Mom, This is Lily.
1657 Words
Cat had been quiet this morning. I had walked her to the front of the school this morning and as I'm standing here waiting for her to come out of the school, I'm starting to get the feeling like she didn't walk into it. We had both been feeling a certain way and because I didn't want to lay my dark thoughts on her, I didn't bother asking her what was wrong.
I remember the first time I ever felt worried. I was ten years old and had already been put on the system's watch list. I had snuck out of my foster home and decided that going to the mall was better than going to school.
I walked around the mall snatching things off the counters. Things I didn't even want. It had been an ugly habit that I picked up from one of the other girls in the system. To distract one of the employees, I knocked over a mannequin. She had been standing by the register and as far as I was able to tell, she had been the only one working. When she rushed over to pick up the mannequin she pushed the register drawer shut, just before it clicked closed I stopped it and took a handful of money.
On my way out, I ran into an older lady. She had been holding hot tea. When my body smacked into hers, the tea spilled on her clothes. We both panicked. I had never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it before then. The old lady slipped on the tea that had pooled on the floor. She broke her arm when she smacked hard on the tile. I stayed with her until the ambulance came and then I went to the hospital to make sure I wasn't the reason why she died. It had been so important to me to ensure that the old woman was going to be fine.
When I was reassured of her health, I used the money I had taken to buy her a teddy bear and some flowers from the hospital gift shop. I remember the relief that came when she smiled at me and told me she was going to be just fine.
Worry is a drowning emotion. One I didn't ever want to feel again but as the crowd of people around the exit gets smaller and smaller with no Cat insight, that feeling is beginning to ache. I walked inside and over to her class. Her teacher is the only one in here. She's cleaning up the room.
"Can I help you?" she asked looking up at me. I smiled as best I could as I stepped into the classroom.
"Yeah, I'm looking for Catherine Pauline," she briefly looked me over before shaking her head.
"Paulie didn't grace us with her presence today," the snide remark made me want to hit her.
"She wasn't in class?" I asked.
"No," she answered like she could have cared less if Cat was here or not. "And you are?"
"I'm her sister," I shot back.
"I see. Since you're here I'd like to talk to you about Paulie's attitude towards the other girls here,"
"I'm going to stop you right there. First and foremost, Catherine doesn't like to be called Paulie. That is not her name. I don't care if the other rude little girls call her that. You don't call her that. Her name is Catherine and if she ever likes you enough to call her Cat. Maybe one day you will be able to call her Cat.
"Second, you shouldn't be too worried about the way Catherine treats the other girls. Those kids will never know what Cat feels when she leaves this place to be alone. You are irrelevant to her. She doesn't need you to learn any of this s**t because she already knows it. You're just so caught up in the cuteness of the little girls who have everything to see the kind of kid she is. So spare me your little talk about Catherine's attitude. She gets it from me,"
"I've insulted you," she whispered before clearing her throat.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. I'm not the one who walks in here day in and day out to a teacher who plays favoritism with her students. Those other little girls have their lives mapped out for them. They will live pathetic mediocre lives much like yours. Cat's is filled with potential. You should be wary of the way you address her. One day, it might just be her foot on your neck,"
I turned around and got out of there. Cat didn't go to school. I pulled out my phone as I walked out of the front gate. Preston is leaning against a black BMW. Young is standing right next to him. I went over to them. Cat has the tablet I gave her. If she's been using it, it'll tell me the last location she was in. I had put a really good data plan on her tablet so she could watch shows on there when I wasn't around to keep her company.
"She's not here?" Preston asked. I shook my head as a location popped up on my screen.
"What the hell? It says she's on the other side of town," they looked at one another.
"Let's go," Young opened the back seat for me and motioned me to get in.
Once I was in the car he went around to the passenger seat and Preston got into the driver's seat. I handed him my phone so he could follow the location. I can barely breathe in properly. My ears are ringing. I can't stop bouncing my leg. Scenarios are rushing through my head making everything worse. So much worse.
"Hey," I looked up at Young to see him give me a wary smile. He looks just as worried as I am. "She's going to be fine,"
"I thought she was doing okay. I only did things like this when there was nothing but-" I couldn't finish the statement. "She needs to be okay,"
"She will be," he promised.
As we rounded the corner, my stomach knotted in a painful way. It's a cemetery. How long has she been here? Preston stopped the car when he spotted her. She's sitting on the grass with a book on her lap. It looks like she's reading to someone. I got out of the car and slowly made my way over to her. She's completely oblivious to her surroundings. Not too far from where she's sitting is Molly, her stray cat.
Molly greeted me with a bow before she continued to look around again. Cat shut her book and laughed. I had gotten her the book the night of the race. I knew I was going to get to Cyrilla late and I wanted to have something to make up for it. It's a book about a movie she likes to watch on the tablet.
"She's really nice to me," she whispered. "It kinda feels like she's my real sister sometimes. She doesn't have to but she stays up with me sometimes to do my homework. She got me stuffs like you guys used. I just want to tell you that I think I'm okay now. You don't have to worry that much anymore. Thank you for sending me an angel,"
The relief in me is instant. The drowning feeling began to fade as I made my way to her. She looked up at me surprised and smiled before her expression turned grim. I crouched down in front of her and smiled. I was ready to scold her but I can't. How many times had I wished I had something from them. Anything to look back at. Something, anything to feel like at some point in my life I had been wanted.
"Have you been here all day?" I asked. She nodded tucking her things into her backpack.
"How did you find me?"
"I'm always going to find you," I promised. "You want to introduce me?"
"Okay," she smiled. She jumped up and came over to me. "These are my parents. Garret and Lisa Pauline. Mom this is Lily. My best friend,"
"Nice to meet you," I whispered.
"Did you know that they're not my real mom and dad?" she asked. I looked over at her.
"No?"
"Nope. Lisa couldn't have babies. Garret found me," I looked down at the plaques. "I miss them,"
"I bet they miss you too," I pulled her into me and picked her up. I grabbed her backpack and motioned Molly to follow me.
"Who are they?" she asked pointing at the car.
"This is Preston and that's Grayson. They're my friends," she climbed into the back seat and settled between the two front seats to get a better look at both guys.
"Hey, I'm Catherine," she introduced herself.
"Hello, Catherine. I'm Preston," Prestone held his hand out for her to take. Cat took his hand and shook it as roughly as she could. "I am very honored to meet you,"
"Thanks," she shrugged before looking at Young.
"Hey, I'm Grayson. You can call me Young,"
"Young?" she giggled. "Why?"
"It's my last name,"
"I don't like my last name," she wrinkled her nose. "This is Molly. She's my Cat,"
"Molly," they both laughed.
"Yep, she's the cutest and most amazing cat ever. She can turn into a panther. I've seen her do it," they both turned to look at me.
"What? I haven't seen her do it," I shrugged.
"I'm starving," Cat sang as she sat back in the seat. I clicked her seatbelt in place. When I clicked my own, Molly crawled onto her lap.
"You guys hungry? Foods on me," I asked.
"What do you want to eat, Catherine?" Preston asked her. She smiled at him.
"Steak Kabobs, please," they both laughed.
- Writer
