On Hold

Lie to Me | Thirteen

     I laughed humorlessly at her easy thinking. “Yeah, that would be great.” I dejectedly said to her and stretched out my arms for Baja to grab up the black fur ball. She came over and Angel easily left me with a look of wonder in his eyes at this new blond headed person. I looked back up to Baja, this girl I had just met. She could be a cat-napper, she could be crazy, she could have killed the Corbin’s and taken over there house. But, at this moment, I thought of her as a close friend. She saved my freak’n cat; of course I had to hope that we would be friends. “You do realize that this means were best friends, right?” I tried for a more easy tone but I could still hear the sadness in my voice.

      “I thought about that and wouldn’t be adverse to the idea,” she nodded with a frown of thought on her features. I smiled slightly now—I smiled truer. “Well, I should probably go put him in his new home.” She rose the cat in the air with a slight shrug.

     “Oh, I have stuff for him too.” I remembered, turning around with wide eyes on how I could have almost forgotten that. “It’s not like I’d be able to use it on the little bugger.” I threw over my shoulder as I ran up the stairs quickly and too my room. When I opened the door, I went straight for my small closet. Pushing aside all the jeans, I bent down and scooped up Angels litter pan and food bag. For a moment, I sat there juggling the two before realizing that I would make an absolute fool of myself trying to go down the stairs with both items in my hands. I mean, we didn’t need another fall coming from me today. One was enough. And, I didn’t want to clean litter out of the carpet. Can you say ‘nightmare’?

     So, instead, I walked down the stairs and back to my friends with the dry cat food bag before turning around and going back up to my bedroom for the litter pan. As I picked it up and turned to the door, though, my father stood in the doorway with a scowl on his face. He wouldn’t have to act now. My friends were both down stairs. “You do realize that you’re grounded, right?” he told me as he looped a bow tie around his neck.

     I nodded and looked down at the litter pan. “Are you going out again?” I asked.

     “Yes, there is a conference in town today. We will discuss this more when I get back…” he looked over his shoulder again. “And once your friends are gone.” Right, we don’t want to make a bad impression, I thought. “I will be out late thought so stay up because we will be having the talk tonight.”

     “Yes dad,” a voice cleared and I corrected myself. “Sorry, father.”

     “Good,” and without a goodbye, he left. As I went back into the hallway, I turned and watched my father retreating into his room at the end of the hallway. He didn’t look back; he just shut the door and finished getting ready for the important-people conference in town. Maybe the mayor would be there, the counsel, the big shot lawyers, and judges. It was just a usual wine and dine night for him. With bitterness crossing my body, I walked back down stairs. My friends were talking; Baja pet angel absent mindedly while Ian had that usual dimpled smile as he adamantly waved his hands around in conversation. When I decided the steps, I didn’t know if I was masking my sadness and anger that well but neither Baja nor Ian gave comment. Silently we decided to go over to Baja’s new house instead of staying here any longer. Ian grabbed the cat food while I opened the door, litter box in hand.

     “So, what’s this little guy’s name?” Baja conversed easily.

     “Angel, Gua-“ I started but realized that that was a bit to personal. Angel was my guardian angel and I really didn’t know if anyone else will ever know that. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to show someone else that side of me. It was just too much me, too much Haylie. For a moment, I thought about my first moment with Angel and that first blissful feeling that we shared. I guess he was the one who anchored me to reality again. Without him, I would not know where my life would be at this moment. I would hate my parents—that was for sure. I would hate everyone. I’d be a bitter old cat lady. My house would have over a hundred cats. Yes, I would be one of them. I would smell like cat urine and have crazy birds nest hair. I wouldn’t know the meaning of a bra and would have cat decorations on my walls. Or maybe a crazy old dog lady. But cats are better. Independent and opinionated. If they didn’t like you, cats wouldn’t pretend.