So if I didn't write the fourth chapter at the time that I did, it would never be written until next week and I really wanted to get it up for you all. So it's not the best, and you can obviously tell it was written quicker than the previous chapters, but I still think it's good. The song of the chapter is the first thing I could think of Written in the Stars by Tinie Tempah, and it kind of actually has something to do with the chapter. Thanks for reading! XXX
Chapter Four: Written in the Stars
~Written in the stars a million miles away, a message to the main~
Cat stared through the glass door at the people she once knew. Andre was now there, at least who she assumed to be Andre, who sat on the couch and listened as Robbie probably explained everything. Beck was whispering to Jade, his facial expression showing that he was angry. Tori had Nevaeh in her lap, making faces at the infant. She still sat outside, not ready to venture back in the house even after Robbie's many tries. Finally, she handed him Nevaeh as a promise that she'll come back inside soon. Sometime after Andre arrived, Tori had taken her daughter from Robbie to play with.
She'd been outside for almost a half hour, trying to figure out exactly what she was going to do. Already, she knew she was going to stay here in Los Angeles for a while longer, trying to see if she could put together all the pieces of the puzzle, but she wasn't sure how she was going to do it. The first, and most important thing, was Nevaeh. Cat did pack a suitcase in case something like this did happen and she ended up staying in LA, which was packed away in the trunk of her car, but there was only enough clothes for two or three days. And the formula and diapers stuffed inside the diaper bag would last only about that long too, which wouldn't be a problem if she could get to the store. Then there was the matter of where they would sleep. Maybe they could stay at a hotel that would supply a crib for the baby, but Cat didn't really know how she could afford that if she stays more than a week. Maybe one of her old friends would let her stay at their place, but she doubted they had a place for Nevaeh.
The next problem was the fact that she had no idea where to start. She knew she needed to figure out why she left and what caused her to forget everything, but how could she know? Her entire mind was blank.
She took one more look at the people on the other side of the glass door, at the TV with a man's mugshot enlarged on the screen, and then she leaned her head back and stared at the gray sky, searching for answers in the clouds. In the distance, she could see part of Los Angeles. It looked like so alive, even from staring at it from so far away. There were people there, living, breathing, doing their normal routine. Perhaps she knew some of them. Perhaps they knew her.
"I love getting away. Looking at the stars."
She blinked, looking around to see who could have said it. Again, the saying floated in her mind. I love getting away. Looking at the stars. And again, and again. Like a record stuck on repeat.
I love getting away. Looking at the stars.
I love getting away. Looking at the stars.
And then, like a scene playing out in front of her, she was teleported to a place she'd never been before. The sky dark and the stars twinkling, the night air chilly. She could see herself in the distance, wearing a fluffy pink skirt and blanket wrapped around the top half of her body, her hair giving off a reddish tint. She was talking to a boy walking up behind her, stopping when he was right next to her. Cat couldn't see his face, but even in the dark she could tell his hair was blonde.
"I love getting away. Looking at the stars. You can't see them in Hollywood."
"Sometimes, I forget there even up there." The boy said, motioning to the sky.
"Me too. My brother used to bring me here when I was little. Before he was crazy. Before the OCD and anxiety and panic attacks. He would show me all the constellations and told me what they meant. I always loved doing it."
"It must be hard, living with a brother like that."
"It is. It's hard to get attention. Everyone like 'Frankie managed to stop counting at an odd number' or 'Frankie is improving so much.' No one every focuses on Cat, unless I act utterly clueless. Still, I barely get acknowledged."
Cat could feel how angry she was just talking about it. It was like she wanted to get rid of him, her brother, and now she couldn't believe she even had one. Now that that actually happened, she would do anything just to get to know him. She could also feel how easy it was talking to this guy, whoever
"Sometimes," she heard herself continue talking, "I just wish I could forget him. Forget everything. My family. This town. Myself."
The guy turned around, revealing his face to present-day Cat. He was blonde and blue-eyed, with thick eyebrows and straight teeth. He spoke directly to present-day Cat, "Maybe that would be for the best."
And then the memory was gone. Cat tried to get it back, let it continue playing out, but it was already miles away. The boy in the memory, though, seemed so familiar, but not because she knew him once upon a time, but like she'd just recently seen him. She picked through everything that had happened lately, and then it hit her. She rushed inside the house and grabbed the remote from off the coffee table and rewinded the television, back to the picture she has seen earlier when looking through the glass door.
There he was. The same guy in the vision on the screen of the TV. The entire memory had came after seeing the picture, so it must have triggered it somehow.
"Hey, 'Lil Red, it I can call you that anymore," Andre, a guy with cocoa skin and matching eyes, said, Cat almost asked what he meant by that nickname, but this was way more important. She motioned for everyone to hush and listened to the new report on the television.
"It's been three months since the disappearance of twenty-two year old Marcus Doubront, who grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, but was a student at San Diego State University at the time of his disappearance. After an anonymous tip last night, police have been searching areas in Cleveland National Forests for what could possibly be his remains, but have had no luck in discovering them. Doubront was last seen on May 2nd at a friend house around 7:30 pm which he left early from after receiving a phone call from an unknown caller. If you have any information about Marcus Doubront please contact police immediately."
So many coincidences were wrapped up in the report, so many that it wasn't even able to be called a coincidence. He grew up in Los Angeles, where Cat's unknown life had taken place, where she was now. And he went to some college in San Diego, where Cat was currently living. And he disappeared on May 2nd, that was the day before Nevaeh was born, the day that whatever had happened to her happened.
He was somehow tied into everything. Cat was convinced of that.
"Cat?" Robbie asked, "What's a matter?"
She pointed to the TV screen, which was now paused on the picture of the boy. "I know him."
So this is much shorter than the last few chapters and that's because I quickly wrote it today. What did you think? Was it good? Did it need more detail? What do you think is going to happen next?