Rules of Fate

Chapter 2 - As normal as it gets

It had been a long day, nothing unusual in that, not in my job. I unlocked the door and stepped into the small apartment I called home. Just as I turned to shut the door I heard a window close in the living room. Right on time, I thought idly.

'I'm home!' I said aloud, dropping my bag randomly on the floor near my bedroom and trekking through to the bright living room.

It was a two bedroom apartment in a nice part of town on the second floor. Spacious and bright it had felt right the instant I had seen it. It felt calm. I needed calm. My room mate was standing at one of the counters in the open plan kitchen at the far end, stirring cream into her coffee.

'Good day?' she asked, with a quick smile in my direction.

'So,so,' I replied, walking to the window and glancing out at the view which consisted of streets far below us and our neighbour's rooftops at eye level.

Just as I had expected, there he was, clinging to the roof tiles for dear life. He turned his head, giving me a go-to-hell look with those bright, out of this world eyes and opened his mouth to yowl his hatred. I sent him an equally dirty look and turned my back on him. It was always the same. It had become a routine all three parties seemed to accept. Well, if not accept then tolerate.

When Kay had moved in she had mentioned getting a cat. I had opposed the idea. Cats were unpredictable in my book and I already had all the unpredictability I could handle in my life. So a cat was a definite no go. Simple right? I thought so too, until I came home one day and fell over a furry body sashaying right past the front door. On the wrong side of the door. Both cat and I had landed in a heap on the floor. Chaos ensued with me yelling as ten sharpened claws scoured my skin through my clothes, the cat yowling at having a trespasser in its territory who was apparently trying to assault it. Kay had come running at the commotion, tried to calm both the cat and the human struggling with each other and had failed.

Between my screams of 'Get it off!! Get it off me!' and the cat's wild hisses Kay's voice made no impact on either of us. Only a bowl of cat food had enticed the fiend away from my battered body, my T-shirt in tatters.

'What the hell is that thing?' I asked, trying to mop up the dots of blood springing up haphazardly over my arms and trying to salvage my ragged T-shirt. I gave up on both counts as the blood spots became too numerous and the rags refused to adhere to each other and started dropping to the floor.

'It's a cat,' Kay replied, watching the animal eat, 'Isn't he cute?'

It was like asking a murder victim if her assailant was good-looking. 'No!' I said loudly, trying to startle the fiend, 'He's not. He's dangerous!'

'He's not that bad,' she said, leaning in to stroke his pure black fur. Black, I mused, the colour of the devil. 'You just startled him.'

'I startled him?'

'Yeah. He wasn't expecting you.'

My eyes widened, it took me a second to form my words. 'I live here,' I reminded her curtly.

She nodded slowly, still patting the cat. 'I know that, but he doesn't.'

This was getting us nowhere. 'What is it doing here anyway?'

She didn't answer right away and a small tingling started in my insides. 'Kay?' I gave her a second and then threw my hands in the air. 'You didn't! Tell me you didn't buy that creature!'

'No, of course not,' she said so softly I could barely hear her. 'I just...he...'

She had definitely found him somewhere and I was willing to bet a month's salary that she had got him from a rescue centre. I had a fair idea as to why he had needed to be adopted. He had finished his meal and was staring at me with those luminous eyes.

'We can't keep him,' I said firmly. I didn't like the look in those eyes. I was sure he would take over the apartment if he could. 'Just take him back to the shelter.'

Kay looked up at me with her big brown eyes that reminded me of melted chocolate. That look usually worked miracles but this time they were on a level with those unflinching green orbs and the spell didn't work. 'Please Sam.'

'Nope,' I shook my head in a quick negative. 'Either the cat goes or I get another room mate.' I'd walked into my room then to find the first aid kit to tend to my wounds which hurt like crazy. She'll get over it, I thought as I disinfected the scratches, wincing at the stinging. Damn it had razor sharp claws!

Kay decided to find Jet, or as I called him the devil incarnate, a home rather than take him to the nearest animal shelter. I agreed to give her a week to find someone who was clueless enough to adopt him. Till then Jet and I stayed away from each other, eying each other cautiously from across the apartment. A week later I walked in...no Jet. Fantastic! I no longer had to worry about falling over a black shadow and being mauled. Life was back to normal. That is until I walked into the living room just in time to catch Kay closing the window. She turned guiltily when she heard me.

'Hey,' she said, walking to the kitchen.

'Hey,' I replied automatically. I didn't need to be a fatelist to know something was up. 'What you doing?'

'Oh nothing,' she replied absently, 'I found Jet a home.'

I walked quietly to the window whilst her back was turned and looked out. She had got rid of him alright. He was clinging to the neighbour's roof with those lethal claws, glaring back at the window from where I assumed Kay had tossed him.

'Really?'

'Yup, he's gone to a really nice family.'

'I bet he has,' I said, wondering if the neighbour knew he had inherited a cat that looked like it had crawled through the ashes of hell and was currently giving me an evil glare.

And so began our three way deception. Kay threw Jet out of the window every day before I got home. I pretended not to know about it. Kay pretended we didn't have a cat. And Jet, well I think he just pretended being tossed out was normal. Either way, it was the only way we could co-exist.

'How was your day,' I asked her now, accepting the coffee she brought over.

She lifted one shoulder. She was employed as a personal assistant to an executive who seemed to think he had gained a slave in training. When she told me of the things he asked her to do for him like walking his dog, or buying shoes for his girlfriend, I itched to mess up his thread. But I didn't; the rule of personal gain.

'Same as always! Kay get me coffee, Kay clean my car, Kay get my shoes from the shop...' she rolled her eyes. 'What about you? Good day?'

I thought about that phrase for a second. Had it been a good day? Well there hadn't been any major catastrophes at least in my vicinity. I nodded cautiously. I guess it hadn't been bad, but you never let your guard down. Fate might decide to wipe the smile of your face spectacularly. 'Could always be better.'

'I'll drink to that!' Kay replied laconically.

'Why don't you just tell your boss to take a hike? Half the stuff he makes you do has nothing to do with your job.'

'I would if I could, but I need the money.'

I picked up some cat fluff from the cushion and dropped it carelessly to the ground. 'Maybe I could get a job with you,' I heard her say. 'Your job seems to be so much better!'

I sighed and shook my head. 'It just looks that way from the outside. Kinda like a Jackson Pollock painting. It looks great from far away, but up close it's a royal mess!'

Kay laughed with me, but deep inside I knew what I had said was the absolute truth. She was just lucky enough not to realise it.

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