Review(s):
Patalmellow - Poor Catty indeed! It was sad to write such things happening to her but I mean, the story must go on right?! :)
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Now please, enjoy!
Beautiful Nightmares
Chapter Fourteen
Knock. Knock. Knock-knock.
It wasn't like Catty to not answer the knock on her door. With it only being the two of them in this temporary home, why wasn't she answering? He opened the door just a crack. Catty was spread over her bed, face directly down in the pillow. "Catty? It's Monday… time for school again."
She groaned lightly but slowly turned over to let out a sigh. "Alright… I'm up."
He narrowed his eyes. "You're still down, actually." He sighed. "Catty… are you alright to go to school?"
She propped herself up on an elbow, sighing again. "Yes, I'm fine."
William folded his arms over his chest. "You haven't left this room all weekend and need I remind you that you haven't been eating? Not a thing that I made, did you eat." His face softened. "Two perfectly good meals..."
She stood up and frowned. "I'm so sorry Will," she walked over to him and hugged him tightly. Though he noticed a slight limp in her step. "I didn't mean to take you for granted. I just… I think it was a weekend flu bug or something."
"Is there any need for medical attention?" He asked her promptly.
Catty shook her head, her loose ponytail following her movement. "No, no. I'll get dressed, just gimme a bit."
He agreed though he couldn't help but to feel she was hiding something. "Catty, you're sore… I can see some bruises forming..." He touched her cheekbone and she cringed a bit.
"I-it's nothing, Will." She shied away and turned towards her dresser. "Just got into a bit of a scuffle defending one of the ghouls."
He gave a nod. "Ah yes, ghouly drama." He chuckled. "There's plenty of that all through unlife."
She feigned a giggle and silently hoped he wouldn't press her for further information. She didn't want to alarm him about Persian's presence. Not to mention William would probably take him on himself and get arrested. Persian had his ways… he always did. He was incredibly protective of her, especially here where all they had was one another.
"Alright, you get ready and I'll be downstairs waiting to take you to school."
"Thank you William," she told him quickly. "you're the best."
Before classes began Catty had been able to successfully avoid the ghouls. It was damn hard, but she knew it was something she had to do. She couldn't have them questioning her about what happened. It was too risky and honestly, she wanted to try her best to move on from it. It wasn't the first time nor would it be the last and she knew that all too well.
Now it was lunch and she had a feeling they'd catch up to her. 'Please no… I can't… I just can't go through that right now…'
"Hiya ghoul!" Draculaura practically bounced down the hall with excitement towards the targeted ghoul standing at her locker.
"Oh, hello." She answered dryly.
Draculaura blinked for a moment before continuing. "Dakota, I never told you how freaky-fab you looked the night of the dance! So hot, you were fire on the dance floor too!"
That part of the evening she could talk about. That wasn't so bad. "Ha-ha, thanks." She thought for a moment. 'When you've been dancing as long as I have…' that was Catty's answer sure, but she was Dakota. That was Dakota on the dance floor the other night. Not Catty. "Takes practice."
"I would say I've been dancing for most of my unlife and I'm certainly not as good as you!" She walked along side her on their way to the creepateria.
"You were alright ghoul," Dakota smiled. "you were just fine."
"Hello, love!" Lagoona greeted the two of them with Frankie and Clawdeen on either side of her. "How was the rest of your night?"
Catty felt a nauseous wave begin in the pit of her stomach. 'No, no, no… not gonna talk about it.'
"Dakota?" Frankie wanted to give her a hug but she decided against it. She looked like she needed one.
"It was okay." She told them quickly. "Look, I have to go catch up on some homework. I'll see you ghouls around. Bye!"
Catty had on a pair of over-sized sunglasses as she sped down the hallway and turned the corner as quickly as she could. Though she collided with someone. Her shades flew off and she hit a row of lockers. "Oww…" she groaned softly.
"Shit!" Heath turned and saw the familiar new ghoul. "Dakota, I'm so sorry… I didn't see ya there!" He tried to rush to her aide but she held up a manicured hand in protest.
"It's alright! It's alright. No damage done." She went to walk away when he grasped her arm. His grip was so light compared to Persian's. "H-Heath… what?"
He blinked in momentary shock. She looked as if she was about to cry. What was wrong? "Dakota… you're not okay are you?"
She sighed and knowing that he wasn't going to let her go without an explanation for being so emotional. "I'm so sorry, I just, I can't..." and she couldn't hold off the waterworks any longer.
"Shh, it's okay! It's okay." Heath looked around desperately for anyone to help figure out what was wrong. He had no idea how to fix it if he didn't know what the problem was.
In a swift moment Twyla noticed that Dakota was in distress – along with Heath – and she made her way over. "Oh no, please don't cry..." She said softly. To her surprise Dakota hugged her right away. "oh dear…" She gently pat the ghoul's shoulders. She wasn't sure of what else to do.
"Hey ghouls," Invisibilly paused. "uh-oh." He rushed over partly to rescue Twyla and mostly to see what the matter was. "Dakota…"
She pulled herself away from Twyla and sniffled. "S-sorry..."
He touched a small cut on her bottom lip and she turned away. "Come on, let's go to the Courtyard. It's more private out there." Especially since classes were back in session now.
At this point Catty was on auto-pilot. She couldn't tell you when they arrived at the Courtyard but somehow they did. "Your lip… Dakota?"
Heath stood next to Twyla. All three of them were there for support and insanely curious. "I-it's not just my lip. I hurt… all over." She sniffled and sighed. "After the dance… I was walking home. Trying to. And… I… I was attacked-"
"By who?" Heath asked right away. He hated the fact that he wasn't there for her, even though he and Abbey ditched the dance for some privacy.
"I don't know," she quickly lied. There was no way she'd get them tangled in her vicious cycle with Persian. To know exactly who he was, they'd have to know who she was and it wasn't something she wanted to surface right now. "he was forceful… on me and-"
"So it was a guy?" Heath chimed in.
Invisibilly glared at him. "Stop cutting in Heath, just let her tell it so we know what's going on."
Heath heaved a sigh and clenched his fists at his sides. It was the only thing he could do to keep from demanding who the asshole was. He couldn't remember the last time he wanted to punch someone so badly.
"They sounded male, yes." She slowly sat down and pulled her knees up to her chest. "It was bad… I tried to scream but I couldn't… I watched as the light in a bedroom window of a house across the street shut off. Like I wasn't even in danger." She dropped her forehead to rest on her kneecaps. "I-I shouldn't be telling you this… to worry you."
Heath hadn't realized he had his jaw clenched since Billy told him to stay quiet. It ached now. "I'm sorry Dakota..." He sighed. "You have to tell Bloodgood."
Her head snapped up immediately. "No!" She exclaimed, surprised at how loudly she said that. "No… only you guys know. That's it. I'm not saying anything I just… I just needed to get it off my chest." She sniffled. "I'll be okay."
Twyla wiped away a tear and put a hand on Dakota's. "We're here for you. But if it happens again Dakota… we will be going to the authorities. No one deserves this."
"There better not be a next time!" Heath wanted her to go to Bloodgood right away, though he wasn't thinking of how embarrassing it might feel for her to admit something so… heavy.
She cringed her beautiful features. If only Heath knew… "Right… right. Thank you guys." She wiped her face one more time and got back to her feet. She hugged each of them. "I'd be lost without you all."
"Don't mention it." Invisibilly hugged her first.
Heath hugged her next. "Be safe."
"I'll try." She told him with a weak smile.
Twyla snaked her arm around Dakota's. "Let's get to our classes, it'll distract us for awhile."
Catty couldn't agree more. "Absolutely, I need a distraction."
The remainder of the day was alright after she broke down. All Catty needed to do was get it off her chest and she would be able to hide it again. She disliked the fact that she worried her friends… and Heath, he got very defensive. She appreciated it but he couldn't know about anything else.
Her flip phone vibrated suddenly. What? Only William had this number.
Meet me in the parking lot when school lets out.
She raised an eyebrow.
Excuse me? Who's this?
Catty couldn't even put the phone away in her bag before it buzzed again.
Do I have to go another round to jog your memory, kitty?
Her eyes widened and her stomach churned. "Persian..." she gasped. How did he get ahold of this phone number?!
I'll be there.
It seemed as if she had no choice… in order to keep him quiet she'd have to let him do whatever he wanted. She still hurt from two nights ago… 'You'll be okay, Catty…' she thought solemnly. 'you'll be fine soon.'
