growing up.
  Nadine’s little head turned on Sebastian’s shoulder, and he could feel her staring at him, her emerald eyes wide with shock, “You don’t know any?” Sebastian smiled. He swallowed the drink and shook his head. Nadine’s eyes widened with a sudden idea, and she perked up. “Then can I tell you one?” She offered eagerly.
  Sebastian chuckled and nodded.”Sure.”
  With glee, Nadine sat up. “Yay! Okay, which one to tell . . .” She pursed her lips in thought and gazed around before her emerald eyes lit up. “Oh! Have you heard the European love story about the wolf and the little girl in the red riding hood?”
  Sebastian shook his head. “I don’t think I have,” he said with a thinly veiled grin.
  “Alright, well, once upon a time, there was a little girl who had a riding hood made of red velvet that she loved so much, she never wore anything else.” Sebastian couldn’t help his mind from wandering to Nadine with her ribbons and dresses she always loved to wear. So far, he had never seen her in jeans or pants—and it was odd. But not something he thought twice over. Still, she continued, “One day, her mother sent her on her way to her grandmother’s house with a basket of cake and wine. On the way, she met a wolf. The wolf greeted her and asked where her she was heading. Little red told him she was going to meet her sickly grandmother who lived in the woods.”
  “Wait, the wolf could speak?” Sebastian scoffed. Nadine nodded. “And she just told him where her grandmother lived?”
  “Yes,” she answered matter-of-factly and waved impatiently. “Keep up.” Sebastian inwardly chuckled at her sternness as he lifted the drink to his lips and took a sip. “Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf walked together down the path in the woods in silence. But then, the cunning wolf tried to lure Little Red away with beautiful flowers and singing birds. When she went deeper into the woods to pick her grandmother the prettiest flower, the wolf ran to the grandmother’s house and devoured her whole. Gobbling up every bit, before dressing in her clothes and lying in her bed.” Sebastian snorted into his drink but said nothing this time. “Later, when Little Red came, handfuls of so many flowers, she couldn’t hold anymore, she found her grandmother laying under the sheets. She gasped, ‘Oh grandmother! What big ears you have!’ To which the wolf replied, ‘All better to hear you with, my child.’ in his best impression of the dear old lady.”
  “She actually believed a wolf in clothing was her grandmother?” Sebastian asked in a scoffing tone before he took another sip of his drink. The ice cubes danced in the glass.
  Nadine nodded and then continued. “Little Red saw her dear old grandmother’s wide, piercing eyes and said ‘But, grandmother, what big eyes you have!’ And the wolf said, in a low voice, ‘Better to see you with, my dear.'”Nadine carefully leaned in. “Little Red spotted her razor teeth and said, ‘But, grandmother, what large teeth you have.” She moved closer, and closer again. Her lips curled in a sly grin, mischief dancing in her emerald eyes dimly lit by the fire. “And the wolf replied”—she began in a low tone—”Better to eat you with, my dear!” She sprang and leaped onto Sebastian, giggling and laughing. Sebastian laughed with her as he lifted his glass so not to spill his drink onto the fine leather. Their laughter filled the room like a choir. Roaring off the walls as the fire crackled. Much more calmly, she added, “And then the wolf gobbled her too, and after, he took a long nap.”
  Nadine stifled a grin and rested her head against Sebastian’s chest. “But then, a huntsman passed by, and heard the sleeping wolf snore like a thundering storm, and thought it the dear old lady. Concerned, he went inside and found the beast slumbering and covered in blood.” Nadine’s voice seemed to distance, like recalling a terrible memory. “The Huntsman took his blade and sliced the wolf’s belly clean open. The wolf’s entrails fell out, and so too Little Red and her grandmother.”
  Sebastian nearly choked on his drink. What the hell?
  Speaking absently as though recalling a memory, she murmured, “They took stones, and filled the beast’s belly. When the wolf awoke, he tried to run away, but the stones were so heavy that he collapsed, and died.”
  Sebastian found himself at a loss for words at Nadine’s tale. “Jesus . . .”
  She giggled. “Did you like my story?”
  “Oh, yes. It was definitely . . .” Sebastian trailed as he searched for the right word. “interesting.” That was certainly one way to put it. “I thought you said it was a love story?”
  “It is,” Nadine said matter-of-factly. She gave a cheeky smile. Sebastian’s feature contorted in confusion, and he questioned, “Really?”
  “Think about it. It’s a love story between the wolf and the little girl—beast and beauty. Just because he was a monster, doesn’t mean he didn’t love her any less. He just wasn’t able to control his beastly urges.” Sebastian stared at her in bewilderment. Where did she come up with this stuff? Were they even listening to the same story? Still, in a gentle voice, she continued, “Some monsters are simply better at controlling themselves. And the wolf was not. It’s a warning to all lovers, that if they don’t control their urges, they’ll end up consuming the other. Until a huntsman has to come and cut their belly open.”
  Sebastian chuckled. “where do you get this stuff?”
  She gazed up at him. Her little head still lent against his chest. She silently watched the way he stared into his drink. The dancing flames threw shadows across his face.
  “I always loved that story,” Nadine confessed. Sebastian’s brows knitted and he pulled a face as he brought his glass to his lips.
  “Really?”
  She nodded. “It’s a lesson,” she said as a matter-of-factly. “There are deceitful, dangerous things in the world, in the woods especially. But also, there is good in the world. Wholesome, honest people that want to help. Like the Huntsman. Like you.”
  Sebastian peered down at her, and she bit down on her lip. “You saved me.”
  When he caught himself staring, a breathy chuckle left his lips as he leaned back feeling suddenly too close. The song ended, but the record continued to turn, low static vibrated through the silent speaker. “Where do you hear this stuff?” he questioned as he stood up and walked over to the player.
  Nadine nibbled on the inside of her cheek. “I’m intelligent,” she declared. Sebastian chuckled. He changed the vinyl, and a new song played. When he slanted Nadine another glance, she was staring at him with her big emerald eyes. He froze under her gaze.
  When he found himself staring again, he took his empty glass from the coffee table and went into the kitchen to wash and put away.
  Alone, Nadine slumped into the couch and stared into the crackling fire. Through the song, a low vibrating caught her attention. She gazed down at Sebastian’s phone laying against the glass. The screen flashed from an incoming call. Sadie. Deftly, she swiped decline with her finger and caught the grin that curled her lips.
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