HEY EVERYONE!
So, I knoooow I had a different sequel up, but I was nowhere near as pleased with it as I am now. I've decided that the whooooooooole first half of "Definition" will be it's own story, and I'm going to draw it out because there was so much that I wanted to put in it. The second half with the kids will be a third story, and I still have plans for a sequel to that one. YAY FOR FOUR PART SERIES!
I wrote up a LOT of plot lines for Cat, Jade, and Tori, so it shouldn't be too hard to draw this out. Some stuff from "Definition" will still be kept because some of it was good-ish. Anywhosers, I present to you, this sequel to "Lying" with a ridiculously long title that also happens to be a Panic! at the Disco Song.
Leave a review telling me what you think!
-Sky
"Chapter 1 – Somebody Told Me"
"I'm breaking my back just to know your name. But heaven ain't close in a place like this. Anything goes." – The Killers
The sound of glass shattering startled Cat from her nap. She shot up from the couch to find the window by the front door broken in several places.
"Toy!" Cassie screamed from the foot of the stairs. She screamed the world again, pointing her chubby little finger at the window as her face started to turn bright pink. Keeping her finger pointed at the window, she started thrashing her legs and slamming her other hand down on the carpeted stairs.
With a tired sigh, her mother pulled herself up off the couch and trudged her feet across the beige carpeting to the broken window. Taking in the sight of the scene, she sighed again and held her head, hiding her fingers beneath her hair. Luckily, all the glass had fallen outside…into the tiny garden she'd planted to make the outside of the house look a little prettier.
"Hey, Kitten!" Bryce exclaimed, popping up by the window and startling his little sister.
Cat squeaked in fear and jumped back. "Don't do that!" she shouted through the window, her eyes turned down slightly with fright. She quickly scurried to the front door and pulled it open, ignoring her daughter's continued screaming.
"Man," her brother mused as he held up his niece's Miami Kate doll. The frilly pink dress on the petite doll had holes in and was discolored, and the doll itself was missing one of its ridiculously long legs. There were brown patches from old baby food and only God knew what in its blonde hair, and the left eye had been scratched off by Cassie's rapidly growing nails.
"She's got the Valentine arm. You should sign her up for the softball team."
Cat gasped happily and her eyes widened with excitement. "Baby softball!" she exclaimed. "It'd be like Baby Golf but played by babies! I could dress her in a cute little outfit and everything!"
"Babies can't play softball, Cat," Jade pointed out as she reached the top of the stairs. She clenched her eyes shut and rubbed her temples. "Can you please shut that kid up? She's giving me such a bad migraine that I said 'please.'"
With a loud sigh, the redhead ran over to her bellowing toddler and picked her up. Cassie continued to thrash in her mother's arms, occasionally crying for the toy in her uncle's hand. Nervously, Cat bounced in place in an attempt to soothe her daughter. When that didn't work, she continued to bounce Cassie and moved back to her brother. She held her hand out for the doll and Bryce handed it over quickly.
"Hey, Baby Girl," she cooed loudly in her airy voice. "Do you want your toy?"
Slowly, Cassie lowered the intensity of her screaming and opened her bloodshot, tear-stained eyes in curiosity. She looked at the doll for a moment before snatching it from her mother's hand and throwing it across the room. "Toy!" she screamed once more, bringing her tiny fist down on her mother's clavicle.
"Okay!" Bryce shouted quickly before his niece could start up her screaming. He reached out and took her from his sister. "Let me try something." Although Cassie thrashed in her uncle's arms, he kept a tight grip on her and gently sat her down on the carpet. Kneeling beside her as she started to wail, he placed one of his large hands on her nose and mouth, keeping her pressed into his hand by holding his other hand on the back of her head. Frightened, the toddler started slapping at his hands and kicked her legs around on the floor, trying to wriggle away from him.
"Stop it!" Cat screamed, pushing him away. She picked up her daughter when Bryce let her go. "Are you crazy?!"
"You're just now asking that?" Jade quipped as she descended the stairs.
"Relax, Cat," Bryce ordered as he stood up straight. "Collie's family's done this for generations. She says if you hold your hand over their mouth when they cry, then they'll associate crying with not being able to breathe. It's some psychological stuff the Indians came up with."
"You're full of shit, Bryce," Jade called from the kitchen. "And so is Collette's stupid family."
"Love you, too," he called back with a goofy grin. He looked back to the broken window. "I'll call Collie's uncle and get him to fix that."
"Kay, kay," his sister breathed. She looked to the stairs. "It's time for my baby's nap." She turned back to her daughter in her arms and kissed her nose. Cassie hit her on the head and Cat let out a small noise of pain before heading upstairs.
She yawned quietly as she entered the nursery and her daughter fidgeted in her grasp. She was having a good nap, dreaming of rainbows and sunshine. She had been dreaming about her daughter running through a field with her, laughing and smiling. But the girl would be older, probably about to start preschool because Cat definitely wanted her to go to preschool. She would have her mother's big brown eyes and her daddy's charming smile. Her hair would probably be black like her father's as well, and it would be long and pin-straight. She would have her mother's cute, button nose as well as soft, little hands. She wouldn't be a bad girl anymore, and she would never stop smiling.
Her mom said that Cassie was going through her 'Terrible Twos' and that all babies did it. They would be the worst they'll ever be, and they would drive their parents crazy. It wasn't fair, though. Darla and Jensen weren't being bad babies, and pretty much everyone expected them to act like their mother.
But Cassie wouldn't share, she refused to learn to talk or walk, and she would often fuss if anything didn't go her way. Whenever she and Darla played together, she would snatch Darla's toys and hit the little West-Oliver girl if she wanted something Darla had.
Jensen's only 'bad' aspect was that he would pull off all of his clothes whenever someone dressed him. While Jade was out, she put one of Darla's dresses on him and he didn't bother taking it off. But Cassie wanted to be the only girl in the home, so she would always try to pull of Jensen's dresses whenever they were around. It was a good thing Darla chose to wear her brother's pants and overalls all the time.
"Time for nap-nap," the teen mother announced as cheerily as she could in her tired voice as she put her daughter in the crib. Cassie banged her hands onto the crib's white-coated rails in protest and shouted "No!" over and over. She only spoke when she wanted something, and she most certainly wanted out of that crib.
Don't blink. You might miss.
Around seven thirty, Cat decided to go lay down, as if she felt like doing anything else after dealing with her troublesome toddler. She must have been tired, though, because she didn't wake up until she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. Startled, she jumped up on her bed with a gasp, turning to see Robbie smiling at her, back from his four day trip with his parents.
"Sorry," he apologized. "My hands are still cold from the mountains."
"Did you have fun?" she asked, sitting on her knees and putting her hands in her lap.
Robbie shrugged. "All I could think about was you," he confessed. Leaning into her, he cupped her and against the side of her neck and leaned in to kiss her.
Cat flinched at his cold touch but happily kissed him back. Kissing him quickly turned into the highlight of her weekend, making her feel less empty inside. She wanted to keep kissing him until her lips fell off if it would always make her feel as good as she did right then.
"I missed you so much, Cat," he whispered between neck kisses.
"I missed you, too, Robbie," she returned as she twirled her fingers in his curly hair.
His hands traveled up and down her body, his lips hungrily grasping hers. He desperately needed her, and four days in a dead zone only made his need worse.
They hadn't had sex yet—and he wasn't going to pressure her—but they'd gotten close on more than one occasion. He knew how to set her body on fire, and she was so close to giving herself to him. But the nagging thought of another pregnancy kept turning her off from sex. She always wanted another baby, to have a really big family since it was just her and Bryce growing up, but she didn't want to get pregnant again.
There was no doubt she loved her daughter—even with her recently developed bad phase—but she hated being pregnant. She was always hot, tired, and cranky. She was mean and she hurt in places that she didn't know could hurt. She threw up every day during the first four months of her pregnancy and she was always uncomfortable, no matter how she sat or stood. Yeah, she would have Robbie by her side if she got pregnant, but she just didn't want to do it again, especially not in her first year of college.
So that meant no sex.
"Stop," she murmured as his hands started to slide up her dress. She put her hands on his and pushed them away. "I don't want to."
With a loud sigh, he collapsed beside her onto the bed. "You never want to," he mumbled.
"I just can't," she said as she scooted back onto the bed. "I don't feel good. Let's just go to bed!" Then she bounced on the bed, grabbing the covers and pulling them overtop her head, despite the fact that she was still wearing her day clothes.
He sighed dejectedly, climbing off the bed. "If you get hungry, I'll be downstairs making spaghetti tacos."
Cat bit her lip, trying not to squeak. Even if that was one of her favorite foods, she couldn't be around Robbie right now. She rolled onto her side and clenched her eyes shut beneath the blanket. She hated making him sad and really wanted to be with him the way she was with Danny, but she just couldn't get pregnant again.
Not right now.
Don't blink. You might miss.
When her phone alarm woke her up the next morning, Robbie wasn't there.
Cat hmphed and closed her eyes, forcing the oncoming tears to go away. He was probably still mad at her…
She grabbed her bathrobe from the closet door handle and draped it over her arm. When she looked down, she realized she was still wearing her frilly pink dress. And it was wrinkled!
She sighed again and made her way to the bathroom for her shower. Inside the bathroom, she quickly undressed and hopped into the shower, even though the water was cold when she turned it on. Though she held herself as she shivered, she liked getting in when the water was cold because it made her appreciate the warmth more when the heater kicked on.
After a rather long shower, she donned her robe and went downstairs for breakfast. Her brother told her when she was younger that towel drying was bad because it made your skin wrinkle faster. No one would love her if she had wrinkly skin.
In the kitchen, Beck was making breakfast for everyone. It was their first day at college and he didn't want everyone to go on an empty stomach. He currently stood at the stove making scrambled eggs and turned around when he heard Cat's slippers scrape on the floor. "Morning, Cat," he greeted back.
"Good morning!" she greeted in her usual chipper demeanor as she returned the smile and took a seat at the small round table in the dining room. "Where are Jade and Robbie?"
"Jade's getting a shower," he answered as he turned back around to move the eggs from his skillet to two plates. Beside the plates was another one with toast and bacon on it. Bacon sounded really good right now… "Robbie just left a few minutes ago. Said he wanted to go ahead and find his classes."
"Oh," the petite girl breathed dejectedly. Her ears perked when she heard Cassie crying, and she sighed tiredly. "I'll be back in a minute…"
Don't blink. You might miss.
Cat bounced excitedly, her red dress flapping all around her. "Hurry up, Jade!" she whined as the taller girl walked out of the door with her twins in two separate baby carriers.
"Some of us weren't so lucky to only have one baby," Jade reminded her in a huff of breath. "I'd move faster if someone helped me, y'know."
The tiny redhead sucked her teeth in a fluster and bounced over to her friend. She took Darla's carrier, since Jensen didn't really like when she picked him up, and walked quickly with the toddler back to the silver hatchback in the driveway to allow Jade to lock the front door.
Cassie, who already sat in her car seat in the backseat of Jade's car, played with her fingers while cooing noisily. When her mother walked up to the car with another child in tow, her face fell and her eyes narrowed. She made a noise of disapproval as Cat placed Darla in one of the spots beside her and popped her mother's hands continuously as she tried to strap Darla into the seat.
"Stop it, Cassie!" Cat exclaimed, gently swatting her daughter's hands away while trying to settle Darla in, "Bad girl!"
"Bad mama!" the little Valentine shouted at the top of her lungs.
Cat gasped—completely forgetting about Darla's safety belt—and shot up quickly in shock, hitting her head on the top of the car. She fell back on the ground dramatically, crying out in pain, and Jade hurried over to her.
"Cat!" Jade cried, running up to her friend on the ground. "Are you okay?"
Cat's lower lip trembled and her eyes started to water. "No," she answered with a breaking voice. "My baby's so mean to me!"
Jade rolled her eyes and reached out to pull Cat up off the ground. "Be mean back to her," she advised simply. "You're her mother; you're the one in charge. You keep letting her walk all over you!"
A tear rolled down Cat's cheek as she rubbed the top of her head. "But I can't be mean to her," she cried out. "I love her!"
"I know you do," Jade allowed as she walked around the car and placed Jensen in the free seat beside Cassie. "But you have to discipline her. Otherwise, she's gonna turn into a little brat." As she situated Jensen and buckled all the necessary belts, Cassie tried to push her away in the hopes that she would take him away. But as soon as the other toddler touched Jade's hand, Jade shot her a dark glare that instantly made her stop. She turned away from her aunt and started to cry loudly.
Cat gasped and ripped open the passenger's door, quickly climbing in to soothe her daughter by rubbing her arms. "What did you do?" she hissed, shooting an accusing glare at her friend once she'd calmed her daughter.
"She hit me and I looked at her," Jade spat honestly as she continued to fix Jensen's seat. "I let her know without words not to bother me when I'm helping my son."
Cat frowned and watched Jade through the rearview windshield as she walked around the back of the car to make sure that Darla was set as well. "But you made her cry," she whispered sadly.
"Babies cry, Cat," Jade pointed out, not taking her eyes off her daughter. "They'll get over it if you let them. You can't run to them every time they cry. She won't even remember this happened." She looked up at Cat with a hard, serious gaze. "They'll never learn how to be independent if you never let them cry it out."
Cat huffed and turned around, plopping down in her seat. She didn't want Cassie to grow up to be a bad girl, but she didn't want to make her baby cry in order to teach her to be good.
But maybe Jade was right. She was really protective of the twins, but she didn't baby them the way Cat babied Cassie. Darla was a well-behaved baby and Jensen wasn't destructive or bad either. Jade never spanked them and Cat told herself she would never spank her children, but what if Jade made her do it? Would she be able to deal with putting her hand to her daughter? What if Cassie hated her?
She wouldn't be able to live with that…
Don't blink. You might miss.
"My anniversary is coming up," Cat announced quietly after a brief silence on the car ride to school.
"You don't sound happy about that," Jade quipped with a small smirk that her friend didn't see. They both kept their eyes on the road.
"I know you and Beck like to be together on your anniversary," the redhead said sheepishly.
"We like to be together in general, Cat," the Goth pointed out. "If you're talking about sex, just say it."
The smaller girl gasped. "You can't say that word around the B-A-B-I-E-S!" she exclaimed, giving her an embarrassed, sidelong glance. "They'll think bad thoughts."
"They don't even know what sex is," Jade spat, gripping the wheel a little tighter "And even if they learn today, they won't remember it. Babies don't remember anything before three." She scrunched her face slightly. "And you don't have to spell out what they are." She rolled her eyes at how silly her friend was as she took a left. "Anyway, what about anniversaries?"
"Robbie will want to…to have sex with me," Cat announced as she closed her eyes and brought her knees to her chest.
"He wants to have sex with you anyway, Cat," Jade pointed out, her head snapping to her friend when they reached a stoplight. "Is he doing anything he shouldn't? Did he make you play 'Pirates' again?"
"No!" the Valentine girl quickly refuted. "We haven't…I'm just scared. I don't want to get pregnant again…" She lowered her head in shame.
"Then I'll take you to the doctor and get you some birth control," her friend offered.
"But you got pregnant on birth control," Cat reminded.
Jade sighed as she turned back to the road. A car honked behind her, so she stuck her hand out of the open window and flipped them off before speeding off. "I know I did," she said with a curt nod. "But things like that are very rare. Beck and I also don't use condoms because I think they're gross and I hate the way they feel. Make him use one and you'll be fine."
"I don't know," the petite mother breathed. She rested her head on her knees. She shouldn't have even said anything.
Jade didn't understand.
Don't blink. You might miss.
Aside from sex with Robbie and how much she wanted and didn't want it at the same time, Cat couldn't stop thinking about how she would discipline Cassie on the way to school. She had to stop, though; today was her first day of college and she needed to focus on school.
When they were registering for classes two weeks before school started, Jade told Cat it would be a smart idea to take early morning classes since their toddlers needed constant care. She also told her it would be smart to take her General Education courses to get them out of the way so she'd signed up for an English, History, and French class since she already knew a little bit of French. She and Jade would only be part time students since Jade helped her talk to the financial aid office and told the school about their parental situation—that, and she was only allowed to take less than ten credit hours to be considered a part-time student. She didn't like not being able to take any singing classes or music classes, but Jade would never tell her wrong, and they got a reduced tuition for being part-time, so that would be less money she had to take out in loans.
When they reached UCLA, Jade turned left toward the middle of the campus where the daycare would be. Neither of the girls felt comfortable leaving their children, but they had no other options. Jade had no nearby family members that would be able to watch the children, Beck and Robbie had to go to school, too, Cat's mother had to work, and Jade sure as hell didn't trust Cat's brother to watch the babies. She made the mistake of letting Bryce watch her house once when everyone went on a group outing and came back to half the furniture missing. They found the missing furniture in an alleyway guarded by a hoard of feral cats.
The West girl pulled up to the daycare and both girls got out of the car. She unbuckled Jensen first while Cat unbuckled Darla. Cat waited until she came around the front of the car before handing Darla over and getting Cassie out of the car. Cat led the way and opened the door since Jade had her hands full, and both girls were greeted with a wonderful little building.
The walls were painted to make the room look like the inside of a gingerbread house. A box of toys sat neatly in the corner and gumdrop-shaped tables sat in the middle of the room with neatly stacked crayons and papers on top. By the wall across from the toy box sat a bin with blue and purple sleeping mats as well as little blankets and pillows. Beside the bin was a shelf full of little stuffed lions, bears, monkeys, pigs, and more, making Cat smile.
And a desk sat on the wall where the door was, adorned with drawings and crafts obviously made by distracted toddlers. A woman, around thirty-five with long and naturally red hair pulled into a messy bun atop her head, rose from the desk and smiled at the teen mothers. She wore faded blue mom-jeans with a loose, white blouse tucked into it.
"Good morning," she greeted. "I'm Miss Haggerty." She bent over and placed her hands on her knees, smiling at the toddlers once at eye level. "And who are you little angels?"
Cat smiled and placed her hand on Cassie's head. "This is my daughter, Cassidy," she announced proudly. "But we call her Cassie." She pointed at Jade's children. "This is Jade's daughter, Darla, and her son, Jensen." Then she gasped, realizing she'd forgotten something. "I'm Cat, by the way!"
Jade rolled her eyes at her friend's cheery disposition. "We'll be back around noon," she stated pointedly, getting right to the point. She glared at Miss Haggerty as she stood upright. "You may have a fancy degree and training or whatever, but if I find out that anything bad happens to my kids…well, you'd better sleep with one eye open."
"I don't appreciate being threatened," Miss Haggerty spat, crossing her arms. "Jade, is it? I've worked with children for twenty years. I've raised three boys that are now in high school. Whatever your children throw at me, I can handle. I take my job very seriously." She held the scary girl's gaze for a moment and Jade scowled. This stranger seemed legit, but that didn't make she want to hand over her children.
However, she still didn't have any other options.
Her professors wouldn't take kindly to babies in class, some had made that clear on their syllabi, and she was going to be late to her first class if she didn't give Darla and Jensen to this woman.
Fighting an annoyed growl, Jade reluctantly handed over the baby carriages to Ms. Haggerty. She kissed them both on the head and glared once more at the daycare runner. "I'll be back at noon," she repeated, turning on her feet and exiting the room.
Cat sighed as Miss Haggerty placed Darla and Jensen's baby carriages on the carpet. "I'm sorry about Jade," she apologized. "She's been through a lot and she's really protective of her babies. She means well, though."
"I'm sure she does," the daycare runner announced with a small smile. "She's not the first overprotective parent I've had come to my nursery, and I'm sure she won't be the last. But I promise that your children will be just fine. Others should be on their way, so I'm sure they'll make a lot of friends."
Cat smiled. "I really want Cassie to make friends," she confessed, "But my mommy says she's in her 'Terrible Two's' stage and she's not a good girl. She's a little bit of a handful…"
"That's perfectly alright," Miss Haggerty assured her. She held out her hands for Cassie's baby carriage and Cat handed over her daughter with ease. "I've worked with difficult children before, and I try to help them behave more. And if her behavior is still bad after a few weeks of attending this daycare, I have a lot of references that may be able to help you."
Cat gasped with a wide, open-mouthed smile. Cassie wouldn't be bad anymore and she wouldn't have to be disciplined! Her daughter wouldn't hate her and everyone would be happy! "Thank you so much!" she exclaimed joyously. She leaned over and pecked Cassie on the forehead. "I'll be back after class!"
With that, she bounced out of the nursery and into Jade's car to get ready for her classes.
Don't blink. You might miss.
Cat loved her French class.
Her teacher was a grey-haired fifty-something and devilishly funny. Granted, she was a bit of a nerd when it came to things she loved, but he made hilarious French-related jokes that she just couldn't get enough of. She also made friends in class because of the small group-setting format of the room. They even played an ice breaker game that she loved that made her feel comfortable in the lumbering classroom.
By the end of the class, she became giddy with excitement, ready to pick up her daughter from daycare; the longest she'd ever been away from Cassie was the very first day of Senior year when her teachers told her around lunch time that a high school was no place for an infant. (Jade, however, 'convinced' Principal Helen to look the other way so the three girls could bring their children with them.)
"…and starting Wednesday we'll be partaking in complete immersion," her teacher, Dr. Patrick Beasom, announced. "Je suggère que vous étudiez vos livres. If you don't know what I said, then crack open your textbooks!"
Cat smiled to herself, feeling proud that she could understand his request.
As soon as Dr. Beasom released the class, Cat shot up from her chair. She almost made it out of the class when a slender hand landed on her shoulder. She turned around to see a girl, around 5'5" with long, black ringlets and bright blue eyes—brighter than Jade's on occasion—smiling at her. Though Cat didn't pay much attention, this girl was strikingly beautiful. Tiny freckles danced along her porcelain skin and her full lips doused in red. Her clothes were subtle, but still managed to show off her curves in a dignified manner. Her nails were pristinely polished and manicured, painted light blue to match her blouse. And to top this magnificent girl off, she had a silver bar running through her eyebrow, just like Jade.
"Hi!" Cat greeted happily.
"Hey yourself," the girl greeted back. "My name's Natalie."
"Hi, Natalie!" the redhead exclaimed a little loudly.
"I need four semesters of a foreign language to graduate," the raven haired girl announced, cutting to the chase and flashing enticing eyes. "French is really hard for me, but it was the only language class open when I registered. Do you think you would mind tutoring me?"
Cat opened her mouth to respond when her phone buzzed in her bra. She jumped in shock and quickly pulled it out before Natalie's curious eyes and saw she had a text from Robbie.
Sorry I rushed out this morning. Miss you, Cat!
Cat's smile twitched. She hadn't completely forgotten about Robbie, but she had a lot going on with the babies and the first day of class that she managed to not think of him for a whole two hours. Seeing his name again reminded her of last night, and how they almost had sex.
Thinking about her talk with Jade, she held no doubt in her mind that she would make Robbie use a condom. And if he didn't know how to use one, she would show him; she'd seen Danny do it every time they were together (except for the first time). But what if it broke? She took one of Danny's condoms once because she was curious about how a tiny little circle could fit on…
But she put her hand in it and, not long after she put her fist in it, it broke. How would they know if Robbie's would break while they were together? When she broke it, she didn't even feel it snap out like she would if it were a rubber band; the only thing she felt when it broke on her hand was the slimy stuff on the inside.
And then if it broke, what if her pill didn't work? Jade said it was rare, but what if it happened? And what if she had twins like Jade?! She couldn't even imagine raising three kids in college!
"Are you okay, Cat?" Natalie questioned, worry marking her perfect features.
Cat shook her fearful thoughts away. "Yeah," she lied with a wide grin. "I was just thinking. But yeah, I can help you study. When did you want to?"
The taller girl smirked. "I was thinking 'the sooner, the better,'" she answered. "Since it's only the first day, there won't be many people in the library."
Cat frowned uneasily. "I don't know," she hesitated. "I have to get my daughter from daycare and my friend is gonna drive us back home."
"I love kids!" Natalie exclaimed with a pleasant smile. Her full lips nearly spread from ear to ear as a new idea filled her head. "I live in an apartment just a five minute walk away. You can bring your daughter over and I'll drive you both back when you're ready to leave."
Cat visibly thought it over for a moment. Cassie probably wouldn't want to meet Natalie and she would probably be fussy after spending time in the daycare, but that would give her a reason not to go back home and a reason not to see Robbie. She could spend a lot of time studying with Natalie, and they could hang out if they didn't want to study anymore. Then she could get home late, probably when Robbie was asleep or about to go to sleep, and he wouldn't have the energy to touch her.
"Okay," she caved. "Just let me go pick Cassie up and we can go back to your place."
"Great," her new friend breathed, her azure eyes capturing the little redhead. "I'll come with you and help you carry your stuff."
Cat smiled brightly, happy that she'd made a new friend.
Don't blink. You might miss.
Cat had to resist the urge to run across campus since she had Natalie to walk with. The sound of her black flats slowly tap, tap, tapping along the sidewalk made her antsy; she just wanted to be near her daughter again. She missed holding Cassie and reading to her. She'd only been away from her daughter for three hours, but it felt like a lifetime!
And Cassie would be getting hungry soon.
Natalie tried to make conversation during their walk, but Cat was too preoccupied with her thoughts of Cassie to form coherent sentences. By the time they'd walked far enough that the daycare was in sight, Cat took off running, her dress flowing around her wildly in the wind. Natalie stared off at her for a few moments, but quickly took off after her to catch up.
The petite mother didn't even bother hesitating to catch her breath when she reached the front door; she simply ripped it open and bounded inside. Jade sat in a little chair with Darla in her lap, reading to her quietly. Even though it was a baby book, Jade didn't seem to mind reading it to her, especially when Darla managed to say her first word: cat.
Both of them looked up when Cat entered the daycare and Darla smiled broadly, waving her arms excitedly. "Cat, Cat!" she exclaimed.
The redhead gasped excitedly. "She said my name!" she cheered wispily.
"No she didn't," Jade denied with a scowl. "She said a word from the book and it just happened to be your name, too." She picked up a stuffed bear off of the nearby windowsill and held it up in front of Darla. "What's this?"
"Cat!" she answered, whining slightly as she squirmed in Jade's lap, trying to grab the stuffed toy.
"See?" the angry teen rebuffed, glaring at her friend.
Cat looked away and began searching the room for Cassie, trying not to meet Jade's terrifying gaze again. When she spotted Cassie in Miss Haggerty's lap, she smiled softly. From the look of it, Cassie played peacefully with the older woman's finger. But when Cassie saw her mother standing at the doorway, she reached her arms out and grasped at the air repeatedly. "Mama!" she screamed, her face starting to turn red. The obviously new and unpleasant attitude startled the woman holding her, and she bounced the toddler gently on her knee as she continued to cry. Cat quickly ran over to her daughter just as Natalie opened the door.
Jade eyed this new girl suspiciously, sensing something off. Maybe it was her maternal instincts or whatever, but she now had a way of telling if a girl or woman had a baby. And by looking at Natalie, Jade was absolutely sure that this stunning girl was not a mother.
Therefore, she had no business at the daycare.
"Is everything okay?" Natalie questioned, looking to Cat bouncing Cassie on her hip.
Cat nodded and walking over to her new friend. Her daughter put her head against her mother's chest, sucking her thumb softly. "She just missed me," she answered quietly. She kissed the top of Cassie's head with a pleased smile. "I missed her, too."
"Are you ready to go?" Jade interrupted snippily, standing up with Darla on her side.
Cat looked to her friend reluctantly. "I was going to take Cassie and go study with Natalie," she stated. "She offered to take us home afterward."
Jade grimaced and glared at Natalie before going back to Cat. "Keep your phone on," she advised. "You'd better pick up if I have to call you."
Cat lowered her head. "Kay, kay," she responded glumly.
"Cat," Miss Haggerty called from her desk. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"
The synthetic redhead spun on her heels and walked with a bounce in her step while Jade prepared her twins to go home. "Is everything okay?" she asked with a hint of worry.
Miss Haggerty pursed her lips. "I'm worried about Cassie's behavior," she declared, getting right to the point. "When you left her here this morning, she got really angry. She refused to cooperate for the first ten minutes, and then she didn't want to listen to me when I tried to get her to behave. She threw toys around the room and snatched them out of the hands of children that came later on in the day. I wanted to ask you how often you discipline her."
Cat shrugged her shoulders. "Not much, I guess," she retorted. "Jade and I live together and her son cries when she disciplines her. I don't like when my baby cries."
"I don't assume that you would," the daycare runner acknowledged with a small smile. "But she's at that age where discipline is critical. If she poses any bad behaviors, you need to instantly stop her, otherwise she'll never learn."
"You sound like Jade," the younger girl mumbled, looking down at her feet.
"Maybe you could learn from her," Miss Haggerty suggested. "She may seem a little…rough around the edges, but her children are better-behaved than most I've seen."
Cat pouted. She didn't want to discipline Cassie, but she wouldn't be able to handle it if her daughter continued to misbehave. Maybe she was being a little irrational. Darla and Jensen didn't hate Jade, or at least didn't act like it.
She sighed loudly and silently assured herself that she would be able to do this.
She would be strong enough.
Don't blink. You might miss.
7 PM.
"I think I've had about enough French for the night," Natalie announced, falling back onto the carpet. She and Cat were in the living room, because she didn't like trying to do work in her bedroom. Her roommates were all out at the moment, and Cassie was asleep in the corner, clinging to her stuffed frog.
"Are you gonna take me home now?" Cat questioned, closing her textbook.
"You don't have to go home right now if you don't want to," the raven haired girl informed her as she slowly twirled her ankle in the air. She sat up with a wide, mischievous grin. "I know a guy throwing a party tonight. Wasn't planning on going, but maybe I could take you. You look like you could use a good party."
"But what about my baby?" the redhead asked without hesitation. "I can't just leave her here, and I don't think babies like parties very much." She looked down at her hands in thought. "My brother used to like parties when he was a baby, but then a horse bit him."
For a moment, Natalie looked at the petite girl in confusion. Then she shook it away, her ringlets flying around. "We could run her by your place really quick and head off," she suggested.
"Can I wear this dress?" Cat asked excitedly.
Her new friend chuckled, her tongue lightly dancing on her lips. "You can wear whatever you want."
Don't blink. You might miss.
Robbie smiled to himself as he entered the mall. He was going to buy Cat a present to celebrate their one year anniversary. He was going to present her with one of the most magnificent presents he could buy with the money he made secretly selling his paintings on eBay. He would have to email the strange puppet connoisseur and thank him for buying the various paintings of Rex. Maybe he would paint more pictures later to make enough and take her out on a fancy date.
He didn't tell her about it, but he'd opened up a bank account and stashed all his art money in it. He would tell her about the account later and share it with her, but now he had sole access to nearly $2000 wired to a bank card to spend on his whimsical desires.
He looked around the mall for her favorite jewelry store that he may or may not have forgotten the name of. From what he could see, Bale's was the only jewelry store on the first floor. He was pretty sure that store was on the second floor, but there were two jewelry stores there. He remembered going with his step-dad one day to pick out an engagement ring for his mother, and his step-dad told him they were going to her favorite store. Cat was a lot like his mother, so Robbie hoped they liked the same store.
But what was it called?
Robbie jogged up to the nearest escalator and climbed it quickly as if it were a set of stairs. He didn't have much time to waste with frivolous luxuries; Cat would be expecting him home soon to make up for leaving so early.
Once at the top of the escalator, he looked to his left. Some jewelry store with an unbelievably French name that he couldn't pronounce stood by The Cookie Cutter.
But that wasn't it.
Looking right and down the large corridor, Tilly's sat facing Robbie, its pink sign glowing radiantly.
That's it!
He took off at a fast paced walk, keeping mind of his speed since running wasn't allowed in the mall. And when he got there, a young man with hair as dark and as long as Beck's but skin as pale as Jade's looked up from his computer. He wore a Jade-like scowl, nearly convincing Robbie to turn around and leave.
"Can I help you?" he asked with a not-so-friendly tone.
"I'm looking for a promise ring for my girlfriend," Robbie announced with a broad grin, despite the man's unpleasant demeanor. "It's our anniversary next week."
"Charming," the clerk sighed apathetically. He moved over to a glass casing system at the far end of the store and away from the register. He took in a deep breath. "This is our collection of promise rings," he sighed emotionlessly. He gestured to the left side of the case. "These are our 'wallet friendly' collections. Take your pick."
Robbie fought the urge to roll his eyes. So much for customer service.
While he wanted to get Cat a nice ring, he did have to keep the price in mind. He still had to help out with the bills. But as long as he could paint, he'd be able to make money…
Scanning from left to right, he found a set of promise rings with ridged-shaped bands that almost looked like crowns, yet looked softly rounded like clouds at the same time. The inside of the smaller ring was a soft gold color, while the inside of the larger ring was a dim silver. They were somewhat plain, but Cat would like them; he could always add things to them as well, which he planned to do.
"How much would it cost to get rings engraved?" Robbie questioned, keeping his eyes on the bands.
"It's three dollars a word, per ring," the clerk announced, looking down at a magazine. "Accents range from twenty-five to one hundred dollars, per ring."
Robbie bit his lip in deliberation. That didn't sound too bad, and Cat was worth it. He just hoped she would like what he picked out.
"I want these two," he announced, pointing down at the ridged bands. He looked up at the clerk. "And I want the words 'I will always be with you' engraved on the outside of them so we can always look at them."
"Is there anything else you'd like on the rings?" the worker asked, not moving from his seat.
"Um…I think I want 'Caterina Valentine' engraved on the inside of the bottom of the bigger one," Robbie stated. "And I think I want 'Robert Shapiro' on the inside of the smaller one."
"You think or you know?" the worker clarified impatiently, narrowing his eyes slightly at his magazine.
Robbie sneered. "I want that," he told the man adamantly. "I also want a diamond at the start and the end of the sentence. Can you tell me the price of the rings with the engravings before the diamonds?"
"The price of the rings is right under them," the cashier pointed out. "You want less than twenty words so multiply that by three and that's the most you'll be looking at before the diamonds."
Robbie looked back down at the price of the rings. The whole set was an even twenty dollars. If he got twenty words, which he wasn't sure he did, that would be sixty dollars. Eighty dollars for two rings didn't seem too bad, but then again…he had never bought a ring before, so he wasn't sure if this price was reasonable.
But he had $2,000 to spend, so it wouldn't matter if he spent $200 on a set of rings. After all, Beck told him that Jade's engagement ring was five times that amount.
"What kind of diamond can I get for thirty dollars?" Robbie asked, staring straight at the clerk.
He rolled his eyes. "I hope you have enough room in your pocket for all that money you're not spending," he quipped.
Robbie narrowed his eyes. "How about you stop giving me such a bad attitude when all I'm trying to do is get a gift for my girlfriend who stood by me while I was in a coma even though she was pregnant by a douche who didn't have the balls to raise his own baby and help me get a good ring?"
The intensity of Robbie's voice shocked him and prompted him to help Robbie, without the annoying disrespect.
Don't blink. You might miss.
Dropping Cassie off was simple, quick, and easy. Cat slipped into the house and upstairs without a sound, gently placing her daughter in her crib between the twins. Beck almost caught her as she was leaving, but she moved too fast for him to stop her.
On the way to the party, Cat and Natalie didn't really say much, not that anything could be heard over the earsplitting guitar riffs from Papa Roach blasting through the speakers of Natalie's escalade.
As she pulled up to a house thirty minutes from campus, Cat grew uneasy. She never went to parties, and she wasn't sure she wanted to go to one without Jade. But maybe there would be cake!
"You ready?" Natalie asked as she cut the engine.
"Yeah," Cat breathed, plastering on an excited smile. Together, the girls climbed out of the black escalade. Natalie walked around the front of the car and locked arms with the redhead. She wore a sexy smile as she led her tiny friend to the front door, and Cat looked on in awe as Natalie simply opened the door and walked right in.
A loud rap song echoed through the house, shaking the walls packed with mingling people. Some of them had Solo cups, others had bottles, but everyone had something in their hands. Some took swigs of their drinks as they danced to the beat, others just watched their company with intoxicated grins. Girls danced on tables, twirling their shirts around their heads and hooting louder than the music.
"Nat!" a boy with sandy blonde hair and glazed green eyes called, running up to the girls. He looked to be about Beck's 5'10" stature, and Cat thought he smelled funny. She wasn't sure what it was he smelled like, but it made her scrunch her nose.
"Joey!" Natalie returned enthusiastically and coolly, letting go of Cat's arm and enveloping the boy in a hug.
He looked over her shoulders as he hugged her and winked, causing Cat to blush a little. "Who's the new girl?" he asked, nodding slightly.
Natalie chuckled and held her guy friend a little tighter. "Back off," she threatened lowly so Cat wouldn't hear it over the music. "She's mine."
Joey laughed slightly, keeping it below the music. "Learn to share, Natty Bear."
Before the dark haired girl could utter a witty response, Cat enveloped both of them. "I love hugs!" she shouted over the roaring music as it changed to an upbeat rock melody.
The boy in her arms laughed again and ducked out of the hug. "I have something else you'd like," he told her, nodding his head toward the stairway. He grabbed her hand and led her upstairs, Natalie following close behind with her arms crossed.
Someone didn't fucking listen.
Cat's shoes scraped against the red carpeting, and she looked all around to take in the décor hidden behind drunken partiers as Joey led them through another throng of people. He took them down a long corridor packed wall to wall and opened a door to the left, ushering the girls inside. They practically fell into the room, and he had to push people away to keep them for coming in. He locked the door before turning back to the girls who'd taken the liberty of sitting on the bed, Natalie pressed close to the redhead.
Joey reached into his back pocket and pulled out a rather large joint, as well as a lighter. Natalie's eyes light up and she grinned from ear to ear. "Score!" she exclaimed, reaching her hands to him. "Gimmie, gimmie!"
"Ah, ah," Joey spoke, shaking his head slightly as he walked over to them. He shifted the lighter into his other hand and lit the joint, mesmerizing Cat. Her eyes widened in confusion as he gestured it toward her. "We let our guests go first, Nat. What kind of friends would we be if we hogged it all?"
"W-what am I supposed to do with it?" the tiny girl asked sheepishly as she looked from the burning hand-made cigar to the average-looking boy holding it.
"You smoke it, silly!" Natalie said incredulously, nudging Cat in the shoulder.
The redhead gasped and turned to her new friend. "But smoking is bad!" she cried, her curled locks bouncing slightly.
Joey rolled his eyes. It was typical of Natalie to bring goodie-goodie girls around. "Jeez, where'd you find this girl?" he grumbled.
Natalie wrapped her arms around Cat's shoulders and rubbed the left one protectively. "Smoking cigarettes is bad," she clarified. "This is weed. Smoke that and you'll be the happiest little kitten in the bunch."
Cat clapped her hands joyously. "I love happy cats!" she beamed. She looked back to Joey as she lowered her hands. He gestured the joint to her once more and she took it. Her first thought was to put the burning end in her mouth because her brother said that's where the best smoke came from, but Natalie quickly grabbed her hand and turned the joint around so she could bring the non-lit portion to her lips.
"Breathe in and hold it," the older girl instructed as the joint touched Cat's mouth.
The redhead nodded determinately and inhaled the burning mass. It tasted like that awful smell that she got a whiff of downstairs: dirty grass mixed with old dandelions. Some of the smoke billowed to the back of her throat and she pulled the cigar away before a coughing fit took her over.
Joey laughed while Natalie patted her on the back, and he took a long drag before handing it to his friend. "You can't cough it out," he said, inhaling with every word. His strained voice made Cat giggle, and she giggled harder when he puffed his cheeks out like a squirrel.
"I'm gonna let you try again," Natalie announced, "But we do 'puff-puff-pass.' You get a hit and you give it to Joey. Got it?"
Cat gave a sharp nod as the girl beside her took a short drag. "Kay, kay," she breathed. By the time Natalie handed it back to her, she was already starting to feel lightheaded. She was about to take another drag when Joey let out a loud gasp and shocked her. He laughed at her reaction and had to take a step back to keep from falling.
And though she couldn't help it, Cat snickered.
She was starting to feel a little tingly. She could feel her blood bubbling beneath her skin, and it seemed to concentrate on the sides of the bridge of her nose and beneath her bottom eyelids. She tried blinking, but she could only move one eyelid at a time. Joey snickered at her and Natalie gasped for air, falling back on the bed as she laughed uncontrollably.
Trying to suppress her giggles, Cat took another small drag from the joint and handed it back to Joey who gladly took it from her. She tried her hardest to keep the smoke in her mouth, but slender fingers danced along her hips and she couldn't help but let all the smoke out through her nose and her mouth as she laughed.
She fell back into Natalie's arms and both girls giggled wildly. Everything started to blur around Cat as she looked around the room, and she wasn't entirely sure she could feel Natalie's arms around her waist anymore.
Nothing could register.
Her eyelids felt heavy and she was sure that she kept falling asleep. She would wake up when she felt something touch her neck, and her eyes would shoot open. She could see the top of Natalie's head as the girl kissed her neck, but she felt the kisses in different places, like she was a lagging computer. When Natalie kissed her lips, she wasn't sure she felt it.
Everything moved too fast for her to stop.