The Story of the Beast with the Four Dirty Paws

Chapter Three

England, 2014
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Caleb!" Tala pounded on the door for the fifteenth time this morning. "Open the door! I'm not screwing around anymore! We're supposed to be training!" She yelled frustratedly.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Caleb had been acting really weird lately. Not weird in a good way, either. He wasn't goofy or silly or funny or anything. He'd been acting different. Drinking, messing around with girls, getting into a bunch of fights.. It started when he turned fourteen, and hadn't stopped yet. She couldn't help remembering all of the times he'd ignored her for another girl.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Tala heard footsteps coming and straightened up, clearing the thoughts from her head. It was not Caleb that answered the door, though.
⠀⠀⠀⠀It was Audrey, Caleb's girlfriend of the week. She was a pretty girl, with long blonde hair that was so light, it was nearly white. She had pale blue eyes and a face that would be miraculous had she not worn a snooty expression on it. She wore only Caleb's shirt, and her hair looked a bit messy at the moment, as if someone's hands were running through it for quite some time. Judging by the lack of clothes she wore, Tala supposed someone had.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh, it's you," Audrey sneered at her. Tala gave her one of her most impressive smiles, which was hard to do with the pang in her chest that made her want to wrap her hands around the other girl's throat and strangle her. "Where is Caleb?" She asked through gritted teeth.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Busy," she stated simply and began closing the door. Tala caught the door before it closed and held it open with one hand, "Alright, well now he isn't." She forced the door open and made her way inside, pushing her way past Audrey. She was practically fuming by now. He blew her off so he could go snog his girlfriend who would probably be gone by next week?
⠀⠀⠀⠀Audrey was right behind her, telling her to leave, but Tala could hardly hear her. Caleb's bedroom door was open, so she marched right inside. He was laying in the bed, topless and most likely bottomless as well. As soon as he heard her footsteps, he started talking, "Audrey, you're back. It's about time." He began sitting up but stopped halfway as he saw Tala. "Lowell!" His voice cracked a little when he yelled. "W-what are you doing here?" He was holding the covers up to his chest, trying to make sure he wasn't exposed to her.
⠀⠀⠀⠀She didn't really care, though. She was too pissed off at him to acknowledge how naked he was. "Caleb Adolph Connery, you are such a bastard! Do you think I want to be here? Because I don't! But someone is missing their training, and that someone is you!"
⠀⠀⠀⠀Caleb's face dropped from shock to guilt, "Lowell, I'm so sorry, I didn't-.." She held up a finger to cut him off, "Do not tell me you are sorry. It's not working anymore. You are not sorry. If you were sorry, you wouldn't do this. You'd take my loyalty a bit more seriously. I have tried so hard to be patient with you, Caleb, because you're my best friend, but I don't think I can stand this any longer." Tears were threatening to spill from her eyes and she blinked them back quickly. "Can you do me a favor? Get a new training partner, alright? And maybe take some lessons on being a better friend."
⠀⠀⠀⠀She spun on her heels and walked out the door. Audrey was standing there, looking as angry as she possibly could with that fake Barbie doll face of hers.
           "I apologize, why don't you go continue? Oh, and I hope you're using protection. Wouldn't want everyone knowing how much of a whore you are, right?" Tala shot daggers at Audrey as she walked past her.
⠀⠀⠀⠀As soon as she stepped out of the house, she broke into a run. She bolted for the forest and to the Clearing, where her brother was waiting for her. "Hey, where's Cal-" He stopped midway because she just stopped dead in her tracks and slowly sunk to the ground. She put her head in her hands, pulling at her hair and screaming loudly. "He is so bloody annoying! I hate him! I hate him so much!" Tears were streaming down her cheeks freely and her brother's eyebrows furrowed with worry.
⠀⠀⠀⠀He knelt down next to her and wrapping his arms around her, rubbing her arms in a soothing way. "Sh.. It's alright.. Stop crying.. And yelling.. Take deep breaths.." She did as he said and after a few long breaths, relaxed.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"He isn't training with us anymore. I refuse to look at him. Got it?" She sharply looked up at Amo, raising an eyebrow as if daring him to challenge her words. Amo shook his head, "You don't really want that, Tala. You're just upset. What did he do this time?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh, you know. He didn't answer the door for half an hour. And when the door finally opened, it wasn't even him. It was his slut of a girlfriend. They were having sex, and he didn't even know he was supposed to be here. Tell me, has our training schedule ever changed? Mondays and Fridays, every week. But somehow he managed to forget. Isn't that funny?" She laughed bitterly. "I don't understand what's going on with him. Why is he so.. So.."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Horny?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀"That works," she sighed, bringing her knees up to her chest. "You'd think he had the decency to come after me, you know?" Amo shrugged, "I don't think that would've been a good idea, and I believe he thought that as well. You'd probably have killed him. You do realize that you nearly yanked out your hair because you were so angry? If he'd followed, you'd probably have yanked out his heart."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh, like he's yanking out mine right now," Tala muttered under her breath.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Aha! I knew this wasn't just about training."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"What are you talking about?" She rolled her teary eyes at her brother. "Of course it's not just about training. He's my best friend, and I've been as loyal to him as ever, and all he's done is take advantage of that. He acts as if I shouldn't care about it, but I do. I care so fucking much.."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Because you love him," Amo remarked, looking at her carefully. Her face flushed into a deep shade of red, as she was quite taken aback. It also might've been because his words were true. She'd never admit that, though. "I do not. He's practically my brother. That would be wrong.. Don't say stuff like that, Amo."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"It wouldn't be wrong, Lala. He isn't really your brother," he murmured softly. "Now if you liked me..."
⠀⠀⠀⠀Tala laughed a little, punching his arm lightly. "As if I'd ever like you. You're my brother! Plus, I don't even understand how girl's who aren't related to you like you." Amo put his hand over his heart and pretended to be offended, "How rude! I am actually very likable."
⠀⠀⠀⠀She smiled at her brother, "How do you always manage to make me feel better?" He shrugged at her, "I'm gifted. Would you like me to go talk to Caleb? I'll tell him off for ditching us like this." She shook her head, "No, that's okay. I'd rather not talk about him at the moment."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"If you say so.." Her brother thought for a bit, but couldn't come up with anything. "Let's just go train now, alright?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀• • •
⠀⠀⠀⠀Tala changed into her PJs as soon as she got home. She wore white spandex shorts and a black sweatshirt that hung over her shoulder, and her hair was up in a sloppy bun. Since she was feeling upset, she told her mother she didn't think she was going to join them for dinner. She was currently sitting in her bedroom, eating ice cream straight out of the tub and reading.
⠀⠀⠀⠀The pages were tearstained, though, and the words hard to make out. She was so upset with Caleb, she had no clue what to do with herself. She knew that to anybody else it might look like she was over-exaggerating, but this was not the first time he had stood her up for one of his girlfriends. This was about the fiftieth time this month, and it was leaving her emotionally exhausted.
⠀⠀⠀⠀He was supposed to be her best friend. They were supposed to always be there for each other. And maybe, just maybe, she did love him as more than a friend. In every book she had read where to people of the opposite sex were friends, they had dated. She used to find it silly and cheesy, but now that she actually realized how easy it was to fall in love with a boy you knew well, she didn't blame any of those characters.
⠀⠀⠀⠀She sighed a little before shutting her book and staring up at the ceiling. Love sucks. Why can't it leave me out? She thought to herself.
⠀⠀⠀⠀She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a knock at her door. She thought it was just her mother asking if she was okay again, so she kept quiet in an attempt to make her think she was asleep. She only stood up when the knocking got harder. "Mum, I'm fine, I really don't need you to-.." She opened the door to see that it in fact was not her mother, but Caleb.
⠀⠀⠀⠀She flashed him a furious look before shutting the door again. The knocking started immediately and she yelled, "Go away! I don't want to talk to you!" The knocking stopped and she smiled, quite proud of herself for making him leave. She walked away from the door and as soon as she did so, it opened and Caleb stepped inside, locking it behind himself. "Tala, I really am sorry. Please hear me out."
⠀⠀⠀⠀She scowled at him, "What're you going to say?" She mocked his voice quite obnoxiously, "'Oh, I'm so sorry, Lowell. I was too busy snogging my girlfriend to show up to training today. I'll show up next time, I promise!'"
⠀⠀⠀⠀Caleb frowned at her, "No. I was going to say that I talked to Amo." Tala looked up at him, worried about what Amo might've said. Did he know that she liked him? "What did he tell you?" She asked softly.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"He told me how shitty I've been treating you. He told me that the way I've been acting is really upsetting you. And I just want to tell you that I'm really sorry. I'll try to pay more attention to the way I treat you. I can't promise you that I'm going to change my ways, but I can promise you that I will make time for you."
⠀⠀⠀"Oh," Tala said quietly. She was still upset with him. She still wanted to stab him multiple times. Though she appreciated that he was at least trying. "Okay."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Okay?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Okay. Alright. Fantastic. Want to leave now? You can go screw Aubrey some more. I don't care."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Tala," he was calling her by her first name again. This was not normal. "I just apologized. Aren't you going to at least say it's okay?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Why would I lie to you like that?" She looked at him incredulously. "I am not a liar. Caleb, you've upset me very much. All I have done is forgive and forget and get you out of trouble, and quite frankly I'm tired of it. I hate having to deal with this. You promise to make time for me, but you also promised you'd always be there for me. You broke that promise. How am I to trust that you'll keep this promise?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀Her 'best friend' sat there, mouth opening and closing as if trying to figure out what to say. "Well, I-.. I just.."
⠀⠀⠀⠀Tala was beginning to feel bad by now. Being rude and ignorant was not in her nature. Reluctantly, she looked at him, "Whatever. It's okay. I forgive you."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Thank the Moon," Caleb let out a relieved breath. "Now, were you crying?" He looked at her worriedly. She wiped her eyes quickly, "Oh, um.. My book was just sad. It's no big deal. Do you wanna go for a walk?" He didn't seem to believe her, but he still shrugged and murmured, "Sure. Let's go to the Lake. Nobody's there, and I just want to hang out with you for a while."
⠀⠀⠀⠀Her heart fluttered a little in her chest and she mentally scolded herself, but smiled at Caleb anyway, "Alright. Let me just put on some real pants." She slipped on a pair of sweatpants over her spandex and put on a pair of sandals before leading him out of her bedroom. "Mum, we're going to go hang out at the Lake if you need us," she called on the way outside.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀• • •
⠀⠀⠀⠀They neared the Lake in about fifteen minutes. Seating herself on the small dock, Tala rolled up her sweatpants legs and kicked off her sandals before putting her feet into the water. "Come on, Cal. Hurry up." She patted next to her. He sat down and she softly said, "I missed hanging out here with you. We haven't been hanging out at all lately besides training since you started getting with all of these girls."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"I know.. I'm sorry. I've been trying to get my mind off of a certain one."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"A certain what?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "A certain girl," he shrugged easily.
⠀⠀⠀⠀Her heart felt as if it was being squeezed and forced to stop pumping, and she coughed in surprise because she couldn't breathe properly. Caleb's eyes widened and he patted her back to make sure she was okay. "I'm fine, I'm fine.. Sorry. Um, who's the girl?" She inquired, trying to come off as just his curious best friend.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Ah, it doesn't matter. I don't really want to think about her like that, though. I don't believe she likes me very much," he mumbled. She couldn't help but feel a bit more eased at mind after hearing that. At least she didn't have to worry about him dating someone he actually liked. Knowing that was a selfish thought, she kicked herself in the knee before looking at him, "I'm sure she does." She almost mentioned how hard he was not to like, but she quickly stopped herself.
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Nah," he shrugged. "Anyway, what's your book about?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀They spent the rest of their time at the Lake talking about books and movies and what they'd been doing when they weren't talking, but the sun was now beginning to set so they were on their way home.
⠀⠀⠀⠀When they neared Tala's home, Caleb stopped her, "I don't want to say bye. I want to hang out still." She laughed a little, "You're acting like you did when we were little. I'll come talk to you tomorrow if it makes you feel better, Cal." She gave him a warm smile. "I missed that smile," he whispered softly.
⠀⠀⠀⠀She blushed a little and looked away, "I should probably get inside. I'm sure Dad's pissed by now. You know how he gets.." His expression fell and he nodded, "Oh.. Okay. I'll see you tomorrow?"
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Tomorrow."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"Alright. Later, Lowell."
⠀⠀⠀⠀"See you, Connery."