Room Monster Boyfriend: Osvau (complete)

There is an old hunting path behind my sister’s house. It’s strange compared to the rest of her yard, which is overflowing with plants and herbs. This worn-out old path cuts through them like the Red Sea parting. It is out of place, strange, yet almost beckoning. I found myself staring at it often, wondering where it led and why it remains if it hasn’t been used in so long.

I moved in with my sister, Peri, for a few reasons. The first is that she recently went through an extremely bad divorce, and she didn’t feel safe living alone after some of the things her ex said to her. Peri runs her own business from home, and since her ex-husband scared off her employees, she was working alone. She grows holistic herbs and flowers, which she dries, packages, and sells, makes her own proprietary tea blends, and runs an educational podcast about her products and how to make your own teas. 

I help her ship orders, take care of the garden, and keep her schedule. Due to the nature of the divorce and Peri’s husband’s vengeful attitude, she’s been dealing with a cocktail of PTSD and anxiety, things she makes tea for and sees a therapist to combat. I’ve been happy to help. Since she’d been married I’d barely seen her, due to her ex’s chokehold on her. 

“There’s supposedly an old cabin on the property somewhere,” Peri says one day. She’s caught me staring out onto the hunting trail. “I’ve never really gone out far enough to find it. But it’s so old that nature has probably taken it over.”

I glance back towards her as she looks over the rosemary patch. “The trail keeps going?”

Peri shrugs. “For the most part.” She adds mulch around the rosemary. “If this rosemary doesn’t clean up its act I’m gonna rip it apart.”

“It can hear you, you know?” I chuckle.

Peri scoffs. “Then maybe it’ll catch the hint.” She takes her phone from the front pocket of her overalls. “I need to go. You need anything while I’m out?”

“No.” I shake my head. “I’m fine.”

“I’ll pick up something for dinner then.” Peri puts her things back into the shed before heading inside. I keep working for a while, checking over areas of the garden and trimming back some of the bushes. 

I stand up and turn, spotting a deer standing on the hunting path. It looks at me with huge black eyes, ears twitching, and licks its nose.

“Shoo,” I wave it off. “Shoo, now.”

It keeps staring.

“This isn’t a buffet,” I fuss at it. “And I’m not a hostess here to seat you!” I take a step forward and the deer rears back. As I get closer, I see more eyes peering from the forest. I gasp softly as all the deer stare back at me. There must be ten, fifteen of them, all standing on or around the path.

I touch my fingertips to my mouth. “Oh god. This is how I die, isn’t it?” I whisper.

The deer all turn their heads at once, ears flicking in the same direction. They stand completely still, then all at once they disperse, running along the hunting path and back into the woods from whence they came.

“Fuck,” I shiver all the way down to my toes. “The hell was that?” I quickly go back inside to try and forget the scene.

Later that evening, when Peri comes back, I am sitting outside, drinking coffee while double-checking orders we will be preparing the next day. As I go over the tablet I look up towards the hunting path. There I see a fawn come tiptoeing out. They have their head down and are sneaking towards one of the herb patches. Their small white tail wiggles as they excitedly come up on the rosemary. 

“Hey!” I snap, not sure exactly what to say in that moment. I stand up to shoo the fawn away when I see something else in the woods. I didn’t see it at first. It was so tall and dark, I thought it was a tree. The shape shifts, moving slightly as the fawn reacts to my voice. The dark shadow slithers aside, ducking down, and now I see antlers on top of it.

“Come on back, little one,” it says darkly. “It seems you are not welcome in the garden tonight.”

The fawn lifts its head and stares up into the trees. It moves slowly back towards the path, where a strange hand reaches out towards it.

“What the-” I gasp under my breath.

The creature slips towards the fawn, leading it back into the shadow of the trees. They glance back, their giant antlers shaking the branches of trees. Their head looks skeletal, elongated and sharp. As they dip their head back down, they follow the fawn into the trees, disappearing.

“Peri!” I scream as I run back inside. I lock the door behind me and run into the kitchen, where she is wrapping up the leftover chicken from dinner. “Peri! There was… it was…” I babble, trying to describe the creature I saw. I paw at the air, not sure how to speak or act.

“My god, what’s going on with you?” She looks me over. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she chuckles.

“Kind of!” I blurt.

Peri furrows her brow. “What?”

I swallow and point back towards the sliding glass door. “There was a fawn and this big… weird… I dunno, monster!”

“Monster?” Peri asks. “Are you trying to pull my leg or something?”

I shake my head. “I swear! I saw it! The fawn was wanting to eat your rosemary and the monster thing-” I stop myself and huff. “It was there! I swear it.”

She shakes her head. “And it was with the fawn? Was it trying to eat it?”

“No, I think it was looking after it.” I huff and run my fingers along my scalp. “Then there were the deer this afternoon!”

“Deer? What deer?” Peri chuckles.

“There was a whole bunch of them standing on the path,” I insist. “They were all staring and then they just…” I sigh and slouch my shoulders. “Oh god, I sound crazy.”

“Why would you make such a thing up?” Peri asks. “I believe you saw something, I’m just trying to piece it together.”

“You don’t think the cabin out there is haunted, do you?” I ask cautiously.

“If there even is one,” Peri chuckles. “Like I said, it’s been so long that nature has probably taken it over.” She stops and thinks for a moment. “Granted, I was told that no one uses it because people went missing out there, ages ago.”

“Peri!” I whine.

Peri chuckles. “They were drunk and fell in ravine. I highly doubt that would warrant someone coming back as a ghost or monster.”

The next day I decide to take the path to see if I really saw anything. I’m not sure why I feel the need to do this. Perhaps just curiosity. I pack a small bag with food and water and head out. The path cuts cleanly through the woods, smoothed by time and maintained by something else.

I find myself in a small clearing, covered in thick moss and heavy vines. The trees are far apart, allowing for a big beam of sunlight to illuminate the area. The deer are gathered there, and immediately they turn and look at me. I hold my breath, wondering if they are going to charge at me. 

I keep moving on, and find that the path turns to cobblestones. I follow the stones until they come to the remains of an old cabin. It’s slouched on one side where the wall has fallen away, and leaving it open like a dollhouse. Nature has indeed taken over with vines and small plants, but I can still make out the remains of an old bed and wardrobe inside. 

I look over my shoulder and see that the deer have all gathered to the left of me. They watch me with an intensity that feels like a warning. 

“Leave her be,” a dark voice whispers. “If she had come here to do harm I would have known it by now.”

I turn back towards the cabin. The vines covering the old bed suddenly wrap taut and pull it off the ground. Beneath, I see antlers coming out of the shadows, followed by long, gangly arms that press against the floor and pull the rest of the figure into view. The creature rises from the darkness and stands there, staring down at me.

The creature’s body is long and wispy, like ink in water. It has more than two long arms, with long fingers and thin palms. Their neck is like a swan’s, and the head is covered by a jagged skull and decorated with bones. 

“I smell something sweet on you,” they murmur. “What do you carry in your pack?”

My jaw is still on the ground. I’m not sure what to make of the creature before me. “I uhm-” my throat feels so dry and parched. “It’s, uhm… You are…”

“I am Osvau,” he replies. “A guardian.” He bends until he comes face to face with me. “Do you have snacks?”

I shakily remove my backpack and take out one of the brownies I packed. “Like this?” I’m fairly certain I am on autopilot.

Osvau takes the brownie, removing the plastic wrap, which he places back into my palms. “I love chocolate,” he sighs. “I used to get it all the time back when the cabin was new.” He places the brownie under the skull, and underneath I can see a mouth full of sharp teeth that resemble rubies. He chuckles softly as he nibbles the treat.

“So I wasn’t seeing things..” I murmur. “You really were real.”

Osvau tilts his head. “Why not?” he asks. 

“I’ve never seen anything like you before,” I murmur. “It’s a bit shocking.”

“I’ve lived here a long time. Before you, before anyone,” Osvau murmurs. “Before I guarded the little boy who slept in that bed.” He points back towards the bed, which the vines have lowered back to the cabin floor. “And now, I guard my deer.”

I glance back at the deer, who are all still staring at me. “You protect the deer.”

“They are all I have,” Osvau finishes off the brownie. “Do you have any more snacks?” he asks eagerly. “That brownie only reminded me of the things I miss.” He holds his hands out to take any offering.

“Oh, uh-” I look back into my bag. “I have a peanut butter sandwich.”

Osvau takes it from my hand, unwrapping it from the butcher’s paper. He sniffs it and giggles. “Very good!” He tucks it under the skull to take another bite.

“What are you?” I ask curiously.

“I was once called ‘monster under the bed’,” Osvau says between bites. “Now I am called nothing. The deer don’t give me names.”

“Sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t man to stare. It’s just that…”

“No worries,” Osvau says. “I keep staring at you too. Ever since you moved in with Peri, I’ve always tried to steal looks at you when I go walking with the deer.”

“You-” I stop myself. “You know Peri?”

“Ever since she moved here. The man who used to live with her, I used to try and scare him, but he never came close enough to the woods.” Osvau tilts his head sideways. “I am glad to see you here instead.”

“If you’re a guardian, then why didn’t you also protect Peri?” I ask, a little bitter.

“That is not how it works. I would have gladly ripped the man’s head off, but he never came into my territory. Peri was often out of reach.” He offers what remains of the peanut butter sandwich to me. “You’re with her now. You keep her safe.”

I shake my head at his offering, and he finishes the food off. “So, why do you try to steal looks at me?”

“Because you remind me of someone,” he says. “Someone who once shared snacks with me.” Osvau leans down towards me, and I can see glittering red eyes behind the skull. “The boy I guarded - his mother would sleep in his bed while the men went hunting. She would talk to me and we became close.” He reaches out, touching my cheek. “She was soft like you, and pretty.” His long fingers comb through my hair. “We used to share everything when it was hunting season.”

My heart begins to hammer at Osvau’s tender tone. “Like what?” I take a quick breath.

“Many things.” Osvau’s fingers trace down my jaw before pulling away. “The snacks, of course. She used to make me cookies all the time. She was also lonely, so I shared myself with her. I comforted her, I made love to her.”

My eyes grow wide as my heart continues to pound like a war drum. “You shared that much, huh?” I chuckled softly.

Osvau nodded, ducking his head. “You remind me of her. It brought back so many good memories for me. I just liked looking at you so I could feel good again.”

“You can always visit,” I whisper. I licked my lips and smiled. “Just have your deer lay off the plants we’ve got growing. We always have scraps we can give them.”

Osvau gasps in delight, then nods. “They would like that. I will tell them.” Osvau chuckles, glancing towards the deer. “If I visit…” he starts hesitantly.

“I’ll share treats with you too,” I say with a smile. “It will be nice to have the company.”

Osvau shivers and nods excitedly. “Thank you! I will make sure to be a proper guest.” He reaches down, cupping my cheek. “Perhaps I will show up tomorrow.”

He does too. Right after Peri leaves for a doctor’s appointment, the deer show up in the garden, and I start feeding them scraps from the last harvest. I see Osvau in the shadows and invite him onto the porch for tea and cookies.

He eats all the cookies, and especially loves the ones filled with raspberry jam. He tells me about the cabin and the woman he loved before. He says that after an accident, her husband forcibly took her and their son away, and they never came back.

“I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” Osvau whispered. “I cared so much for both of them, and then suddenly they were no longer there. The cabin was empty. I was lost. Luckily, animals started to come in and I was able to protect them.”

“Are there more like you?” I ask. “More monsters under the bed, I mean.”

Osvau nods. “Oh yes, the Beneathe is filled with others like me who wish to protect people. But there are others there who wish to do harm. They have dark urges and needs they often come to the surface for.”

“Boogeymen?” I gasp. 

“Predators,” Osvau replies. 

Osvau and his deer visit often. Sometimes Peri gets to join in, but I enjoy it when I get Osvau alone. I have become attached to him, and I have become even more attracted to him. His stories about the woman he once loved make my heart flutter, and I often wonder if he would ever want the same things with me.

One evening as I am taking the garbage out, I hear a whisper in the trees. I turn to see Osvau waiting at the edge of the garden.

“Did you forget something?” I chuckle as I go towards him.

“No,” he rises up from the ground. “It’s not that, it’s something else. I have a problem,” he murmurs. “And I need your help.”

I gasp “What’s wrong?” I step towards him and he moves away. “Are you hurt?”

Osvau shakes his head. “No, not at all. I mean, maybe a little-” He chuckles nervously. “I’ve been wanting to ask, but I’ve not wanted to scare off the first friend I’ve made in so long.” He wrings his fingers together anxiously. “But I need to speak it now.”

“What is it?” I ask.

“I have feelings for you,” he confesses with a whimper. “Ones I can’t ignore. Ones that makes me want to touch and kiss and-” He sighs. “But I do not want to seem strange.”

I step towards him, taking hold of one of his hands. “It’s okay,” I whisper. “It isn’t strange at all.” I smile up at him. “I feel the same way about you.”

Osvau cups my cheek in his hand. “Really?” he whispers in awe. “I’m glad!” He ducks his head and quickly looks away.

I reach up, tipping the skull up and placing a kiss on his cheek. His skin feels velvety and cool. I kiss down his jaw, feeling a sharp edge. I then feel the corner of his lips, and he turns back slowly. I kiss him, pressing close to his body as his head bends down. I hear him moan softly and his hands wrap around my waist.

“It’s been so long,” he whimpers. “If I kiss you again, it will be too much.”

I giggle. “Too much?” I ask. “What do you mean by that?”

“I told you, I don’t want to scare you off,” he huffs, looking away again. “There is an ache, and you are not responsible for dealing with it.”

I bite back a grin. “Why Osvau,” I murmur, “are you horny?”

Osvau grumbles. “I have antlers,” he tries to deflect.

I kiss his neck, gently nipping him. “Do you want me?” I ask him.

Osvau moans out loud. “Of course I do.”

I lick his jaw and guide his hand to cup over my breast. “Do you feel how fast my heart is beating?”

“I feel softness,” Osvau moans.

I lift up my sweater, exposing my bare breasts to him. I had slipped on the sweater to take the garbage out, and I only have shorts on beneath it. Osvau’s breath catches and my confidence spikes. His big hands cup around my breasts, squeezing gently and brushing over the nipples. 

I’m growing wet between my thighs and I can feel it dripping down. “Osvau,” I moan softly. “Your hands feels good.”

“Do they?” He flexes them on my skin. 

I kiss under the skull again, slipping my tongue into his mouth. He sucks on it, and I feel something hard press against my belly. I touch it, wrapping my fingers around the tip. It feels long and curved. Looking down, I see it’s almost rope-like, but bright ruby red. Cords of flesh wrap around a molten core, thicker at the base and thinning out towards a petal-shaped tip. A black liquid seeps from the tip and dribbles down the shaft.

“Don’t look,” Osvau growls.

I  bite my lip as I stroke him. “Why not?” I pant. 

Osvau shudders and his body spasms. “It makes me weak.”

I kneel before him, licking along his shaft while I slip my fingers into my shorts. I moan against him, tasting the black fluid, which is sweet and musky. I take him into my mouth, sucking gently while his knees tremble.

“I’ll cum,” Osvau moans. “If you keep doing that I’ll cum!”

I  look up at him. His pulse vibrates along his cock and onto my tongue. I sit up straighter,, taking him between my breasts. I squeeze my softness around his shaft and the tip flares. Thick, black ooze shoots out, splattering on my face and breasts. Osvau’s low snarls fill my head as his hips buck. 

He pulls away, grabbing me and picking me up in his arms. He rips away my shorts, and his fingers find purchase inside me. “Wet… soft….” he snarls like a beast in my ear. 

“Osvau,” I cry as his fingers go deep inside. I gasp as he lowers me down, removing his fingers and slipping his cock into me. Many hands cover my body, holding me aloft as he drives inside. I shudder and moan, feeling his powerful heat inside. He snarls and growls, sounding powerful and wild.

My whole body pulses and I cry out as I come. It ripples through my arms and legs, making me seize up and arch my back. He growls, bowing down to kiss me as he releases his grip. I gasp and pant as he lays down, holding me to his chest.

I feel the cool of the air around us and giggle softly as I snuggle against him. I kiss him again, feeling his sharp teeth on my skin. “Feel better?” I giggle.

“Yes,” he breathes. “So much better.” He sits up, holding me still. “What about you?” he asks. “I’m sorry, I… I lost myself for a moment.”

“I sensed no danger,” I kiss him again. “So don’t fret.”

Osvau nuzzles the top of my head. “Thank you. Next time, I promise, I will be more romantic.”

I kiss his cheek. “Sounds nice.”

The next day I am alone at the house. Osvau hasn’t shown up yet, but a few of the deer are hanging out on the porch, basking in the warm sun. I am watering the garden when I hear a car pull up.

“Peri!” A man snarls.

“Oh, god.” I turn to see her ex-husband coming towards the gate. I set down the hose and glare at him once he sees me. “Peri isn’t here!”

“Well then, where is she?” He bursts through the gate and storms into the garden.

I keep my mouth shut. The deer get off the porch and run away onto the path.

The ex storms up to me and grabs me between my neck and shoulder. I yowl in pain and my knees buckle. 

“Where is she?” he roars. The next thing I know, a deer charges up and hits him in the gut. Another surges forward, kicking him while he’s down.

I race backwards as more deer come out of the woods, with Osvau behind them. “Are you alright, my love?” Osvau whispers to me.

I nod shakily. “I’ll be fine. Not the first time he’s done this.”

Osvau lifts his chin. “It will be the last.” He grabs hold of the ex’s leg. “Come along now. You’re not welcome here.”

He screams as he’s pulled away, stomped and kicked by deer until they disappear into the woods. I quickly run inside, calling the cops and then Peri.

When the cops arrive I quickly make up a story. I say that he came and tried to hurt me for information about Peri, and I told him she had gone into the woods to look for ginger. He went into the woods to find her. There is search, and while they find a knife they don’t find him.

“What really happened?” Peri whispered to me one the cops left. “Is he gone?”

“Osvau came,” I tell her. “He said it’ll be the last time we see him.”

Peri’s shoulders sag and tears slip down her cheeks. “I owe him so big,” she sniffles. She shakes her head. “I can’t believe this happened.”

I squeeze her hand tight. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. Osvau and the deer will protect us as long as we keep the snacks coming.”

Peri chuckles. “I think he’d still come regardless. I think he loves you.”

I turn just as Osvau comes forward with a few of the fawn with him. I stand up to meet him, giving him a kiss as the fawn cuddle around Peri.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him. “You saved us.”

Osvau brushes my hair away from my face. “From now on, I’ll protect you too,” he tells me. “I love you.”

I kiss him again. “I love you, too.”