Night Club Cat, part four
Part four means it's time for angsty flashback.
Night Club Cat, part 4
772 words
Short, vague mention of child abuse.
No one was in the woods tonight, so Key just chucked his clothes, rolled them up carefully, and put them in the backpack he’d hidden in the tree. He’d have to take the backpack to his locker at the bus station before it rained again. Or he could just leave them there, turning back into earth. He couldn’t risk going back to the night club. That one anyway. He should probably come back for the money though.
Tomorrow.
Fur was warmer than slashed up clothes. He liked this form better. People were nicer to him, not expecting anything he couldn’t give.
He went home the long way. Tonight wasn’t time to see where his hope had been shattered. He’d really liked that foster home and he’d loved the parents. He’d called them Mom and Dad from the day he met them, the first Mom and Dad he remembered having. When they asked him if he was willing to let them adopt him, he’d cried with joy. Everything had been perfect except for his new older brother.
Even at ten, Key could see how messed up Beck was. Beck had needed the stable home, the loving parents who would never hurt him, and the therapist his adoptive parents had such hope in. What he didn’t need was temptation in the form of a little brother.
Key couldn’t have been ten. Beck had had his tenth and eleventh birthdays while Key lived with them. Key had only gone up to Beck’s shoulder. Was Beck one and a half or two and a half years older? If he could remember, he might be able to figure out his own age. Or maybe not.
Just after the new year, Beck and Key were left alone together. Looking back, what happened might have been an aberration. If not for missing several therapist appointment due to sickness and foul weather, Beck spending Christmas Eve with his mother’s family, and the two of them being unsupervised for a specified amount of time-Mom’s appointment got moved up so she left just as Dad was supposed to get home, but then Dad called saying traffic was horrible and that he’d pick up dinner, so not to expect him for a half an hour at least-Beck might not have tried to do the thing to Key that no child should do or have done to them. But if Beck hadn’t had it done to him, he never would have thought to do it in the first place.
Key ran. He dove out the back door, ran down the alley and crawled into the first inviting place. The loft over Mrs. N’s garage was still warm and smelled nice. Today she’d left tuna, cheddar, and rice at the bottom of the ladder. She really spoiled him.
Back then he’d woken to the sound of purring and realized it was him. The first few years as a cat were a blur. He’d come to himself after who knew how long living with the feral cats in the city’s baseball stadium. He’d wandered the city for a while, searching for himself and on the night he passed through this neighborhood, Beck had been sitting at the gate to the alley, rocking, and sobbing Key’s name, asking for forgiveness. Everything had come back to Key, including his own name.
Key forgave Beck. The poor kid had been through enough.
The family never fostered any more children. Beck was raised an only child like he needed to be. When Key didn’t avoid the house, he would still see Mom and Dad look around when they got home then sigh and continue with their day.
Key longed to go back, to get hugs and love, but how could he say where he’d gone? Mom, I just spent the last few years as a cat. He didn’t want them to see him like this. Beck was set to graduate from a local university next year, according to Mrs. N who kept her little stray abreast of all the neighborhood gossip. That would make him twenty-one? And Key eighteen? nineteen? Somewhere in there.
He jumped up the ladder. No one had been here since he left. Good. He kneaded the old sleeping bag Mrs. N had left up here for him, then settled down to a good purr.
Sometime in the night another cat curled up next to him, purring loudly. He felt so safe and warm that he didn’t bristle. He had been alone too long. Maybe he should go on this date, if just for the company. It wouldn’t do to forget to be human.
Night Club Cat, part 4
772 words
Short, vague mention of child abuse.
No one was in the woods tonight, so Key just chucked his clothes, rolled them up carefully, and put them in the backpack he’d hidden in the tree. He’d have to take the backpack to his locker at the bus station before it rained again. Or he could just leave them there, turning back into earth. He couldn’t risk going back to the night club. That one anyway. He should probably come back for the money though.
Tomorrow.
Fur was warmer than slashed up clothes. He liked this form better. People were nicer to him, not expecting anything he couldn’t give.
He went home the long way. Tonight wasn’t time to see where his hope had been shattered. He’d really liked that foster home and he’d loved the parents. He’d called them Mom and Dad from the day he met them, the first Mom and Dad he remembered having. When they asked him if he was willing to let them adopt him, he’d cried with joy. Everything had been perfect except for his new older brother.
Even at ten, Key could see how messed up Beck was. Beck had needed the stable home, the loving parents who would never hurt him, and the therapist his adoptive parents had such hope in. What he didn’t need was temptation in the form of a little brother.
Key couldn’t have been ten. Beck had had his tenth and eleventh birthdays while Key lived with them. Key had only gone up to Beck’s shoulder. Was Beck one and a half or two and a half years older? If he could remember, he might be able to figure out his own age. Or maybe not.
Just after the new year, Beck and Key were left alone together. Looking back, what happened might have been an aberration. If not for missing several therapist appointment due to sickness and foul weather, Beck spending Christmas Eve with his mother’s family, and the two of them being unsupervised for a specified amount of time-Mom’s appointment got moved up so she left just as Dad was supposed to get home, but then Dad called saying traffic was horrible and that he’d pick up dinner, so not to expect him for a half an hour at least-Beck might not have tried to do the thing to Key that no child should do or have done to them. But if Beck hadn’t had it done to him, he never would have thought to do it in the first place.
Key ran. He dove out the back door, ran down the alley and crawled into the first inviting place. The loft over Mrs. N’s garage was still warm and smelled nice. Today she’d left tuna, cheddar, and rice at the bottom of the ladder. She really spoiled him.
Back then he’d woken to the sound of purring and realized it was him. The first few years as a cat were a blur. He’d come to himself after who knew how long living with the feral cats in the city’s baseball stadium. He’d wandered the city for a while, searching for himself and on the night he passed through this neighborhood, Beck had been sitting at the gate to the alley, rocking, and sobbing Key’s name, asking for forgiveness. Everything had come back to Key, including his own name.
Key forgave Beck. The poor kid had been through enough.
The family never fostered any more children. Beck was raised an only child like he needed to be. When Key didn’t avoid the house, he would still see Mom and Dad look around when they got home then sigh and continue with their day.
Key longed to go back, to get hugs and love, but how could he say where he’d gone? Mom, I just spent the last few years as a cat. He didn’t want them to see him like this. Beck was set to graduate from a local university next year, according to Mrs. N who kept her little stray abreast of all the neighborhood gossip. That would make him twenty-one? And Key eighteen? nineteen? Somewhere in there.
He jumped up the ladder. No one had been here since he left. Good. He kneaded the old sleeping bag Mrs. N had left up here for him, then settled down to a good purr.
Sometime in the night another cat curled up next to him, purring loudly. He felt so safe and warm that he didn’t bristle. He had been alone too long. Maybe he should go on this date, if just for the company. It wouldn’t do to forget to be human.