Rumpleteazer cried herself to sleep the night that Mungojerrie left. She lay on his bed, sobbing into his pillow, breathing in his scent, crying until she was limp and pale. For some reason, her father never came upstairs to check on them, so she never had to explain her brother’s absence, and she thanked the Mystical Divinity for it. The night was lonelier than she had ever imagined it could be. She fell into a deep sleep punctured by painful dreams without her older brother there to care for her. The next morning when she woke up, she knew she couldn’t face another night alone. It was too frightening to be alone in the house with her father, even when he did not bother her. A plan started to formulate in her head, and she prayed it would protect her from the oppressive loneliness that threatened to drive her mad.
“Sill…? Silly...? Sillabub!”
“Hey!” A shiny, silver claw tapped on one of the headphones covering the multi-colored kitten’s triangle ears.
Sillabub opened her eyes and pulled the headphones off, loud rap music blaring out of them. “What?” she snapped.
“Dad’s talking to you.” Her older half-brother, Genghis, said, adjusting his gold hoop earring carelessly.
Sillabub sighed and caught her father’s eyes in the rearview mirror. “What?”
“Sill, I want you to be on your best behavior at this school, okay?” Growltiger’s voice was almost pleading.
“Why?” Sillabub snapped. She had heard this speech too many times to care anymore.
“Because we’re running out of schools to send you to, dipwad,” Genghis said, only half-teasing. “Unless you want to go to school with the Pollicles.”
Sillabub made a face and flicked an offensive finger at the Siamese. “Sillabub, that is not necessary,” her father said softly.
Sillabub growled and popped her headphones back onto her head, closing her eyes.
Growltiger sighed softly and caught Genghis’ eyes in the mirror. “Will you keep an eye on her?”
“Yeah,” Genghis replied softly. “I wanna stay at a school for longer than three months.”
“I do too,” Growltiger said softly. He sighed. “I just wish we could help her.” He pulled into the parking lot of Jellicle High. Genghis looked around with wide, bright blue eyes. He wondered if he’d be able to actually keep some friend here.
Sillabub yanked off her headphones, stuffing them into her backpack. She opened the door and slid out of the car, slamming it with more noise than necessary. Genghis sighed and got out of the car on the other side. “Bye, Dad.”
“Bye, Genghis. You’ll watch her?”
“Yeah, I will.”
“Thanks.”
Genghis closed the door, and Growltiger drove off, heading for his teaching job at Mystical Divinity Secondary School.
Sillabub stormed for the school doors, her backpack dangling off her shoulder. Genghis chased after her and caught her arm. “Sill, please be good?” he pleaded.
“Why?” Sillabub yanked away from him. “Being good doesn’t get me anywhere.”
“And the only place being bad gets you is expelled,” Genghis reminded. “Look, Sill. I know you’re devastated over Mom’s death. But she was my mom longer than yours. I’m not calling bomb threats on schools or vandalizing public property.”
Sillabub wrenched free of his grip and raced into the school, tears starting to flow down her face. Genghis sighed and joined the flock of students moving inside.
Teazer made her way through the crowd in the hallway towards her destination. Her stomach churned nervously. What if he said no? What if he said yes? She didn’t know which would be worse. She looked around until she spotted the locker she wanted. She moved to lean against it, her tail twitching in agitation, her whiskers quivering.
It was only a few minutes before she saw him making his way through the crowd that parted before him like the Red Sea. He was chatting with another senior tom who left him a few feet from Tugger’s locker. Tugger turned, and Teazer’s breath caught in her throat as his golden eyes pierced straight into hers. “Hello.”
“H… Hi,” Teazer said softly.
Tugger smiled lightly at her. “Didja need something, Rumpleteazer?”
She was surprised he knew her name, but the way he said it made it sound like music. Teazer smiled and blushed a bit. “Um… Tugger… You… you like queens, right?”
“Hell, yeah,” Tugger said, his smile widening.
Teazer turned a bright red that almost matched the red in her fur. “I… I was… was wondering…” His smile stayed, his face inviting her to continue. “I was wondering if… if you… were busy… tonight?” There. She had said it. She bit her lip. What would he say?
“As a matter of fact, I’m not.” Tugger’s smile was perfect.
Teazer smiled softly. “Really?”
“Really. Why?”
Teazer turned scarlet. “I… I… Well…”
Sensing her reluctance to answer him, Tugger leaned in close. “Tonight, my house, six thirty. All right?”
Teazer smiled and nodded, trying to calm her flaming cheek. “Perfect.” She looked away a moment. “Tugger, I… I’m not…” She tried to meet his eyes with great difficulty. “I’m not…”
“A virgin?” Tugger prodded, helping her along. Teazer nodded slowly. Tugger shrugged. “Like I care.”
Teazer smiled. “O… okay. See… see you tonight?”
“Tonight,” Tugger agreed, leaning in to kiss her lightly on the mouth. Teazer held the kiss, unsure whether the butterflies in her stomach were from anticipation or fear.
She had not caused any trouble yet… She had just sat in the back of the room, silent, glaring at anyone who dared to look at her. When lunchtime came, Sillabub hurried to be one of the first people into the lunch line. She paid for her lunch and hurried into the lunchroom, looking around for an empty table. But, to her surprise, there were none. Every single table was occupied by at least two cats, stretching to accommodate as many as twelve at an eight capacity table.
Sillabub groaned, standing in the middle of the walkway, letting other students struggle past her on either side. She looked around for a table where she would probably be left alone. She finally settled on one towards the edge of the lunchroom where two young toms sat, most likely freshmen like her from the looks of them, one black and white, the other white mottled. She stalked over to their table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. The two looked up at her in surprise. She glared at them. “I’m sitting here,” she said in a don’t-you-dare-tell-me-otherwise voice. The two nodded silently, their eyes wide.
Sillabub began to eat, ignoring the two toms. Finally the black one leaned a little closer to her. “I… I’m Mistoffelees. And this is Pouncival.”
Sillabub rolled her eyes and ignored them. Pouncival leaned closer to her too, watching her with great interest. “Who are you?” he asked softly.
Sillabub looked up at him with dangerous, brown eyes. “What’s it to you?”
“Well, I just wanted to know,” Pouncival said, shrinking in his seat.
She smirked, her long incisors glinting. “Keep moving, junior. You’re not my type.”
Pouncival turned red and looked down at his sandwich. Misto noticeably moved closer to Pouncival, away from Sillabub.
All of a sudden, Genghis appeared behind Sillabub, accompanied by three other juniors, all guys. Genghis never had problems making friends. “Hey, shrimp, gimme my lunch money.”
“What lunch money?”
“Half of the ten that Dad gave you.”
Sillabub glowered and dug in her pocket, pulling out a few crumpled bills, which she handed to her brother. Genghis took them. “Thanks.” He glanced around at Misto and Pounce who were staring at him wide-eyed. “Who’re your friends?”
Sill shrugged. Genghis smirked at her. “Come on, Sillabub. They’re your age. You could at least make some friends.”
Sillabub rolled her eyes. Misto and Pouncival turned bright red. Genghis smiled at them and sauntered off, followed by his new friends. Sillabub turned back to her lunch with a scowl. Pouncival shifted a bit. “Sillabub… is that you’re name?”
“Wow, look at the rocket scientist,” Sillabub said, not looking up at him. Pouncival leaned back again, embarrassed. Misto gave him a sympathetic glance.
Sillabub stood up and headed for the trash, then stalked out of the lunchroom, headed for the computer lab. Pouncival and Misto watched her go. “And I thought we were weird,” Misto said softly.
Pouncival nodded. “I think the ice queen liveth.”
Misto cracked up. “You think she’ll sit with us every day?”
“I hope so,” Pouncival said softly. Misto gave him a weird glance, but Pouncival didn’t notice.
Exotica hummed to herself as she zipped up her practice skirt, pleased to see how easily it slid over her hips. She looked up at her reflection in the locker room mirror, ignoring her pale cheeks and dark-rimmed eyes, instead focusing on her black fur, brushing it into place with a hand, twirling her whiskers around her finger to give them an extra curl. She smiled at herself in the mirror.
Victoria suddenly turned the corner, a brush in her hand. She stood by the mirror next to Exotica, brushing her fur delicately. Somewhere deep in her heart, Exotica felt a cold stab of jealousy. Rumpus Cat had been her boyfriend last year, but he had dumped her towards the end of the school year for a pretty, skinny, model-like queen whom he had been with all summer before they went their separate ways and he ended up with Victoria. She was still resentful to him. He had never told her why he dumped her, but she could guess. He wanted someone prettier and skinnier. That had begun the last five months of binging and purging, crash diets, anorexia… You name it, she had tried it. Diet pills, laxatives, massive amounts of exercise every day… She had worn herself out trying to make herself less than one hundred pounds again. Of everything she had tried, she found that purging worked the best for her, so she had done that for several months.
Vicci smiled at Exotica. “Hey Ex. Ready for practice?”
Exotica smiled and nodded. Vicci didn’t know about her and Rumpus; it wasn’t her fault. No reason to be mad at her. “Yeah, I think so. We have that big meet coming up soon.”
“Yeah. I’m so excited!” Vicci grinned broadly, then paused and looked Exotica in the face. “Are you feeling all right?”
“O… Of course,” Exotica lied. She hadn’t eaten anything all day, and she was starting to feel light-headed, but it wasn’t anything she hadn’t had before. “I’m just… kinda under a lot of stress.”
“Okay… you look a little pale… Maybe you should eat something.”
“No!” Exotica said quicker than she meant to. She forced a smile. “I’m fine. I just need some sleep.”
That seemed to satisfy Vicci, and she went back to brushing her fur. Exotica headed for the gym. She moved into an empty space to begin warm-ups. Her cousin, Cassandra, was conversing with Coach Griddlebone over by the practice mat. The rest of the cheerleaders were stretching on the ground, chatting eagerly.
Exotica stretched painfully. Her tired muscles protested at the treatment. She gritted her teeth and ignored it until she leaned down to touch her toes and almost lost her balance as a wave of dizziness almost knocked her over. She caught herself, blinking rapidly to clear away the bright spots that had suddenly blocked her vision. She swayed uneasily on her feet a moment, then felt a sense of relief when Cassandra blew her whistle to begin practice. She joined the other cheerleaders on the mat.
There was a big competition coming up in two weeks. Coach Griddlebone was determined her squad would take first place, so she had taught them a combination that required a lot of focus and a lot of energy. It was fast-paced and moved very quickly.
“All right, girls, let’s get to work. I want to run the dance cheer a few times through to help fix anything wrong.” She smiled brightly as several girls groaned.
Exotica took her position, stretching her legs out one more time, then looking up, waiting for the music cue. When it came, the whole squad started with a high toe touch. She gritted her teeth and forced a smile.
After several beats, she, Cassandra, and two other queens did three back flips. As she landed the third one, she felt dizziness overtake her again, and wobbled in place a moment. She knew she needed to sit down, but she didn’t want to disappoint Coach Griddlebone. She forced her way through the rest of the combination, collapsing on the mat when it was over, panting.
They had a break, and then they were at it again. Exotica wanted to cry at the weakness that penetrated her muscles. Every jump was a struggle; every flip was torture. All of a sudden, she was blinded by spots in front of her vision again. She stopped moving, swaying uneasily on her feet.
Cassandra noticed her cousin’s abrupt ending, and she broke formation to move over to her. “Exotica?”
Exotica turned to look at Cass, but her legs buckled, and the world went black.
Cassandra screamed. The cheerleaders panicked, all rushing to gather around their fallen friend. Griddlebone forced her way through the group, shoving girls out of her way. She dropped down next to Exotica’s fallen form and checked her pulse, then turned to Electra. “Go call an ambulance. Go!” Electra bolted.
She was still breathing. That was good… Griddlebone groaned inwardly. She had been telling Exotica for weeks now that she didn’t have enough energy for cheerleading, but Exotica had insisted she was fine.
Exotica stirred and slowly blinked, looking around, bewildered. “Wh… what happened?”
Griddlebone leaned in closer. “Exotica? Are you okay?”
“Yeah… yeah…”
Griddlebone slid her hand under Exotica’s head and felt around. “I don’t think you hit your head…” She held up two fingers. “How many fingers do you see?”
Exotica made a grab for her hand and missed by a good foot. Griddlebone sighed. “Just hang on, honey. We’re getting you an ambulance. They’ll make sure you’re okay.”
“O… kay…”
“What did you eat today, hun?”
“N… nothing…”
“Exotica!”
All of a sudden Electra came running back with two paramedics in tow. Exotica whimpered and grabbed for Cassandra’s hand. Cassie stroked her paw. “It’s okay, Ex. You’ll be all right.”
The paramedics spoke for a few seconds, then slid her onto a stretcher and wheeled her out to the waiting ambulance.
Plato was curled up on Victor’s bed after school on Thursday night. Victor was half-asleep next to him, his arms wrapped securely around him like a teddy bear. “Plato?” he muttered sleepily.
“Yeah, Vic?”
“You… gonna stay tonight?”
“Yeah, I can stay.” Plato rubbed Victor’s shoulders gently. “You look exhausted.”
Victor nodded slowly. “That history test wore me out, and I barely got any sleep last night.”
“You sleep,” Plato ordered, shoving a pillow under Victor’s head. He tried to lower Victor’s head onto it.
Victor resisted. “But I shouldn’t sleep and just leave you alone…”
“Hey, it’s fine, Vic. You’re dead on your feet. I have my book. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
Victor smiled and closed his eyes, nestling his cheek into his pillow. “Wake me up when my dad gets home.”
“Believe me, I will,” Plato said softly.
Victor shifted to get comfy and shortly fell asleep…
Selter listened to the kitten’s cries through the wall, unable to do anything. He leaned weakly against the cold, cement wall. He hadn’t moved since he had raped the poor kitten almost four hours ago. Lanceney, Colt, and Larsen, however, had not stopped since they had begun. Lanceney, in particular, had been extremely brutal, not giving the kitten a moment’s rest before forcing himself on the kit again. He felt so awful, but he was helpless against Lanceney, and with Larsen and Colt with him, he’d have no chance.
After a very long time, the kitten’s screams died away, and Lanceney came stalking past Selter with a smug smile on his twisted face. “See how easy that was?”
Selter looked away shamefully, his eyes burning hate. “Okay, Lanceney, I proved myself to the gang. You guys had your fun. Let’s let him go now.”
Lanceney gazed at Selter a moment, then simply shrugged. “No.”
Selter’s eyes widened. “But… but, why?”
Lanceney rolled his eyes. “He knows who we are. There’s no reason to let him go. We can just keep him here for a while and do whatever we want.”
Selter felt tears in his eyes. “Lance, please. He’s suffered enough. No kitten should have to go through th-.”
Smack! Lanceney’s palm landed across Selter’s face, leaving a red palm mark on Selter’s face. Selter gasped in pain, holding his cheek, his eyes squeezed shut. Lanceney growled softly. “Any more objections?”
Selter slowly shook his head, tears stinging his eyes. Lanceney smirked. “Good. Now get out of my sight.” He crossed the long, cement room into the next room where Larsen and Colt had vanished only minutes ago.
Selter turned and headed for the other room. He stumbled into the empty room where Victor was still on the floor, sobbing softly. His movements seemed to get the kitten’s attention. He whimpered and shied away from the sound, the blindfold still over his eyes, soaking wet from his tears. Selter stopped short, horrified at what he saw. Someone had been nice enough to pull the kitten’s pants back up. A wave of nausea ran through him when he saw the seat of the kitten’s pants was crusted with sticky, drying blood. He looked pathetic, tears on his cheeks, fur matted. His paws were still tied behind his back. Selter felt his heart break into a million sharp shards in his chest watching the poor, violated kitten. He could at least untie the poor kit, if nothing else. He took a step closer. “Victor…”
The kitten whimpered again and curled into a ball against the wall. Selter slowly reached out and ever so gently touched the blindfold. Victor yelped and twisted away from him. Selter froze. “Victor… I’m not going to hurt you. I promise.”
“S… Sel-ter?” the kitten whimpered.
“Yeah, it’s me…” Selter reached out and gently tugged the blindfold. It slowly fell away from the kitten’s eyes. Almost instantly he wished he hadn’t as Victor pegged him with the most sorrow-filled gaze of betrayal, those beautiful, green eyes filled with heavy tears. The eyes that only hours ago belonged to an innocent, carefree kitten now showed the same fear and pain and confusion that he felt. Those green eyes seemed to have aged from seven to seventeen to seventy.
Victor stared up at the older tom, his knees pressed to his chest as he waited for Selter to hurt him. How could Selter have betrayed him like that? Have hurt him and then left him alone to endure the cruel torture of his three friends? But the hurt did not come.
“Are… are you all right?” Selter asked gently, kneeling down next to the frightened kit.
Victor whimpered, his ears plastered to his head. “Can… can I go home now?” His voice was thick with tears, hoarse from screaming, and barely understandable through the blood and other things that still lingered at the corners of his mouth.
Selter sighed and leaned his head against the cement wall, gazing at the kitten with remorseful eyes. “Not… not yet…”
“When?” Victor croaked, then turned aside and retched, but he had nothing left in his stomach to get rid of.
“I… I don’t know,” Selter admitted.
Victor began to cry tearlessly, not having any tears left in him either. “Why are you all hurting me?” he asked painfully, looking Selter straight in the eyes. The brown eyes held the green for a moment before Selter forced himself to look away, tears blinding him. Victor watched him a moment, then sighed and shifted painfully. His arms were numb behind his back, and every muscle he had hurt as if he had been hit by a truck.
Selter gently reached behind Victor. “Here, hold still.” The kitten froze as Selter struggled a moment, then succeeded in undoing the knot, and Victor’s arms were freed. “There… At least… you’re not tied up now…”
As soon as he was free, Victor pulled his knees closer to his chest, hugging them tightly. He began to rock himself back and forth, trying to comfort himself, to stop the pain that seemed to be spreading from between his legs to the rest of his body. He felt so dirty. His fur was encrusted with sweat that made him cold. He was bleeding, but from where, he was unsure. He slowly turned his gaze up to Selter, and a moment later, smiled a bit, the first smile since earlier that afternoon. “Th… thank you,” he said softly.
Selter smiled too, a real, genuine smile. “You’re welcome, kid.” He ever so slowly reached over and brushed Victor’s sweat-soaked fur out of his eyes. “You look horrible…”
“I feel horrible too,” Victor said softly.
Selter nodded slowly. “I… I know…”
Victor suddenly shifted just a tiny bit so he could lay his cheek on Selter’s chest. Selter stared down at him in surprise. He was so trusting, even when he had hurt him… He ever so slowly, so as not to scare him, put his arms around him and pulled him closer in a big brother hug. Victor nestled into it, needing the comfort in whatever way it could come.
“Aw, how cute,” came a voice from the doorway. The two looked up in terror. Lanceney stood in the doorway watching them. Victor gasped and curled closer to Selter.
“Don’t let him hurt me,” he pleaded, looking up at Selter with wide, scared eyes.
“Shh. I won’t.” Selter gave him a gentle squeeze, then stood up, planting himself in front of the frightened kitten. “What do you want, Lanceney?”
“Came to find you.”
“Why?”
“Just to make sure you weren’t doing anything stupid, like letting him go.”
“Lance, you’ve had your fun, okay? I think it’s time we let him go home.” He felt a tiny arm grip his leg, just below his knee, and took a small comfort that the kitten trusted him.
Lanceney, however, didn’t seem to like that request. “Let him go home? What kind of stupid mother f------ are you? We can’t let him go now.”
“But… but you said-.”
“You wouldn’t have gone along with it if I said otherwise.”
“But… Lanceney… what are you going to do with him?”
Lanceney shrugged one slender shoulder carelessly. “Keep him around a while. We’ll get rid of him later on.”
“But-.”
“But nothing, Selter. We can’t have him go talking to the police.”
Victor began to cry. Selter darted over to Lanceney and hissed. “You bastard! He’s just a kit!”
Lanceney’s yellow eyes seemed to darken. “You’re out of line, Selter. I suggest you get back in your place before something really bad happens.”
Selter glanced over at Victor, whose whole body was shaking in terror, then back at Lanceney. “I think you’re the one out of line, Lanceney. You let Victor go now, or I cut out. It’s not worth it.”
The next few seconds seemed to move in slow motion. Lanceney’s hand went behind his back while his other hand grabbed Selter’s shoulder. Victor’s eyes widened as Lanceney suddenly whipped out his switchblade, and, before either of them could react, had buried it up to the handle in Selter’s stomach.
Selter’s eyes widened in shock, and he seemed to freeze in Lanceney’s grip. “No!” Victor screamed, struggling to his feet, but his legs wobbled, and he collapsed again.
Lanceney pulled the switchblade free sharply, and Selter dropped to his knees, both hands pressed tightly against his stomach, trickles of red starting to ooze between his fingers. He didn’t seem to be able to focus on anything. Victor somehow found an ounce of strength and raced over to Selter, but he didn’t dare touch him, unsure of what to do.
Lanceney smirked as Selter’s brown eyes turned to him. “I warned you, Selter. Now your little f--- toy gets to watch you die. On your knees, where you belong.”
Victor’s eyes were full of tears, and he began to sob again. Selter’s eyes closed in pain a moment before he looked over at Victor, his eyes filled with hot tears. “I… I’m…” He had to swallow. “I’m sorry, V… Victor…”
Victor threw his arms around Selter and held him tight. “You can’t die! You can’t!” he sobbed. Selter’s eyes were glazing over as he looked up at Victor with sad, scared eyes. In those eyes, Victor could see the fear, the pain, the humiliation, the same things he had been feeling all afternoon in the deep brown. He held Selter tightly to himself, and, a moment later, Selter’s body went limp. Victor screamed and buried his face in Selter’s chest, sobbing.
Lanceney looked on with a disgusted look. “Oh, come off it, kit. Trash like that isn’t worthy to live.”
Victor’s eyes burned hate as he looked up at the older tom. How could anyone have such little disregard for a life? He had Selter’s blood staining the fur on his hands, the blood on the switchblade… It didn’t seem real, but it was. It all seemed like some horrible nightmare. All he could do was force himself to breathe, his hands still gripping the fur of the dead teen tightly, as if holding onto him long enough would bring him back.
Lanceney smirked, pocketing the knife, then turned to Victor with a horrible smile he wouldn’t soon forget. “Wanna play, kitten?”
Victor’s eyes went wide, and he scrambled to his feet, his heart racing, the blood pounding in his ears. He whimpered softly, backing away from the tomcat, his hands up in front of him to protect himself, but he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance. Lance moved closer to him, grabbing his hands and forcing his arms down by his side as his mouth sealed over Victor’s in a hot, penetrating kiss. Victor felt his head going light, as if he were about to throw up and pass out at the same time. Lance’s hand went for Victor’s jeans-
“Lance!” came a call from the door. Lanceney turned to see both Colt and Larsen in the doorway. “You ain’t gonna believe this. Someone reported this place to the police. They’re circling the block. We gotta get out of here! Now!”
Lanceney growled and glanced down at Victor whose green eyes were wide. With a hiss, he gave Victor a blow to the cheek that sent the kitten reeling backwards across the room. He smacked his head on the hard cement wall. The world swam before his eyes, and the world went black…
Plato gave Victor a soft nudge with his knee to wake him up. Victor shot up with a scream and landed in Plato’s arms, sobbing. Surprised but prepared, Plato caught him and held him close, letting him cry, rubbing his back and head gently with a paw.
All of a sudden, the door opened, and Victor’s father peered inside. Immediately his dark eyes grew darker in stony anger as he saw Plato kneeling on the bed, Victor nestled into his arms. Plato looked over at him and nodded respectfully despite the awkward situation of his boyfriend crying in his arms while his father looked on. “Sir.”
He didn’t respond, moving further into the room. “Victor, may I speak with you? Alone?” he emphasized.
Victor whimpered softly and looked up at Plato with scared eyes. Plato gave him a gentle hug. “Go on. It’s okay. I’ll be right here. Go.” He gave Victor a slight push towards the door. Victor whimpered and clung tighter to him. “Vic… Let go…”
“No…”
“Vic, it’s okay. Let go. I’ll be right here.”
Victor pushed himself up and pressed his mouth to Plato’s in a pleading kiss. Ignoring the growl from the tomcat in the door, Plato wrapped his arms around the shivering teen in his arms and held the soft kiss, stroking Victor’s cheek gently.
“Victor,” his father growled. “Now.”
Victor broke the embrace and slid off the bed to head over to his father’s side. Plato stayed wisely in place on the bed. Victor looked up at his dad. “What?” His father put a hand on his shoulder and steered him out of the room, closing the door behind him.
His father couldn’t have looked more disgusted if he had caught them in a sexual situation. “That was very uncalled for.”
Victor glared angrily into his father’s eyes, only two inches shorter than him. “No one asked you.”
“Watch your mouth.”
Victor glared and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want?”
“What is that boy doing here?”
“I invited him over. Mom said I could.”
“But I didn’t.”
“I don’t need your permission.”
“While you’re in my house, you’ll do what I say.”
“Fine! I’m leaving!” Victor grabbed the door handle, but his father placed a hand on the door to stop him.
“You’ll do no such thing!”
“Try and stop me!” Victor yowled, his green eyes dangerous. He forced the door open and slammed it hard, locking it securely. He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to calm his nerves before he turned to Plato who was silent on the bed.
“Maybe I should go home,” Plato said slowly.
“No,” Victor said, shaking his head. “No. Don’t let him tell you what to do.”
Plato nodded and shifted uneasily on the bed. “Vic, I… I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve tried everything I can do to win over your dad, but he seems downright against me.”
Victor nodded and sat down next to him, curling into Plato’s arms. “Plato… can we run away together?”
Plato smiled and hugged him. “We’re still in high school, Vic.”
“I… I know…”
“You know you can run away to my house whenever you want,” Plato promised.
Victor nodded slowly. “I… I know…” All of a sudden he heard shouting downstairs between his parents and whimpered, curling into Plato’s arms. “I hate it when they argue about me.”
“Shh.” Plato kissed Victor’s temple lightly. “Don’t. It’s okay… We can sneak over to my house if you want.”
Victor nodded slowly. “Could we?”
Plato nodded. “Yeah. Come on.” He stood up and grabbed Victor’s backpack. Victor shoved an extra pair of clothes into it, and the two slid down the stairs and out the front door, keeping their eye on the kitchen where his parents were still yelling. They slid out the front door, closing it silently, and heading for Plato’s house.
“That’ll be my parents,” Victor sighed as Plato’s phone rang loudly, disrupting the silence in Plato’s room where the two were sitting and had been sitting for the last half hour.
Plato nodded. “Do you want to answer it or me?”
“You…”
“Okay.” Plato picked up the buzzing phone. “Hello?” After a moment he sighed angrily. “Of course he’s over here. He’s perfectly fine.”
“Lemme talk,” Victor pleaded, reaching for the phone. Plato silently handed him the phone. Victor swallowed and pressed it to his ear. “Dad?”
“That was stupid, running out like that.”
“What was I supposed to do? You and Mom were fighting, you didn’t want Plato over, so we went somewhere where we could be safe.”
“You get your tail home this minute!”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“No. I’ll come home tomorrow after school.”
“No, now!”
“No. Tomorrow!” Victor slammed the phone down into its cradle hard enough that it produced a feeble half-ring. Victor pulled his knees to his chest, burying his face in his knees, rocking slowly back and forth in what Plato recognized as a nervous habit.
“Vic…” Plato slid his arms around the younger tom, stopping the rocking and pulling Victor’s dark head to his chest. Victor began to sob, shivering in Plato’s arms. “Vic, don’t. Don’t cry. Come on. Look at me.” Victor shook his head. “Look at me,” Plato said, his voice soft but firm. He touched Victor’s chin and tilted the tear-streaked face to him. Green eyes met brown. “Vic, it’s all right. Shh now.”
Victor blinked back tears that prickled his eyes. The tip of his tongue traced over his dry lips as he gazed into Plato’s eyes. He blinked again, pushing back the tears that were still there, and forcing a small smile.
“That’s good. Feeling better now?”
Victor nodded slowly. “S… Screw them.”
“That’s my boy.” Plato grinned down at him.
Victor grinned back. He rubbed his head under Plato’s chin with a soft purr. “Plat… can we play?”
“Would it make you feel better?”
Victor nodded slowly. Plato smiled and laid Victor gently back against the mattress, his head at the foot of the bed. Victor purred softly and closed his eyes.
Teazer rang Tugger’s doorbell at precisely 6:30 that evening. She had gone home only long enough to collect all her clothes and anything she had wanted to take along with her when she and Jerrie ran away tomorrow. She did not intend to go home again.
Less than three seconds after the ring had sounded, Tugger opened the door, beaming Teazer his 220 watt smile. “Hey babe. Come on in.”
Teazer reluctantly left the safety of the doorway and entered Tugger’s house. “Tugger, I… I don’t know if this is such a good idea…”
“Let me take your coat,” Tugger offered, ignoring her uncertainty.
Teazer slowly slid out of her sky blue windbreaker and handed it to him. Setting her backpack on the floor, she looked around uneasily. Tugger hung the coat in the coat closet and put his arm around her. She looked up at him, only coming up to the middle of his chest. He smiled down at her, his arm snaking just a bit lower than she would have preferred, but she didn’t move away.
Tugger led her into the living room and sat down on the couch. Teazer sat next to him. Tugger smiled gently at her. “You look like you have something on your mind.”
Teazer shook her head slowly. “Not really.” She arched her back as Tugger’s hand traced lightly down her spine. “Ahh,” she groaned softly as a sensual shiver ran through her body. She turned to him with shy eyes. Tugger smiled at her. She smiled back and slowly sank into his arms. She needed to be held. Tugger’s arms went around her, enveloping her in their safety. She began to purr softly, rubbing her cheek on Tugger’s chest. Tugger slowly pressed his lips to hers, his whiskers brushing her face. Teazer smiled and kissed him back. In the back of her head, she heard Jerrie’s words from his note: Stay out of trouble. I know you will. You’re not like other queens. But Jerrie was gone now. She had to make herself happy. And Tugger could do that. He could make her forget her crummy life and give her some happiness. She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering. “Tugger, I… I want you to.” She knew he knew what she meant.
Tugger looked down at her. “Are you sure?”
Teazer nodded. “Yes, I’m sure.”
Tugger grinned and stood up. He lifted Teazer up by her wrists. “Come on.”
Teazer got to her feet and let him lead her up the stairs and into his room. It was very, very clean, as if he had just cleaned it before she came. Teazer slowly sat down on the bed and watched Tugger. He closed the door and locked it securely. Teazer felt a shiver in her body, but she ignored it. Tugger touched the light switch, and the lights dimmed to a soft glow. Teazer smiled a bit. Tugger crossed to her side and sat down next to her.
Whistles, red flags, neon signs, the whole works, lit up inside Teazer’s head. Remember what Jerrie said! You don’t want to get hurt! Tugger won’t care about you once it’s over! But she ignored it. She was going to forget her life right now.
Tugger slowly leaned over her, his arms resting lightly on her hips. His face lowered to hers. “You’re trembling. Are you scared?”
Teazer nodded slowly, ashamed. She didn’t even know what she was afraid of.
“Do you want to stop?” Tugger asked gently, as kindly as any gentleman.
Teazer swallowed. A chance to say no. A chance to go home. Home. Home to an empty, lonely bedroom and a drunk, demanding, angry father. Where as here, in Tugger’s comfortable, inviting room, warm in his embrace, she didn’t have to be afraid or lonely. She shook her head slightly. “No. No, I don’t want to stop.” But the shivering remained.
“Do you want a blanket?” Tugger asked, sliding off of her and pulling lightly at the bedspread under them.
“S… sure,” Teazer agreed, hoping her shivering would stop under his blankets. She sat up and let Tugger pull the blankets out from under her. As he lifted his paw up, he let it trail ever so lightly over Teazer’s cheek, brushing her sensitive whiskers. Teazer gasped and leaned slightly away. Tugger pulled back.
“You all right?”
Teazer nodded, ashamed. “Yeah. I… I’m just not… not used to… to these feelings.”
“Here,” Tugger said, holding out his arms to hold her. Teazer melted into his arms and held him tight. Tugger held Teazer gently and rubbed her back soothingly. Teazer softly began to purr and settled her cheek on Tugger’s shoulder, closing her eyes and letting him rub her tired back.
Tugger slowly laid her back against the soft pillows. Teazer was surprised how large and plump and soft Tugger’s pillows were. She snuggled back against them, resting her fists next to her head and trying to relax.
Tugger rested next to her and pulled his blankets over them both, curling next to her. He was so warm. Teazer cuddled closer to him and closed her eyes. “Mmm,” she purred softly.
Tugger smiled and ran his fingertips over Teazer’s chin. “You are so beautiful.”
Teazer blushed and realized she was no longer trembling. “Th… thank you.”
“You’re blushing. Hasn’t anyone ever told you that before?”
“Just my brother…”
Tugger smiled and gently leaned in and touched his mouth to hers. Teazer started to pull away, but his touch was so kind, his movements so gentle, that she found herself captive to his kiss, kissing him back and running a paw through his curly head fur.
Tugger held the kiss and slowly slid his paw up under her shirt. Teazer whimpered and shifted slightly, delighting in his touch. Tugger reached for her jeans, and Teazer closed her eyes, panting softly in anticipation. It wasn’t going to be like her dad. This would feel good, and she would know that she was loved. She felt his hand slide down inside her pants, and she purred softly, content to let him do whatever he wanted.
The last few weeks had been torture for poor Etcetera. She had no appetite. She couldn’t sleep at night. Her stomach twisted all the time. She threw up almost every single morning before she left for school. She thought she was getting fat. She thought she was gaining weight.
Electra tried to comfort her friend, but Etcetera would not be comforted easily. She was distant except when she wanted Electra’s nighttime company. Days passed, several weeks passed. Etcetera grew more and more nervous by the day. She couldn’t be pregnant. She just couldn’t… But, that Friday morning, she woke up, and it was over. All over. She had no reason to worry. No pregnancy, no kitten. Just the feeling of relief. Etcetera didn’t think she’d ever been happier for her period to come.
Rumpleteazer stuffed Mungojerrie’s note in her jean pocket as she pushed open the door of the school. He said he would be waiting by her locker before school… Her backpack was unusually heavy, but she hardly felt it. She didn’t have a lot she wanted to take along: just a few articles of clothing and her picture book.
Teazer checked the hall clock as she passed it. 8:15. Fifteen minutes before school started. She ran up a flight of stairs. What if he wasn’t there? What if something had happened to him? What if he had forgotten her? She knew she was being silly. Jerrie would never abandon her…
She turned a corner, and there he was, leaning against her locker, waiting for her just like he had said. He looked up at her and smiled, his orange and red fur seeming to glow. Teazer froze in her spot, a tiny smile making its way to her face. “Jerrie?”
Jerrie smiled and nodded, holding out his arms to her. In four steps, Teazer had crossed to his side and fell into his embrace, purring as his warm arms enveloped her tiny body. She buried her face in his shoulder, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. Jerrie held her tightly, his cheek resting on her head. There was no need for words. They both knew what the other was thinking as they stood in the quiet hallway.
Finally Teazer pulled away and looked up into her brother’s face. “Jerrie, I…”
Jerrie traced a finger down her cheek. “Are you okay, Teazer? Did dad hurt you at all?”
Teazer shook her head and swiped furiously at the tears in her eyes. “No. No, Jerrie, he didn’t hurt me. I’m okay.”
Jerrie smiled and hugged her again. Teazer looked back up at him, tears gone. “Where… where did you go?”
Jerrie shrugged. “Nowhere, really. I spent Wednesday night in the tree house.”
Teazer’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you tell me, Jer? I woulda come!”
“I didn’t want you to come,” Jerrie said gently, then paused as several students walked by. He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “I didn’t want you to be there, Tea.”
“Why not?” Teazer demanded, feeling hurt.
Jerrie touched her cheek gently. “Teazer, I needed to think. Also I didn’t want dad to follow you if you left. Please don’t be mad at me.”
Teazer nearly melted at his kind touch. “I… I’m not mad, Jer.” She was silent a moment, then asked softly, “Where were you last night?”
“The YMCA. They have a room to sleep in if you need a place to stay. Doesn’t cost much either.”
Teazer hugged him again. “Can we stay there?”
“For tonight. Tomorrow though, we’re gonna find somewhere else to go.”
Teazer held him tightly. He cared for her so much…
“What did you do while I was gone?”
“Well…” Teazer thought carefully. “Wednesday, I just stayed home and cried up in my room for while. Last night I went…” She wanted to tell him about Tugger, but she knew he’d be extremely upset for going against his words. He didn’t like Tugger, it was obvious. “I… I went to the park, then went home.”
“And you’re sure you’re okay? You can tell me anything, Teazer.”
Teazer wanted to cry. She wanted to tell him, but the thought of seeing him angry at her was not what she wanted. Besides, she was fine. Nothing hurt, she didn’t feel sick. “Yes. Yes, I’m fine, Jer. I am.”
Jerrie smiled and gave her a gentle squeeze. “Good. I’m glad you’re okay.”
Teazer tried to smile back, but her face felt frozen. Jerrie released Teazer as the hallway suddenly began to fill with students. “Get to class. I’ll see you at lunch.”
“You get to class too,” Teazer reminded him.
Jerrie grinned mischievously. “I will. I have a few things to do first.”
“Need any help?” Teazer asked softly.
Jerrie shook his head. “Not this time.” He held out his hand to her. “Partners in crime?”
“Forever,” Teazer promised, wrapping her thumb around his and squeezing gently. Jerrie held her paw a moment, then released her.
“Get to class now. Everything will be fine. Don’t worry.”
A job well done, Mungojerrie silently congratulated himself. It was only five minutes before school, and he had already dumped ink all over Old Deuteronomy’s semester notes, toilet-papered the faculty bathroom, and was now in the process of scribbling all over some of the freshman lockers with charcoal. They would know it was him, but he didn’t care. It wouldn’t matter ever again. They were getting out, and they weren’t coming back. Ever. Where they would go, he wasn’t sure yet, but they would leave London. They had enough money to find themselves somewhere to stay until they could get on their own feet.
Jerrie gave the locker one more charcoal streak, then stuffed the charcoal into his back pocket of his jeans. He turned, heading for class, then froze as Old Deuteronomy came storming out of his office, blocking his path. “Mungojerrie!”
“What?” Jerrie asked, playing it innocent.
Old Deuteronomy raised a brow and held out a pile of papers streaked with black ink. “Do you know anything about this? Up until some prankster got a hold of them, they were my schedules for next semester.”
Jerrie shook his head. “Dunno anything about it, sir.”
“Macavity hasn’t shown up yet, and Teazer is in class, so you are the only logical suspect.”
“Maybe it was someone new,” Jerrie suggested, carelessly shrugging one shoulder.
Deuteronomy sighed. “I’m keeping my eye on you, Mungojerrie. Get to class.” He turned to the office to get some more schedules printed. Jerrie headed for the senior lockers.
He had just completed his handiwork on the senior lockers when he heard someone coming. He stuffed the charcoal into his pocket just as Old Deuteronomy rounded the corner, his face red with anger. Evidently he had found the faculty bathroom. “Mungojerrie, did you-” He stopped short when he saw the lockers. He turned to the calico teen. “Did you do this to school property?”
“No, sir,” Jerrie said with perfected innocence.
Old Deuteronomy raised a brow. “Oh really? Let me see your hands.”
Jerrie’s smile faded, and he quickly thrust his hands behind his back.
Old Deuteronomy watched him carefully. “Let’s see them. Right now,” he ordered again. Jerrie slowly, shamefully, held out his paws, coated with fresh coal dust as well as dried spots of ink. Old D sighed. “I suspected as much. Mungojerrie, it’s too early in the school year for you to be acting like this. Come with me.” He put a paw on the adolescent’s shoulder to prevent him from running. Jerrie followed him, numb to anything other than uncaring. Another suspension. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to come back to serve it.
He let the older cat lead him into his office. He stood just in the doorway until the principal gave him a nudge forward. The door closed, and he was trapped. “Sit down,” Old Deuteronomy commanded in a soft but firm tone that clearly said I-won’t-yell-it’s-too-early-to-yell.
He sat down stiffly on the edge of one of the leather chairs in front of Old Deuteronomy’s massive desk as Old D took his spot behind it.
“Now,” he said when he had settled down. “Tell me what else you’ve done today that I should know about.”
Well, it wouldn’t matter after tonight, so no point in holding back. He would find out anyway. “Toilet-papered the faculty bathroom… scribbled on the freshman lockers…”
“Hmm, didn’t see that one yet. And my schedules?”
“And your schedules.”
“Mungojerrie… It’s only November.”
“Yeah…”
“It’s too early in the school year for you to be vandalizing school property… again…”
Jerrie stayed silent. Old D rubbed his temples with his paws. “I suppose I have to punish you…” He sighed softly. “After school, you’ll scrub the lockers, clean the faculty bathroom, and help Grizabella in the office.”
“Okay,” Jerrie agreed, absently fiddling with the collar of his shirt, his natural reaction when he got in trouble. He wouldn’t be here after school. He and Teazer were leaving, and no one would stop them.
“I’ve been pretty tolerant of your antics up to this point, Mungojerrie, but this can’t go on,” Old Deuteronomy continued. He reached for his phone. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to call your dad.”
“No!” Jerrie yelped suddenly, scrambling forward to grab Old D’s paw, trapping the phone underneath both their paws. Old D looked surprised. Shocked at his own behavior, Jerrie slowly let go of him and sat meekly back down in his seat, surprised by his own sudden reaction.
Old D’s hand was frozen on the phone as he gazed at the teen with confused eyes. Jerrie swallowed, his red ears pressing against his skull in humble fear. “Please…” he said softly, lowering his eyes to his lap. “Please don’t call my dad.” If he did, his dad would find him. Their plans of escape would be ruined, and more than likely he’d be dead. He instinctively rubbed his right arm on the inside of it.
“Why not?” Old D asked, but his voice was soft and gentle.
“Just… just please don’t…”
“I can’t allow this sabotage to continue every school day,” Old D said firmly. “If you won’t listen to me, perhaps you will listen to your father. I think he needs to know.”
“No! No, please!” Jerrie pleaded, looking up at Old D with teary, brown eyes. He rubbed his arm again.
Old D’s eyes suddenly narrowed as he gazed into Jerrie’s face. He stood up, towering over the sitting tom who cowered. He moved closer to the trembling teen cat and slowly reached down to touch Jerrie’s face. Jerrie shied away from the touch. He blinked ashamedly and looked back at Old Deuteronomy. Old Deuteronomy tried again, gently cupping Jerrie’s chin in his paw and tilting his face towards the light. His other hand reached up and slowly brushed the fur back from Jerrie’s right eye. Underneath the soft, red fur was an ugly purple and yellow bruise, the remnant of the black eye he had received on Wednesday. “Jerrie, what happened here?”
“Got in a fight,” Jerrie mumbled.
“With whom?”
“A Pollicle.” Pollicle High was the biggest rival of Jellicle High, and it was not uncommon that the dogs would pick fights with the cats. Jerrie rubbed his arm again.
Now that he was looking closer, under Jerrie’s soft, calico fur, there was an assortment of bruises and several scars on Jerrie’s face. Up by his temples, there were several finger-sized bruises that looked like someone had tried to crush his skull. There was a deep scar under his right eye that did not have any fur on it, but it was covered by the surrounding fur. There was a welt on his left cheek that looked like it had been created by a leather object. Old D touched the bruises on Jerrie’s temples gently. “This looks like cat fingers from the shape of them, Jerrie.”
“It was a fight,” Jerrie insisted bluntly, but tears stung his dark eyes. He rubbed his arm once again, then suddenly stopped, but too late for Old D not to notice.
“Jerrie, what’s wrong?” He reached for Jerrie’s arm, but Jerrie yanked it away, holding it protectively to his chest. “Jerrie, it’s all right. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Just then the bell rang to signify the beginning of the school day. Jerrie tried to leap up, but Old D held him down gently.
“I’ll be late,” Jerrie mewed.
“I’ll give you a pass.” Old Deuteronomy moved his eyes from Jerrie’s arm. “Are you trying to hide something from me?” Jerrie nodded slowly. “Are you scared?” He nodded again. “Jerrie, if you tell me, I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you. I want to help you, all right?” Jerrie’s ears flattened against his head again. “I’ll help you if you tell me what’s wrong.”
Jerrie hesitated, then slowly held out the arm he had been protecting. Old Deuteronomy carefully turned it over and undid the one button on the cuff of the flannel shirt. He slowly pushed it up to Jerrie’s elbow, then stared at what he saw.
From Jerrie’s wrist to his elbow was a long, deep scar where no fur grew any longer. The scar looked old, about four years or so. “Jerrie, what…?”
Jerrie held back a sob, but he sniffed loudly, his eyes full of tears. Old D gently turned Jerrie’s arm over and gasped. The back of Jerrie’s arm had multiple scars and welts, ugly bruises, and what looked like a rope burn around his wrist. “Mungojerrie, this isn’t just a fight. What happened here?”
Jerrie whimpered softly. Old D slowly knelt down next to him on shaky knees. “Jerrie, look at me.” The young tom hesitated, then forced himself to look into the principal’s eyes. In that look, Old D could see pain and fear unlike anything he had ever seen before. “Jerrie, tell me who did this to you. I’ll help you. I promise.”
Jerrie whimpered and shook his head slowly. “No.”
“I won’t tell anyone else, I swear. I will help you, if you just tell me what happened.”
Jerrie hesitated a moment before ever so slowly opening his mouth, his two words more of a gasp then anything. “My dad.”
The principal’s eyes went wide with surprise. “Your father did this to you?”
Ashamed, Jerrie nodded slowly, ears plastered to his head, not looking up at the kindly, old cat. Old Deuteronomy was silent a moment, breathing deeply, before he pushed himself up to his feet. “I’m going to call the police.”
Jerrie’s eyes went wide with fear. “No… My dad will hurt me if he found out I told…”
“Shh. If the police have him, he won’t be able to hurt you. Don’t worry.”
Well, he had a point. Jerrie nodded unwillingly. “You… you promise you won’t let him hurt me?”
“Promise. But you need to cooperate with me, okay?”
“Okay…”
“Jerrie, does your dad hit Teazer too?”
Jerrie hesitated. “No… No, he was usually pretty nice to her… Until he…”
“He what?”
“He… He raped her.”
“He what?” Deuteronomy almost yelled, then quickly chided himself when Jerrie almost leaped out of his fur. Lowering his voice again, he gave Jerrie’s hand a soft squeeze. “Your dad raped Rumpleteazer?”
Jerrie nodded slowly, tears gliding down his cheeks that had suddenly gone pale beneath his orange fur. “Yeah…”
“Jerrie, do… do you think Teazer might be pregnant by your father?”
“N… No… She had her period…”
Old D nodded slowly. “Good. That’s a blessing, at least… How long ago was this?”
“Like three weeks ago…”
“Only three weeks? Dear sweet Heavyside, Jerrie, you should have come to me! I would have helped you!”
“I… I didn’t know…”
“Shh, I understand. I’m going to call the police to come here and talk to you, all right?”
“O… Okay… Teazer…”
“I’ll call her down here to be with you, all right? She’ll need to talk to them too.”
“Okay.”
“Come on. You can lie down on the cot in the next room until the police come. Just rest.” Old Deuteronomy gently helped Jerrie to his feet. “Everything will be all right. I promise.” He led the teen on shaky legs into the next room and helped him lay down on the cot, pulling a clean, white sheet over him. “Just rest now. I’ll go call your sister down.”
Jerrie nodded weakly and closed his eyes. Old Deuteronomy headed for his office to call the police. Heavyside, give me strength. Give him strength. I made him a promise to protect him, and I will. I won’t let anyone hurt him. Ever again.
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