DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything you recognize.
Black and Blue
No one could believe it when Macavity and I became "more than just friends." Least of all, myself. It happened like this: Victoria, Electra, Etcetera, and I were sitting on the ground in the Junkyard, just talking, when Macavity came up to us and said, "Hey, ladies."
Electra and Etcetera squealed and ran away. Stupid kittens.
But anyways, Macavity smiled and said, "I was hoping I could talk to you, Jemima.alone."
I ignored Victoria's "this isn't smart" look and followed him a while away from Victoria. We were completely alone, no one surrounding us. I had a thought that sent chills down my spine: He could kill you, and no one could help you.
"Uh.maybe we should go back to where Victoria is," I stammered.
Macavity put a firm paw on my shoulder. "Relax, Jemima. I'm not going to hurt you, contrary to popular belief." He smiled, and I knew he was kidding around.
I laughed and tried to cover up my disbelief. "Imagine that," I said. Imagine that?!?!?! I'm such a dork!
"Jemima, I like you. I love you."
I blinked. "Excuse me. Did you, like, mistake me for Bombalurina or somebody? I'm Jemima."
Macavity grinned. "No, Jemmie. I love you-Jemima. And only you."
"How come?" I asked.
He rolled his eyes. "'Cause I do. Do I need a reason? You're beautiful, funny, and you have a great personality. What more could a tom want?"
Me? Beautiful? Funny? What more could a tom want? "Uh.maybe you're mistaking me for Victoria."
"Jemima."
"Okay, okay. I get it."
"Well I wanted to know if you could hang out with me. Tonight. Midnight, how about?" he asked.
"At the tire?" I proposed.
He shook his head, "Too.open. How about in my warehouse?" Seeing my doubtful look, he added, "I said I'm not going to hurt you and I'm a tom of my word. Please, you have to trust me."
"Okay," I said, "I trust you."
If this were a video, and I was watching it, I'd probably smack my head and screech, "Don't you see he's fake!" But it wasn't a video-it was my life.
Midnight. I wasn't in Macavity's warehouse-I was in my den, on the floor where I usually slept. My stupid parents, Demeter and Munkustrap, still weren't asleep. It was 2 AM by the time they finally fell asleep. I crept out stealthily and ran all the way to Macavity's warehouse, the cool air washing over my fur.
Macavity was standing by the door, scowling. "Jemmie, you're way late. I said midnight!"
I smiled. "I'm sorry, Cavity.my parents didn't go to sleep until late."
Macavity slid so that we were standing toe-to-toe. I could smell his breath-and, to put it nicely, he wouldn't do bad taking a few tic tacs. But, anyways.
"Sorry-isn't-good-enough," he hissed, through gritted teeth. "I tell you when to meet me, and you meet me. Understand?"
I nodded, fearfully. "Okay," I told him, "but you don't need to make such a big deal of it."
He punched me, and narrowly missed my nose. But he got my jaw, and it stung. "Macavity!" I screamed, my paws rushing up to feel my jaw. It hurt. A lot. And his claws must have been out, because beads of blood were now forming and sliding down my chin.
Macavity sighed and said, "Come on in, I'll fix you up."
I followed him. Stupid me.
"It's going to sting for a while, but it's not broken," Macavity told me, pressing a small white cloth against the bloody areas of my jaw. "It may swell up."
I didn't say anything, just allowed him to clean the scratches on my face. You hurt me, I wanted to say, You jerk. You bastard. But I didn't. It hurt to talk.
"You'll have to stay put for a while-I wouldn't want you walking around at night, alone. You can stay here for a few days," he said, taking the now-soaked-with-blood cloth from my jaw and dipping it in solution.
"They'll think I'm kidnapped," I managed.
Macavity shrugged. "You can't leave."
"I'll be fine tomorrow morning," I insisted.
Macavity bent down so that he was two inches away from my nose and said, "I said you can't leave, damn it! What I say goes!"
I didn't bother to reply.
"I've got to go. Stay put." He needn't finish his sentence-I knew what he left hanging. .or else.
It was then that I realized that he hadn't once apologized.
Around lunchtime the next day, Macavity came into the room I'd been resting in, clutching a tray. "I brought lunch," he said, sitting down beside me. "Cream and bread. It's the best I could do."
"It's fine," I said, picking up the dish of cream and taking a sip. It was warm. Yuck.
"How're you doing?" he asked, inspecting my jaw. "A little swollen. But the cuts are almost healed."
"How are things in the Junkyard? Am I being searched for?"
Macavity shook his head. "Nope."
I didn't respond to this. I attempted to chew my bread, but it was too hard. Figures. Realizing my predicament, Macavity dipped a hunk of bread in the cream and handed it to me. It was much easier to chew then.
"Tomorrow night, you'll go home. You won't tell anyone anything. Right?"
"Right."
"And the day after you get home, you'll meet me here at midnight. Right?"
"Right."
I tried to slip into my den, but Munkustrap and Demeter were waiting up. "Where have you been?" asked Demeter.
I shrugged.
Munkustrap repeated, "Where in the Everlasting Cat's name have you been?"
"With.someone," I said.
"Oh, Heaviside," cried Demeter, tears starting to trickle down her face. "We were worried sick and you were with someone?"
"You're grounded," said Munkustrap, "until further notice. I'm serious. If you so much as take one step out of this den, we'll set you loose."
His words chilled my heart, but even so. I'd promised Macavity that I'd meet him, and I knew that I had to. I didn't want a broken jaw this time.
"What happened to your jaw?" asked Demeter, when she saw the scratches and swelling.
"Nothing," I replied.
"Jemmie, who have you been with?"
"No one."
"Give it up, Demeter. Let's go." Munkustrap and Demeter exited the den and I fell asleep on the floor
The next night, I snuck out successfully. When I told Macavity of my predicament, he said, "Then you'll move in with me, here. Come now. Tomorrow night you can bring your stuff and move in here."
"But, Macavity.my parents will never let me."
"We'll get married," he proposed, "at the next Jellicle Ball. It's only seven months away. Come on, Jemmie! It'll be fun. That way you won't be grounded anymore.we can walk around the Junkyard freely. Oh, it'll be fun!"
"Well," I sighed, "alright."
But even as I said that, I knew that it wouldn't be possible. And I was starting to worried that he was capable of more than just a broken jaw.
"And we'll have to have lots of kittens," he said, smiling with delight. "Lots and lots of kittens."
"Easy for you to say!" I teased. "You don't have to go through pregnancy and then labor.if it were up to me, we wouldn't have any kittens at all."
Macavity glared at me. "Yes, we will because what I say goes. Got it?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't you dare talk to me like that Macavity! It's not my fault you can't take a-"
I didn't have time to finish. He'd already smacked me-hard-across my sternum. It knocked the wind out of my temporarily, which gave him a moment to gather me up and carry me inside.
I don't know exactly what happened. Just that I had let him take control of my body-and now a lump settled in my throat, because I was certain I was pregnant.
"How are you doing?" he asked, handing me a bowl of milk.
"I'll live," I muttered. He traced his paw right over my sternum. I winced and recoiled.
"What's wrong with you?" he snapped, scowling.
"Nothing," I sighed. "Just that you whacked me in my sternum and then forced me to.to."
"I didn't force you to do anything!" Macavity shouted.
"That's not true and you know it!" I yelled.
He smacked me across the face, leaving a stinging burn. "Macavity, you can't keep doing this," I told him, through copious tears. "Relationships don't work like this."
"Mine do," he hissed.
"Yeah, well that shows how many friends you have."
Oops. Another mistake. He punched me in my stomach. I bent over, feeling like I was going to throw up. I couldn't talk. He seized the opportunity to bend over and mutter, "Don't you ever-ever-talk to me like that again. Do you hear me?"
I couldn't answer.
"Answer me!" he shouted, whacking me on my back and making me even more short of breath.
"Yes," I choked, "Yes, Macavity."
"Good," he said, exiting the room.
I heard the key turn in the lock and I knew I was trapped. Both figuratively and literally.
He didn't come back until two days later, once I was all bruised up from our previous escapade. I cowered in a corner, staring out the barred window once he came.
"What?" he demanded. "Are you mad at me or something?"
"Are you as dense as you act?" I retorted.
"I think you're the dense one. You know what happens when you talk to me like that, but you persist to do it. I wonder why." Before leaving, he added, "Munkustrap and Demeter are boasting the news all over the Junkyard: they've officially disowned you."
The words sunk in and made me cry.
But it was the first round of tears of many.
Next day, Macavity still wouldn't let me go home, not even to gather my belongings. "If you leave, you'll certainly create lies about me."
"As if you haven't got enough of a reputation? Everyone knows what you act like and who you are."
"Except for you, of course, because you were naïve enough to come to me in the first place."
"You mean you don't love me?" I was shocked, as pitiful as that sounds.
"Of course I do." He smiled and hugged me. "I'm the only one in the whole world who loves you. Everyone else hates you. And I've made arrangements for us to get married at the next Jellicle Ball."
I returned his smile. "Good."
We began to dance.
Macavity put a strong arm around me and said, "We'll go to your house and collect your belongings without anyone ever knowing. You'll spend the rest of your life with me. We'll be so happy."
I grinned. "Let's go."
We walked through the Junkyard quietly. It was dark out, and most of the cats were asleep. When we finally arrived at my den, I slipped inside, took what I needed, and slipped back outside.
I was a little disappointed that Munkustrap and Demeter hadn't caught me. Oh well.
"Why do you keep me locked up?" I asked.
Macavity chortled, "Because I'm afraid to let you go. If I set you loose, you may never return."
"Oh, Cavity, I'll always return. I promise."
"I can't let you go. I just can't."
"Why not?"
He pinned me against the cot that I slept on. "Because I just can't. Am I making myself clear? You're not to leave this room."
"But I don't want to spend my life cooped up in this stuffy room!" I protested.
"Too bad."
He left me to cry alone.
By the time I finally convinced Macavity to escort me into the Junkyard for another visit, I was starting to get bigger and bigger. But I didn't mind being pregnant anymore-I was excited that I was going to have babies.
He still insisted that it was night, but at least he was allowing me to return home to gather a few more belongings. We walked in silence, he looked over his shoulder every few minutes.
"Here we are," I said, "I'll only be a minute."
I walked inside and crawled over to where my parents lay sleeping. I couldn't believe that they didn't want to see me anymore.but I had to accept it. I turned and crawled to my trunk, where I slept in.
"Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad," I whispered to them. I crawled into the trunk and shut my eyes. I'd only planned on staying for a minute, just to see if I'd remember how it felt, back when I was just a child.
But Macavity burst into the den. "Demeter!" he hissed. "Where are you? You've been here for ages. Someone is going to wake up! And when we get back home." He let the rest of his sentence hang.
Macavity opened up the trunk, yanked up me and smacked me in the chin. "You stupid idiot! We're leaving right now."
I was crying so hard I didn't even notice Munkustrap and Demeter's eyes pop open. I didn't notice them follow us outside.
Once we were outside, Macavity threw me on the ground and proceeded to beat me. He kicked me in the ribs and sent me flying a few feet in the direction toward his warehouse.
"That'll teach you to try and abandon me again!" he shouted smacking me on the shoulder. "I'm going to kill you!"
I cried, "Macavity, please! It was an accident!"
He stomped on my paws. I heard a sickening crunch. "I'm going to lock you in your room and never let you out!" He kicked me in the head. The world started spinning.
I was conscious enough to see Munkustrap walk over to Macavity and slash him with his claws. "You will do no such thing!" he shouted, pinning Macavity to the ground.
"Dad!" I called out, but my lips were parched and it hurt to talk.
Just then, Demeter appeared with Old Deuteronomy, Alonzo, Plato, Coricopat, and Victoria in tow. Victoria dove over to me and sat by my side. We watched in horror as the team knocked Macavity unconscious.
"Jemmie!" shrieked Demeter, once Macavity was safely taken away. "Why didn't you tell us anything?"
But I shut my eyes and surrendered to unconsciousness.
I woke up three days later. Munkustrap and Demeter were kneeling beside me. Old Deuteronomy was stoking a fire. "Good to see you've finally gotten up," said Old Deuteronomy.
My whole body hurt. My stomach was huge. I was covered in ugly black and blue bruises. I didn't respond. It hurt to move.
"We've been so worried," cried Demeter anxiously. "We thought you'd run away with someone. When we saw Macavity beating you like that, we didn't know what to do. We had no idea."
Even though it hurt to talk, I asked, "I thought you didn't love me anymore. He told me you'd disowned me."
"Never!" gasped Munkustrap, shedding a few tears.
"What happened?" asked Old Deuteronomy.
I told them the whole story, even the goriest parts. I didn't miss a single thing. I even explained why I was expecting. When I was done, we were all crying.
"Jemmie, you should have come to us sooner!" said Munkustrap.
"He wouldn't let me leave the warehouse," I told them, wiping a few tears from my eyes.
"You must be hurting all over," said Demeter. "And Coricopat has predicted you'll be having your babies in three days."
I smiled despite everything. Then, "Can I see Victoria?"
Victoria was brought to me. She sat by my side and we cried together for a few hours. Once we'd calmed down a bit, she asked, "Did it hurt?"
"What?" I asked.
She motioned toward my stomach. I smiled. "Oh.that." I shrugged.
"That's alright," she assured me. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."
"My entire body hurts," I sighed. "I thought I'd gotten used to pain, but this is a whole new pain. I can hardly breathe. They say he broke my collarbone."
"I'm sorry, Jemmie."
"I'm sorry, too, Vicki."
We hugged and I felt truly happy, for the first time in months, because I knew everything would work out okay. My parents loved me. I was safe-that was all that mattered.
Black and Blue
No one could believe it when Macavity and I became "more than just friends." Least of all, myself. It happened like this: Victoria, Electra, Etcetera, and I were sitting on the ground in the Junkyard, just talking, when Macavity came up to us and said, "Hey, ladies."
Electra and Etcetera squealed and ran away. Stupid kittens.
But anyways, Macavity smiled and said, "I was hoping I could talk to you, Jemima.alone."
I ignored Victoria's "this isn't smart" look and followed him a while away from Victoria. We were completely alone, no one surrounding us. I had a thought that sent chills down my spine: He could kill you, and no one could help you.
"Uh.maybe we should go back to where Victoria is," I stammered.
Macavity put a firm paw on my shoulder. "Relax, Jemima. I'm not going to hurt you, contrary to popular belief." He smiled, and I knew he was kidding around.
I laughed and tried to cover up my disbelief. "Imagine that," I said. Imagine that?!?!?! I'm such a dork!
"Jemima, I like you. I love you."
I blinked. "Excuse me. Did you, like, mistake me for Bombalurina or somebody? I'm Jemima."
Macavity grinned. "No, Jemmie. I love you-Jemima. And only you."
"How come?" I asked.
He rolled his eyes. "'Cause I do. Do I need a reason? You're beautiful, funny, and you have a great personality. What more could a tom want?"
Me? Beautiful? Funny? What more could a tom want? "Uh.maybe you're mistaking me for Victoria."
"Jemima."
"Okay, okay. I get it."
"Well I wanted to know if you could hang out with me. Tonight. Midnight, how about?" he asked.
"At the tire?" I proposed.
He shook his head, "Too.open. How about in my warehouse?" Seeing my doubtful look, he added, "I said I'm not going to hurt you and I'm a tom of my word. Please, you have to trust me."
"Okay," I said, "I trust you."
If this were a video, and I was watching it, I'd probably smack my head and screech, "Don't you see he's fake!" But it wasn't a video-it was my life.
Midnight. I wasn't in Macavity's warehouse-I was in my den, on the floor where I usually slept. My stupid parents, Demeter and Munkustrap, still weren't asleep. It was 2 AM by the time they finally fell asleep. I crept out stealthily and ran all the way to Macavity's warehouse, the cool air washing over my fur.
Macavity was standing by the door, scowling. "Jemmie, you're way late. I said midnight!"
I smiled. "I'm sorry, Cavity.my parents didn't go to sleep until late."
Macavity slid so that we were standing toe-to-toe. I could smell his breath-and, to put it nicely, he wouldn't do bad taking a few tic tacs. But, anyways.
"Sorry-isn't-good-enough," he hissed, through gritted teeth. "I tell you when to meet me, and you meet me. Understand?"
I nodded, fearfully. "Okay," I told him, "but you don't need to make such a big deal of it."
He punched me, and narrowly missed my nose. But he got my jaw, and it stung. "Macavity!" I screamed, my paws rushing up to feel my jaw. It hurt. A lot. And his claws must have been out, because beads of blood were now forming and sliding down my chin.
Macavity sighed and said, "Come on in, I'll fix you up."
I followed him. Stupid me.
"It's going to sting for a while, but it's not broken," Macavity told me, pressing a small white cloth against the bloody areas of my jaw. "It may swell up."
I didn't say anything, just allowed him to clean the scratches on my face. You hurt me, I wanted to say, You jerk. You bastard. But I didn't. It hurt to talk.
"You'll have to stay put for a while-I wouldn't want you walking around at night, alone. You can stay here for a few days," he said, taking the now-soaked-with-blood cloth from my jaw and dipping it in solution.
"They'll think I'm kidnapped," I managed.
Macavity shrugged. "You can't leave."
"I'll be fine tomorrow morning," I insisted.
Macavity bent down so that he was two inches away from my nose and said, "I said you can't leave, damn it! What I say goes!"
I didn't bother to reply.
"I've got to go. Stay put." He needn't finish his sentence-I knew what he left hanging. .or else.
It was then that I realized that he hadn't once apologized.
Around lunchtime the next day, Macavity came into the room I'd been resting in, clutching a tray. "I brought lunch," he said, sitting down beside me. "Cream and bread. It's the best I could do."
"It's fine," I said, picking up the dish of cream and taking a sip. It was warm. Yuck.
"How're you doing?" he asked, inspecting my jaw. "A little swollen. But the cuts are almost healed."
"How are things in the Junkyard? Am I being searched for?"
Macavity shook his head. "Nope."
I didn't respond to this. I attempted to chew my bread, but it was too hard. Figures. Realizing my predicament, Macavity dipped a hunk of bread in the cream and handed it to me. It was much easier to chew then.
"Tomorrow night, you'll go home. You won't tell anyone anything. Right?"
"Right."
"And the day after you get home, you'll meet me here at midnight. Right?"
"Right."
I tried to slip into my den, but Munkustrap and Demeter were waiting up. "Where have you been?" asked Demeter.
I shrugged.
Munkustrap repeated, "Where in the Everlasting Cat's name have you been?"
"With.someone," I said.
"Oh, Heaviside," cried Demeter, tears starting to trickle down her face. "We were worried sick and you were with someone?"
"You're grounded," said Munkustrap, "until further notice. I'm serious. If you so much as take one step out of this den, we'll set you loose."
His words chilled my heart, but even so. I'd promised Macavity that I'd meet him, and I knew that I had to. I didn't want a broken jaw this time.
"What happened to your jaw?" asked Demeter, when she saw the scratches and swelling.
"Nothing," I replied.
"Jemmie, who have you been with?"
"No one."
"Give it up, Demeter. Let's go." Munkustrap and Demeter exited the den and I fell asleep on the floor
The next night, I snuck out successfully. When I told Macavity of my predicament, he said, "Then you'll move in with me, here. Come now. Tomorrow night you can bring your stuff and move in here."
"But, Macavity.my parents will never let me."
"We'll get married," he proposed, "at the next Jellicle Ball. It's only seven months away. Come on, Jemmie! It'll be fun. That way you won't be grounded anymore.we can walk around the Junkyard freely. Oh, it'll be fun!"
"Well," I sighed, "alright."
But even as I said that, I knew that it wouldn't be possible. And I was starting to worried that he was capable of more than just a broken jaw.
"And we'll have to have lots of kittens," he said, smiling with delight. "Lots and lots of kittens."
"Easy for you to say!" I teased. "You don't have to go through pregnancy and then labor.if it were up to me, we wouldn't have any kittens at all."
Macavity glared at me. "Yes, we will because what I say goes. Got it?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't you dare talk to me like that Macavity! It's not my fault you can't take a-"
I didn't have time to finish. He'd already smacked me-hard-across my sternum. It knocked the wind out of my temporarily, which gave him a moment to gather me up and carry me inside.
I don't know exactly what happened. Just that I had let him take control of my body-and now a lump settled in my throat, because I was certain I was pregnant.
"How are you doing?" he asked, handing me a bowl of milk.
"I'll live," I muttered. He traced his paw right over my sternum. I winced and recoiled.
"What's wrong with you?" he snapped, scowling.
"Nothing," I sighed. "Just that you whacked me in my sternum and then forced me to.to."
"I didn't force you to do anything!" Macavity shouted.
"That's not true and you know it!" I yelled.
He smacked me across the face, leaving a stinging burn. "Macavity, you can't keep doing this," I told him, through copious tears. "Relationships don't work like this."
"Mine do," he hissed.
"Yeah, well that shows how many friends you have."
Oops. Another mistake. He punched me in my stomach. I bent over, feeling like I was going to throw up. I couldn't talk. He seized the opportunity to bend over and mutter, "Don't you ever-ever-talk to me like that again. Do you hear me?"
I couldn't answer.
"Answer me!" he shouted, whacking me on my back and making me even more short of breath.
"Yes," I choked, "Yes, Macavity."
"Good," he said, exiting the room.
I heard the key turn in the lock and I knew I was trapped. Both figuratively and literally.
He didn't come back until two days later, once I was all bruised up from our previous escapade. I cowered in a corner, staring out the barred window once he came.
"What?" he demanded. "Are you mad at me or something?"
"Are you as dense as you act?" I retorted.
"I think you're the dense one. You know what happens when you talk to me like that, but you persist to do it. I wonder why." Before leaving, he added, "Munkustrap and Demeter are boasting the news all over the Junkyard: they've officially disowned you."
The words sunk in and made me cry.
But it was the first round of tears of many.
Next day, Macavity still wouldn't let me go home, not even to gather my belongings. "If you leave, you'll certainly create lies about me."
"As if you haven't got enough of a reputation? Everyone knows what you act like and who you are."
"Except for you, of course, because you were naïve enough to come to me in the first place."
"You mean you don't love me?" I was shocked, as pitiful as that sounds.
"Of course I do." He smiled and hugged me. "I'm the only one in the whole world who loves you. Everyone else hates you. And I've made arrangements for us to get married at the next Jellicle Ball."
I returned his smile. "Good."
We began to dance.
Macavity put a strong arm around me and said, "We'll go to your house and collect your belongings without anyone ever knowing. You'll spend the rest of your life with me. We'll be so happy."
I grinned. "Let's go."
We walked through the Junkyard quietly. It was dark out, and most of the cats were asleep. When we finally arrived at my den, I slipped inside, took what I needed, and slipped back outside.
I was a little disappointed that Munkustrap and Demeter hadn't caught me. Oh well.
"Why do you keep me locked up?" I asked.
Macavity chortled, "Because I'm afraid to let you go. If I set you loose, you may never return."
"Oh, Cavity, I'll always return. I promise."
"I can't let you go. I just can't."
"Why not?"
He pinned me against the cot that I slept on. "Because I just can't. Am I making myself clear? You're not to leave this room."
"But I don't want to spend my life cooped up in this stuffy room!" I protested.
"Too bad."
He left me to cry alone.
By the time I finally convinced Macavity to escort me into the Junkyard for another visit, I was starting to get bigger and bigger. But I didn't mind being pregnant anymore-I was excited that I was going to have babies.
He still insisted that it was night, but at least he was allowing me to return home to gather a few more belongings. We walked in silence, he looked over his shoulder every few minutes.
"Here we are," I said, "I'll only be a minute."
I walked inside and crawled over to where my parents lay sleeping. I couldn't believe that they didn't want to see me anymore.but I had to accept it. I turned and crawled to my trunk, where I slept in.
"Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Dad," I whispered to them. I crawled into the trunk and shut my eyes. I'd only planned on staying for a minute, just to see if I'd remember how it felt, back when I was just a child.
But Macavity burst into the den. "Demeter!" he hissed. "Where are you? You've been here for ages. Someone is going to wake up! And when we get back home." He let the rest of his sentence hang.
Macavity opened up the trunk, yanked up me and smacked me in the chin. "You stupid idiot! We're leaving right now."
I was crying so hard I didn't even notice Munkustrap and Demeter's eyes pop open. I didn't notice them follow us outside.
Once we were outside, Macavity threw me on the ground and proceeded to beat me. He kicked me in the ribs and sent me flying a few feet in the direction toward his warehouse.
"That'll teach you to try and abandon me again!" he shouted smacking me on the shoulder. "I'm going to kill you!"
I cried, "Macavity, please! It was an accident!"
He stomped on my paws. I heard a sickening crunch. "I'm going to lock you in your room and never let you out!" He kicked me in the head. The world started spinning.
I was conscious enough to see Munkustrap walk over to Macavity and slash him with his claws. "You will do no such thing!" he shouted, pinning Macavity to the ground.
"Dad!" I called out, but my lips were parched and it hurt to talk.
Just then, Demeter appeared with Old Deuteronomy, Alonzo, Plato, Coricopat, and Victoria in tow. Victoria dove over to me and sat by my side. We watched in horror as the team knocked Macavity unconscious.
"Jemmie!" shrieked Demeter, once Macavity was safely taken away. "Why didn't you tell us anything?"
But I shut my eyes and surrendered to unconsciousness.
I woke up three days later. Munkustrap and Demeter were kneeling beside me. Old Deuteronomy was stoking a fire. "Good to see you've finally gotten up," said Old Deuteronomy.
My whole body hurt. My stomach was huge. I was covered in ugly black and blue bruises. I didn't respond. It hurt to move.
"We've been so worried," cried Demeter anxiously. "We thought you'd run away with someone. When we saw Macavity beating you like that, we didn't know what to do. We had no idea."
Even though it hurt to talk, I asked, "I thought you didn't love me anymore. He told me you'd disowned me."
"Never!" gasped Munkustrap, shedding a few tears.
"What happened?" asked Old Deuteronomy.
I told them the whole story, even the goriest parts. I didn't miss a single thing. I even explained why I was expecting. When I was done, we were all crying.
"Jemmie, you should have come to us sooner!" said Munkustrap.
"He wouldn't let me leave the warehouse," I told them, wiping a few tears from my eyes.
"You must be hurting all over," said Demeter. "And Coricopat has predicted you'll be having your babies in three days."
I smiled despite everything. Then, "Can I see Victoria?"
Victoria was brought to me. She sat by my side and we cried together for a few hours. Once we'd calmed down a bit, she asked, "Did it hurt?"
"What?" I asked.
She motioned toward my stomach. I smiled. "Oh.that." I shrugged.
"That's alright," she assured me. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."
"My entire body hurts," I sighed. "I thought I'd gotten used to pain, but this is a whole new pain. I can hardly breathe. They say he broke my collarbone."
"I'm sorry, Jemmie."
"I'm sorry, too, Vicki."
We hugged and I felt truly happy, for the first time in months, because I knew everything would work out okay. My parents loved me. I was safe-that was all that mattered.