Stuffed

Chapter 10

Maurice's head pounded viciously as he pushed himself off of the cold hardwood floor. The dizziness put him in a haze as he attempted to focus on the wiggling sights around him. When his vision finally stabilized he was greeted with a great beast of a pitch black deer hovering over him, the mere sight of such a beast made him almost scream. The deer with large white antlers and snow white eyes tilted its head at him, it then snorted while lifting its muzzle into the sky. Its hoof was planted onto Maurice White's chest so he was unable to run away.

"The man is awake" Raum the deer declared to Maurice's left side where Isabelle was.

Mr. White turned his head awkwardly to get a view of her, her eyes lit up upon seeing him with eyes open. However she stayed where she was with sparkling eyes. In moments Maurice's mind was put into hyper gear, rushing thoughts sped through him like a computer first starting up. Suddenly he remembered everything and he glanced towards to be greeted by the dread of daylight. His eyes widened with fright, if it was late in the day enough they would notice Isabelle was not in her room. If they realized that, then they would check the cameras and surely they would find out he was the culprit.

Attempting to pull away from Raum he screamed, "What time is it? We need to leave now!"

"Correct, I am gratefully apologetic about my friend Patchi's ill behaviour towards you" The black deer spoke with a silky voice while lifting his hoof away, "I'm on your side, I've always been. Isabelle confirmed that you caused no harm, and I thank you."

Mr. White's head worked furiously as he popped to his feet pacing to get everything ready. Bags underneath his eyes dragged his entire body down making him inefficient at his attempts. The deer Raum reminded him so much of the man in his dreams previously however, the sudden reminder of it made him shiver. Bustling through the entire house he placed everything they needed through the door but upon seeing the clock in order to make it before everyone arrived he'd need to only take fifteen minutes. His drive every morning took way longer than that, there was no possible way they'd make it on time.

Maurice White panicked, "We won't make it in time, this is ludicrous if it weren't for being knocked out we would be far gone by now! There's no possible way to make it before everyone arrives!"

Upon seeing him in his worst possible attitude Isabelle shrunk, her entire face spelled out how frantic Maurice really was. He didn't wish to scare her but his patience was wore thin and he himself was frightened at what would happen.The pure expression of agony that she bared however made him feel guilty, and he tried his best to turn down his volume. Gazing at her he noticed that she was gripping onto the vile rabbit that she loved so much. His hatred for the creature grew with every passing moment, but he was unable to show this in front of them. The smirk it held on its face nearly sent Maurice off the edge, if he could he would burn the green toy so he wouldn't have to see it again.

Raum sized down to its regular self in an adorable plush form while Maurice wasn't looking. It laid still against the couch observing everything around it with cold intent. Behind the black deer the tiny bat Betty shyly approached Mr. White with open wings. The purple little bat stood staring up at him with bright pink button eyes, as if waiting for the chance to speak. With no hope of anything else working Maurice White calmed himself in order to let the creature speak.

Once all was quiet Betty spoke, "I can get you there before opening..."

"How are you going to do that?" Mr. White asked in a false calmness.

Putting a stuffed paw forward it smiled, "Raum can run as fast as a bullet, and I can fly as fast as a plane!"

Rubbing the bottom of his chin Maurice nodded, "What exactly are you suggesting?"

"I can carry Isabelle, and Raum can carry you. We will get there very quick!" Betty sang with and adoring gaze.

Still skeptical Mr. White squinted his eyes, "How do you suppose we avoid the entire population of people?"

"We won't be following the roads, just trust me!" Betty answered jumping upon the couch.

With nothing left to argue for Maurice White let out a heavy sigh while nodding his head in defeat. With glee the stuffed animals skipped over to the doorway and he let them leap out into the front of the house. Following closely Isabelle gave Maurice an assuring smirk that seemed almost scared, he hoped that he hadn't frightened her. The wind blowing at their sides he locked the door firmly behind them with his case in his hand. Silence pierced the air as everyone sent resting stares at both Betty and Raum waiting for something to happen.

Sending Mr. White a nervous smile the bat began to grow huge in comparison to its tiny form. Breaking through the stitches it unleashed a pair of long sharp fangs accompanied by mountainous wings the size of a dragon. Holding his breath he proceeded to observed them as Raum followed her transformation. The two were much more life like in these enlarged forms, even the bristles of their hair could be seen blowing in the wind. In one quick swoop Betty lifted the girl onto her back as she let out a slight giggle from being lifted into the air.

Maurice was hesitant to this idea, the monstrous Raum stood tall against him much bigger than a horse. Its dead white eyes laid onto him as it began to trot over lowering its head. With a huge amount of reluctance flowing through Maurice he climbed atop of the beast with shaking hands. Its ears twitched upon his climb and it trotted back over to the edge of the street waiting for Betty to take the lead. Darting up into the sky like a rocket the huge purple bat flew fast against the wind current towards a forest close to the road.

Before Raum raced off after he he warned Maurice, "Don't fall off you'll probably die, hang on for your life and remember to be diligent."

With those final words it leaped into the forest at the speed of light, Maurice could feel the wind rushing at his body trying to pulling him off. His stomach felt queasy as the force leaned itself into him, for all things he could be doing he clung on for dear life. Gazing above at a sudden shadow covering them he watched Isabelle and the other stuffed animals laughing and waving down from Betty's dragon like body. Leaves and branches blew past them throwing many natural scents towards his nose.

Around them the forest was beaming with life, it was something he almost never recognized before. He wondered how these stuffed animals were suddenly more familiar with the surroundings than he ever was. Pine trees sprouted high above and around them along with many other species, the prickles scratched against him every time they flew past one. His eyes took a heavy impact from the wind so he trustingly closed them hoping that he wouldn't die in the time he did. In what seemed like mere seconds Raum leaped gracefully into the air landing right in front of the facility. Maurice couldn't believe his eyes when he opened them as they slowed to a stop.

Leaping off of Betty's back Isabelle grinned ear to ear with glee, her entire body seemed to be pumping with energy. She approached Maurice happily as he tumbled off in sheer pain from the entire ride. His head spun and his stomach needed to evacuate its contents, that in no way was fun to him. However Izzy seemed to not be phased so he simply swallowed his gut in and pretended he was fine. It would be embarrassing if she could handle that, but he couldn't.

Pushing through the front doors Betty and Raum shrunk back down and climbed promptly into Izzy's bag. Isabelle hesitated for a moment at the doors, her smile fading into a plain yet sorrowed frown. Deep down Maurice White knew it was wrong to take her back, but there was nothing he could do. The entire building was dead silent as the two wandered through the empty hallways back to her prison. With a gaze pelted to the ground Isabelle grabbed onto Maurice's hand. He flinched again from the randomness, but let her do so as she was upset.

Upon arriving at her room he twisted it open with a light gaze, "It's only until next time I promise..."

"Thanks Maurice, but we both know there isn't really going to be a time I will be able to leave..." Izzy mumbled solemnly as she entered the room.

Closing the door behind him he whispered to himself, "I'm so sorry..."

******

Sitting at his desk Maurice quietly flipped through his paperwork, but everything he wrote was as if he wasn't even thinking. His mind was wandering elsewhere in an entire different place, he wished so much that he could do the right thing. As much as he hated to admit to himself he desired so much to disappear and take Isabelle away with him somewhere no one would find them. However that kind of plan was ill thought out and would eventually end in complete disaster. Attempting to focus on the task at hand he gripped his pen firmly and wrote against the paper to the point of it almost tearing.

Once again however someone had barged in, the slight noise of the door creaking sent him flying out of his seat. It was just his boss, the old hag named Mrs. Mort. Her sharp stare burned through him mockingly, and every step she took was like acid burning through the floor. Maurice White calmly sat back into his seat with a glare of false friendliness; inside his head he desired to scream at her and tell her how much he despised her.

"Good morning Mrs. Mort" Mr. White claimed with a subtle toxicity in his tone.

She examined him up and down with a scowl, "Where were you a dog house? Partying is ill accepted Maurice, you better clean yourself up as soon as I'm finished with you!"

"I assure you I was simply attempting to get ready faster this morning..." He explained to her with a menacing stare.

Mrs. Mort growled at him, "The main reason I came in here is because your reports are sloppy, barely even acceptable as if you haven't even been thinking when you wrote! You're required to re-do all of them this afternoon along with all of the new ones you have to finish, if not we will have to cancel those appointments with Isabelle Johnson and we'll have to hire someone more efficient. It seems you can't handle both!"

Upon hearing Isabelle's name his eyes widened, "I assure you I will have them all finished! I am a worthy employee, I can handle the work you have given me"

"I sure hope so, it seems you've gotten attached to that... Child..." She hissed at him giving him an evil glare as if she knew something.

Turning around she squinted at him in an annoyed way, but the pure arrogance mixed with her knowing smirk sent shivers down his spine. His entire body went from warm to freezing as she left the office, what did she know about him? The words she used were filled with such toxicity as if to be blackmailing him, the thought of her having known about everything all along frightened him. Quickly throwing his gaze back down to his work he plowed through them with meaning and haste, he couldn't afford to know what she was holding against him.

Upon finishing what seemed like hours of work he leaped to his feet with each file neatly put together in his hands. His head throbbed from the overbearing effort he put into each paper, by now he barely even had the room to think. With straining eyes he neatly organized each file back into their proper spots for when Mrs. Mort came to pick them up, but for now it was time for Isabelle's appointment. Ironically the only thing good in his life was the very thing that turned it upside down, he pondered about how odd it was to him.

He entered her room with a frame of exhaustion, even his legs seemed tired from all the work regardless of them sitting doing nothing. Izzy laid her eyes on him as soon as he entered, her gaze telling of worry and surprise. It was a natural reaction he supposed he must look like a rats nest, he even forgot to clean himself up. With ruffled brown hair and weary hazel eyes he collapsed into the chair he usually took place in.

"You look utterly exhausted!" Isabelle shouted in disbelief.

He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, "I had to redo every file I wrote in the past week!"

Izzy shot him a worried glare as he opened his eyes again, "Why did they make you do that?"

"Because apparently my work was sloppy, because my mind lately has been completely focused on other things" Maurice vented rubbing his face raw.

She quickly darted back towards the opposite end of the room digging through her backpack. Upon watching her Maurice lifted a brow in curiosity, it wasn't like her to suddenly dash off mid-conversation. Racing back he noticed she had a comb in her delicate hands and she began to fix his hair back like it usually was. Perhaps she was almost just as annoyed with it as he was.

"What are you doing?" he asked feeling extremely awkward.

Isabelle glanced at him with an odd stare, "You're a complete mess!"

Out of all people he hadn't expected her to say that, he sighed in deeply allowing her to continue her efforts. Gazing across the room he noticed that the stuffed animals were lying peacefully on the bed. It was a relief to see them completely motionless for once, it was always worrisome to have them around and prodding at things. He remembered how much it make him lurch when they kept messing everything up in his kitchen, why couldn't they just sit still like that all the time?

"There your hair is all nice now!" She chuckled while plopping down in the chair besides him.

Maurice shot her a silly grin, "I'm supposed to be here for you, but you're taking care of me!"

Izzy stuck her tongue out at him, "Maybe you should take better care of yourself!"

"Touche little miss messy" He claimed with a sarcastic tone.

"I'm not messy!" Isabelle punched him playfully in the arm.

Returning to a serious tone he stretched out his arms, "Alright, alright, time to work on your therapy, you're doing very well hopefully we'll continue down that road."

"Maurice, can I ask you a question?" She frowned gazing at the ground.

Mr. White lifted his head with full attention, "Yes, what's the matter?"

"Do you just talk to me because I'm a patient, or do you really like me as a person? I'm not a monster am I?" Izzy asked gazing up at him with worried eyes.

Maurice was shocked by the question, "That's ridiculous, what's not to like about you? You're funny, you're adorable, intelligent, you're even awesome at drawing. Why would you think I didn't want to talk to you?"

Isabelle's face turned red from the compliments, "Well... Everyone else seems to think I'm strange..."

"Isabelle listen to me, people don't like different. When they see something aspiring, beautiful, and creative they become afraid because it breaks the mold. Not everyone is going to understand you and that's fine because the people who really care about you, will love you no matter what" The man spilled his words like an inspirational speech, even though it was how he really felt.

"I don't get it though why do you like me of all people who didn't?" She sniffled up beginning to cry.

Maurice panicked not wanting her to cry, "Because I love you, and I think you're wonderful."

"Really?" She asked in disbelief of what she was hearing.

Swallowing down he realized what he said, she gazed up at him in such high hopes as his entire frame came crashing down. Why had he been so ridiculously stupid when she cried, he could have picked better words but it was obvious she adored him. Biting his lip he broke a sweat, he couldn't crush her heart by taking back what he said, but he couldn't just tell her that he was in love with her. Behind her Raina watched curiously with her head tilted waiting for his next choice of words. He put himself on the spot, and he would have to live with that.

Blindly wishing he didn't say anything he just let it go, "Really."