Fifteen
Bomi hauled herself out of bed. "Ugh," she muttered, recalling the fact she'd gone back to bed after talking with her sisters in the kitchen that morning. As she pushed down to aid herself in sitting up, something on her arm made her wince, and she looked down at the bruise that was changing colour on her wrist.
"Ow...where did you come from," she muttered, reaching to rub her wrist, before glancing down to see another bruise of similar size and colouring on her other wrist too. Suddenly the night before repeated itself in her head too. She had stayed in the bathroom for ages, showering and soaping herself thoroughly, to get his smell, his touch off her. But it lingered, powerful, haunting her senses. 'Almost too powerful.' she thought, reaching into her wardrobe for a long sleeved top and her favourite jeans.
After she was dressed, she glanced at the clock, and decided she better go downstairs to rehearse for the show that night. She now recalled Tucker, and she smiled, he had been so handsome and flirty with her. Not exactly your smouldering knight in armour, but he was smouldering and that would do her for now. She hoped to impress him tonight as well, and maybe get in a kiss or two, that would be nice, she thought, as she almost ran down the stairs and into the bar area.
Tucker didn't know what the hell was going on. First he had some stranger tell him to back off his girl, now Adam was at his hypnotherapist with the other two girls he'd met recently, and on top of all that Tucker had been forced to give up the secret about the band practise. He cursed himself for having read that article in the paper so long ago. Although that Mary chick, he brooded, there was something about her he liked. Almost in the same way as Jenny, but not quite so approachable. More, motherly, in charge, and he did like a woman who could take charge, he grinned to himself, as he turned the corner and headed down Woodward Street.
He saw Mike's Jeep parked opposite the office, and frowned. Why was Mike there too? He could have sworn Adam only said he was with two girls...unless...they had called more people and they were having a orgy. He smirked, hopefully Mary was in on it as well and she was the third girl. He rang the intercom and was surprised to hear the buzzer go straight away after giving his name. He ran up the stone steps, three at a time, and pushed open the door to the office.
"Ok, who wants a piece of me fir-" he stopped dead and looked around. There were no writhing bodies, no nudity...just the five of them sitting around a desk, the two girls in each other arms, Dr Haynes taking notes behind her desk. Adam and Mike were sitting across from each other, they appeared to have been in the middle of conversation when Tucker burst in.
"Oh." Tucker regained himself, and tried to cover up his sentence, "I mean, who wants to get mad at me first, any takers?"
"Well apart from the fact I haven't wet the bed since I was a little boy, I don't think I've got much to say to you right now," Adam snapped, and Dr Haynes looked at Tucker, recognition flooding her features.
"Tucker!" She exclaimed, standing up. "You're the other one they've been talking about!" She guided him to a chair, and he sat down, looking all around.
"You've been – talking- about me? What is this, collective therapy behind my back?" He demanded, feeling his anger level rise.
"Not at all, my dear boy...but I think I may have solved your issue you have...now, from what I can gather, there should be one more of us." She looked at Demi, who was holding Jemi with one arm and her phone in the other hand. She shook her head sadly at Dr Haynes.
"I still can't get hold of Bomi," she said sadly, and Tucker glanced across at her. She looked so beautiful. His mind was about wander when Dr Haynes snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"Tucker, go and lie on the couch for me, I'll be with you in a minute."
Failing miserably at not noticing the sexual pun her words intended, Tucker got up and walked across to the couch, stretching out his long legs on it. Momentarily, the others gathered around as Dr Haynes prepared him for hypnosis...and then he was falling into his unconscious state, like so many times before...
"Demeter," he breathed into her fur, and she cuddled into him. He looked back across the yard, and saw Alonzo, Jemima, Munkustrap, all lying on the floor. Bombalurina was pushing Electra to one side, and he watched her scurry off into the darkness. The ginger tom loomed over the small party, and he watched Bombalurina sobbing, pleading with the ginger tom to leave her alone. He watched as she placed a hand on Munkustrap's lifeless form, inching backwards. He turned as he saw the orange cat lift a hand, and felt Demeter shudder against him as she cried. Lifting her chin from his chest, he kissed her gently on the lips, shutting out the pain they both felt at that very moment.
Tucker came around to the smiles of the others, and glanced at them all. His eyes lingered on Demi, who seemed to be wearing the biggest smile of the other four, complete with matching blush. He stared her down and she looked away, getting up and putting her phone to her ear again.
"So." Dr Haynes began. "We appear to have a tribe of felines, who fought a ginger tom, lost, and there was a generation of kittens that made it through." She paused for thought. "But I still don't think we have the entire story, and I think I need to put you..." She pointed to Mike, "...back under hypnosis."
Mike shuddered. "But what else can I tell you," he asked, "I'm pretty sure I was dead by the end of it all."
"I'm not convinced," Dr Haynes insisted, and motioned for him to switch places with Tugger.
He pulls himself to a sitting position and looks around, tasting blood. He looks to one side, and sees Alonzo, half covered with a blanket that a female kitten is pulling over him. Bile rises in his throat.
To the side of him, another kitten is licking Jemima's wounds. No! Jemima! He thinks, as the first kitten pulls a blanket over her too. And then, he notices something heavy over his legs.
'Bombalurina?' he whispers, and nudges her. She doesn't stir. 'No!' he whispers, and something touches his side, purring. He turns and sees his kitten, Electra, rubbing her face over his, licking away the dried blood.
He decides to lie down. Then, they gather around him.
'"Pouncival.' He says.
"Yessss?" A cat he recognises is above him.
"Pounce." He's careful with his breaths of air, using them conservatively. "I saw how you fought. You were excellent." The other Jellicles murmur in agreement, something about the viciousness of a Pollicle Dog. "That's why...I'm...going..to...make you...leader..." He gasps out.
"What?" He yells.
He smiles weakly. "The tribe Pounce. Look after it for me..."
"No! I can't! I don't know what to do!" He grabs his paw, but it's too late.
"I think you know. Do your best." He slips away, his breathing erratic.
"Holy crap dude," Adam's voice breaks into Mike's reverie as he sits up a second time. "You didn't die the first time? You held out to die on the second?"
"Smooth, real smooth," Tucker's voice is also in the room as Mike sits up.
"Well, I think we have some answers," Dr Haynes says bluntly, and the group look around at each other and then at her.
"How do you mean," Mike falters over his words, and Dr Haynes turns to him.
"It's very simple to explain. There was a fight. There was a twosome who could never be, Alonzo and Demeter. Alonzo gave her up to his brother, Tugger, who loved her unconditionally and wouldn't let her go. Then we have the pairing of Alonzo with Jemima. Alonzo was Demeter's very newfound protector, who attempted to save her from the orange calico tom, Macavity. When he tried, Macavity hit him where it hurt the most – he killed his beloved Jemima in front of his eyes. When Alonzo fought for Jemima, he was killed as well. Almost like a modern day Romeo and Juliet."
Dr Haynes took a breath and went on. "Then we have Munkustrap and Bombalurina, who appear to have shooed their kitten to the safety of the dark shadows. Munkustrap, who was injured by a Pollicle – a dog, as I am bound to believe – was left for dead by everyone, even his mate. Then he revived, but Bombalurina had been in the way of him being checked, and so she was killed by the orange tom too. I daresay," she continued, "that the orange tom felt Munkustrap was no harm to anyone in whatever state he was left in."
She glanced at the five surprised faces. "And then we come back to Tugger and Demeter, who were left in the shadows. Demeter saw her friends, and her sister killed. Tugger saw his friends, who had been in relationships together, die together, and he suddenly realised that with commitment comes the price of death and heartbreak. Even though he unconditionally loved Demeter, as we can see from Tucker's hypnosis, he also felt suddenly afraid of losing her. And that's how such a past can manifest itself," she turned to Tucker now.
"I would like to book you in for one more treatment, and I think I can successfully resolve your problem with the commitment issues." She smiled. "You should be glad to have such friends to help you through this."
Tucker, looking shell shocked by the sudden turn of events, stuttered, "So...me...and her?" He indicated Demi, who was pacing the room with the phone still glued to her ear. She was muttering to herself as she paced, and only looked up when she felt Tucker's gaze on her. "I can't get through still," she looked at him with scared eyes, and something in Tucker shifted as he looked at her. His feelings of total lust faded and he found himself wanting to hold her, as he had done all those nights ago in the bar when she'd come down off the stage from singing her song.
And then the total realisation of what had happened hit him like blunt force trauma.
"I went to the bar this morning," He looked around at the others. "I went to see Bomi. Or our real life Bombalurina. And there was this guy there, evil, with ginger hair, and..." he stopped and Mike jumped up, "Macavity!" He shouted, and Demi's face turned a paler shade of white.
"He's got her," she whispered, and fled for the door, Mike and Tucker running after her.