The Wanderers

Chapter 18- Cat

We returned back to the apartment, later that afternoon. I kept smiling like an idiot the entire ride back home. Just thinking about it made my cheeks burn. I still felt bad about leaving Katy and Isac in such terrible conditions while I had a fun time, ate a lot of cake and found my prince charming. We turned into Isac's parking in silence. Once we came to a stop I immediately got down and climbed the stairs to the second floor. I needed to know what was happening with the two of them upstairs.  I opened the door to find a very happy Katy lying down on the couch. Timmy sat in the corner, looking worried as Josh comforted her.

"Ah. The two lovebirds arrive." Katy said, snickering as I and Travis entered the house.

I blushed and looked away. Not quite meeting my eyes with Katy's I managed to ask the whereabouts of Isac. Katy laughed.

"Oh that brat seems to have run away from his own house. I guess he couldn't handle my sass." Katy said proudly, blowing on the freshly applied coat of nail polish.

"Wait a minute. He couldn't handle your ass?" Josh said, cracking up.

"No you dimwit! I said sass!" Katy exclaimed.

It took a while for me to process this information. "Wait...he ran away!?" I yelled.

"Yeah and he stole my favorite cookies!"  Katy shouted back.

Travis just stood next to me, his mouth hung wide open. Well, no wonder Timothy was upset. She always cared for everyone in the group. More than sad... I was shocked. How could he accept defeat just like this? And it was his house! Quickly, I rushed into his room and opened his cupboard. I wasn't exactly respecting his privacy but I just needed to make sure. All his clothes were still there.

"Um...Katy. Did he tell you that he was running away?" I cried.

"Nope. But he hasn't been there since morning so I'm guessing he ran away."  Katy called back from the living room.

"Well nobody runs away without packing their bags!" I shouted.

"...WHOOPS..." was Katy's brilliant reply.

I shook my head in disappointment at Katy's lack of intelligence. Of course Isac hadn't run away. He'd probably gone out to calm himself down. Just then I heard the main door swing open. It must've been Isac. Speak of the devil. I hurried into the living room. Everybody stared at Isac as he just stood at the door. He looked tired and out of breath.

"Um...hi." He squeaked out, nervously.

Timothy abruptly got up and slapped him on his cheek hard. Then she held her head high and walked back.

"Ow!" Isac yelled, rubbing his cheek. "What was that for?"

"For scaring the hell out of us!" Timothy yelled back. We looked at Timmy, bewildered. Well, okay, somebody was in a bad mood.

"Ugh...why did you have to return?" Katy grumbled, leaving the living room.

Isac just rolled his eyes and turned to glare at me and Travis. "Somebody stole my car."

"It was her  idea!" Travis exclaimed pointing at me.

"Travis!" I shouted, nudging him playfully in the shoulder.

"WELL! You shouldn't be the one complaining about things being stolen. You stole all the cookies I baked yesterday!" Katy yelled from the guest room.

"Um...sorry...I didn't know you baked them. I was just hungry. I didn't finish all of them. The rest of them are in my bag. " Isac answered. He ran his hand through his hair wiping the sweat.

"Dude...what were you doing. You look so —" I started.

Just then there was a bark. Yes an actual dog bark. This time is came louder. We all just stood there, awkwardly...except for Isac who jumped behind the couch the moment he heard it. Was he scared of dogs? For some reason this dog didn't seem wild. Its bark was almost...friendly.

"THIS WRETCHED DOG HAS BEEN CHASING ME SINCE FOREVER!" Isac screamed.

Well, no wonder he was so tired. Strangely, the five of us didn't move. We just waited , waited for this creature of doom.  Suddenly a happy-looking golden retriever bounded into the room. I flinched and hit the wall behind me. Before I could actually get a good look at the dog it pounced behind the couch and landed right next to Isac, who cowered in fear. Then the dog licked him. Right on his face.  We laughed as Isac struggled in dog slobber...except Katy who stood in the corner, her eyes transfixed on the dog.

Then very faintly she said, "Cat." This time a little louder, "Cat."

The dogs warm brown eyes turned to look at Katy. For a minute they stared, the girl and the dog and then Cat pounced straight into Katy's arms, licking her face. She laughed.

"Oh my goodness, Cat, you silly dog, all these years, where have you been?! Do you know how much I cried when you left?!"

She spoke to her dog like it was a person, like it was her friend. I smiled. Katy was happy. I saw some tears trickle out of her eyes. "I love you" she said to her dog and hugged him.

Then she turned to us, "Okay folks, it's time you meet Cat!"

                                                                                . . .

In a few days, we'd gotten to know Cat pretty well. It was like he was part of our little group now. Apparently he had been chasing Isac because he was carrying Katy's cookies. Katy had been baking these cookies since she was young and Cat would go mad just by the smell of them.

Since Katy was genuinely happy, the group's mood started improving. I didn't know how much effect it had on us until Cat came. He was the cutest. He had grown thin, living on the streets but that dog was a survivor. Cat was always in a happy mood and could literally cheer anyone up. His warm chocolate eyes made him look so innocent that it was hard not to give him anything. But one thing that pissed Katy of a lot was that Cat had grown extremely close to Isac ever since the cookie incident, obviously not as close as he was to Katy, but Cat would sometimes spend hours with Isac. And Isac loved him back.

But Josh and Timmy were the most excited people on the Earth. They would spend every free minute that they had with Cat , and , Cat would enjoy it.

Everyone was in such a good mood. A dog really is a man's best friend...  We almost forgot about the adventure. It was like we had finally settled down here for good.

                                                                         . . .

"Travis, what are we supposed to do next? I feel so lost." I told him.

We were finally deciding what we had to do next. And till now we had come up with nothing.

"Don't worry Timber. If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there."

"What do you mean?"

"See I've been thinking and we should really visit my sister's amusement park in Sector 3. She must've left something there. And I'm really in the mood for some fun." He said.

I thought for a minute, then smirked. "I can't wait to ride the roller coasters."