A/N: This fic contains potentially triggering subject matter including but not limited to: suicidal references, gun violence, sexual trauma, homelessness, drug abuse, depression, homophobia, and cancer. It may contain inaccuracies. No copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading!
BOOK ONE - PART TWO - CHAPTER SIXTEEN
"They think she has breast cancer."
For several seconds, Tori and Jade sat in shock silently.
"They think? So does she, or doesn't she?" Jade asked, sounding almost concerned. She still hadn't entirely forgiven Sam, but she definitely didn't deserve for something like this to happen.
"They're gonna call us tomorrow and let us know. But they basically said that she probably does," Cat sadly explained. "They said it's around a 90% chance."
"Oh, my God. I'm so sorry, Cat," Tori sighed. Things finally seemed to have been turning around for her, and then something like this had to happen. The whole situation was extremely unfair.
"How is she?" Jade asked, with rare, genuine concern. "I mean, how's she handling the news?"
"Not good. She threw up outside the doctor's office, and then she couldn't stop crying," Cat told them. "I had to call Dice to come pick us up 'cause she couldn't drive."
"Shit. Well, it's really hard to be pissed at her after that," Jade muttered.
"No kidding," Tori weakly agreed. "She really just wanted to be alone?"
"Yeah. She told me she was gonna take a nap while I met up with you guys," Cat told them. "I really want to do something or bring her something to cheer her up, but… I'm not sure what to do."
"She likes food, doesn't she? Like, really likes food?" Jade asked, remembering. "You could cook her something."
"Well, she turned down milkshakes from Freezy Queen, and she's never done that before," Cat informed them. "I don't want to go to all the trouble of making a huge feast that she won't even want to eat."
"Hmmm. Good point," Jade agreed. "Okay, well what else does she like?"
Cat considered that for a moment. "Well… she likes me."
"Well, that's not exactly something you can—"
"No," Tori cut Jade off, smiling, "She has a point. Did you wear anything special before you guys had sex last night?"
"No. We were both in our pajamas. Why?" Cat asked, confused.
Jade had already caught on. "You don't own any lingerie, do you, Cat?"
"Lingerie?" Cat repeated, starting to catch on. "You think I should wear lingerie for Sam?"
"Well, it'd definitely be a nice way to surprise her," Jade smirked. "I don't think it'd be too hard to get her in the mood if you do. Could be a good distraction, at least."
"But… you guys know I've never worn stuff like that before," Cat quietly replied. "I wouldn't even know what to get."
Tori checked her phone. "The mall doesn't close for an hour and a half."
Cat stammered, "Um, I really don't think I—"
"We're going. Come on, Cat," Jade commanded.
Cat hung her head and sighed in defeat. "'Kay 'kay."
Around half an hour later, Cat was standing inside a dressing room stall, looking in the mirror. "I'm really not sure about this, you guys…"
"Well, come out and let us see," Jade told her.
Cat sighed heavily. There was a click as she unlocked the door and then slowly stepped out. She was wearing a lacy corset, matching panties, garters, and stockings. They were all the same apple red color, and left little to the imagination. Cat was blushing brightly to match. She looked around and was glad to find that they were the only ones in the dressing room section.
"Oh, wow." Just looking at Cat made Tori blush, too. "Cat, you look…"
"Is it bad?" Cat asked, looking down at herself.
"No, you actually look really sexy. I'm impressed; I'm not gonna lie," Jade told her. The outfit, coupled with Cat's natural innocence, made the look even more obscene. Even Jade was having trouble looking at her when she was dressed like this.
"Do you think Sam will like it?" Cat questioned, because that was all that really mattered.
"Oh, I definitely think it'll get her interested," Jade chuckled. "And it's cool that you won't even have to worry about doing anything for her."
"Tease her a little bit, though," Tori suggested, "They tend to like it more when they have to work for it." Sam wasn't a man, of course, but she figured the same advice applied.
"Go get changed back," Jade nudged Cat. "It's getting late. You need to get back to Sam."
Cat did as she was told. "Hey, you guys? Can we stop at the pharmacy real quick before you drop me off?" she asked from inside the dressing room stall. "I need to pick up Sam's medicine."
"Yeah, no problem. Do we get to see Sam when we drop you off?" Jade asked.
"Um, it's not a good time. She's probably still upset. But maybe tomorrow or something," Cat replied.
"I'll hold you to that," Jade responded.