The Catalina Touch Effect (NaNoWriMo2014)

Chapter Seventeen

Jennifer O’Connor: tall, skinny, red dress, and black heels with a brown scarf was headed up the staircase to their mother’s house, a white coat over her chilled arms. Myles O’Connor: Black button up shirt with a red and white tie and dress slacks, brown leather shoes to match his sister, including the coat. It was men’s style, but similar in design. He looked normal without the skinny look. He had gained at least three pounds in the last week, leading up to the date.

Jacob and Eli Holtman: Both wearing Button ups with their black trench coats and dress slacks, paired up behind them. Eli had a blue shirt on with a black tie, Jacob with a black shirt and a blue tie. In front of them, hand-in-hand with Myles, walked Catalina Touch. A beautiful black dress that fell to her knees with a red waistband suited her perfectly. A wonderful amber necklace sat around her neck, a peace offering from Myles.

There was an inscription on the back that read “To my Only.”After begging and pleading with Jacob and Catalina, Myles had finally proven himself worthy to them by proving to them the others were indeed gone. There was no more of them, sadly, and he was alone, needing of their company once more. Catalina especially.

“We’re here to see mom and then we are leaving,” Jenny reminded the four of them. “I do not want have to put up with this side of the family.”

“We’re only connected to them by dad,” Myles said with a roll of his eyes. “We don’t even have to be here.”

“For mom, remember?”

“Yeah,” Myles said with a squeeze to Cat’s hand. “For mom.” The house, an old ranch house with a swingset in the backyard and a white-picket fence, was everything the two had remembered from childhood. Snow laid over the grass, painted with such breath-taking brush strokes it was appalling how graceful it seemed.

The house, painted white itself, had navy blue shingles and cracks in the grey porch boards. They creaked as they all stopped upon them, waiting for Jenny to ring the doorbell. She extended her hand, pointing out a finger, then hesitated. She was shaking slightly.

“Go on,” Jacob said softly. “It’s alright.” He nearly pushed her to press it but saw she jolted in thought and let out a shaking sigh. They were all nervous, but she seemed much worse, even compared to the man with no others and the brown woman with no place other than on Myles’ arm, it seemed.

She pressed the small doorbell and the ring of childhood made the two smile. Catalina stood closer to Myles, wrapping her arm around him and looking up at him with a smile on her red lips. Her eyeshadow, gold and silver, made her eyes look even prettier.

After Jenny had talked through things with him, they made their way to Cat’s apartment and met Isha there, then finally confronted Catalina. She didn’t know how to react at first, then began to understand everything, piece by piece. She could see the sadness in his breaking soul, as if he was growing desperate from the fight. He went to her, his love, and she knew he was perfect. He had broken his ties to the ones he cared most for to be with her.

That’s why when the door opened, Bennie Thomas smiled brightly at Catalina. “You’ve got a mate!” Bennie laughed at Myles. Catalina felt her face warm in the gust of heat from the house. Bennie, dressed nicely in a little white dress and black stockings. Her strawberry-blonde hair was artificially curled, tucked behind her little ears by pins. As the only fourteen-year-old in the family, she was considered so childish with how tomboyish she was, and yet so adult with how smart she was.

Her bright blue eyes and deep brown freckles showed she was ginger, and at heart. She waved them in. As Myles and Catalina passed her, she stopped Myles.

“What’s her name?”

“Oh,” the woman in question asked, “I’m Catalina. And you are?” she put her hand out. Bennie shook it daintily, as her mother had told her to.