The War of Love and Death

IV

Kanitha

For the past few days, Anastasia and I have given the cat a bath, taken him to the vet for checkups, bought cat food and we legally adopted him. Surprisingly, he’s a very healthy cat and there was nothing wrong with him so we didn't have to worry about much. We decided to name him Theodore because of his green and brown eyes. It just matches him so well, we just knew that the name was meant for him.

As of right now, Theodore and I are in the paint room in the house, painting obviously. I allow the paintbrush flow against the canvas as every little brushstroke leaves a trail of paint and as it builds up, it forms Thedore. In the painting, there's a dark bookshelf behind him and he is sitting in the center staring right at us, his eyes glowing with a sense of wonder but darkness in them and his two tails behind him. 

Lately, there has been tension in the house. Stasia has been worried because of the incident, she’s trying to distract herself in any way she can so she has returned to cleaning the house until she tires herself out. I feel a bit bad for not being able to do much but my words are doing very little to comfort her. She’s hoping that they never noticed what has happened but she knows that those chances are very low. While she has been worried, I’ve been feeling at peace.

The days have gone by beautifully and lately, it all has just been feeling so peaceful. Today, however, I’m tense. Something just doesn’t feel right today. I’ve been trying to distract myself with painting or reading but this feeling is so strong, I can’t even let my guard down in my own home. Once I was done putting the finishing touches on Thedore’s portrait, I grabbed some dark brown paint that is safe for animals and I held Theodore in my arms trying to maneuver his arms as best as I could to dip his paws into the paint and leave his little mark at the bottom of the painting.

I want people to think that he was the one who painted it even though as silly as it sounds, I know our friends will go along with the joke and some may be stupid enough to believe it. The painting looks so beautiful, while I allowed that to dry I got up and took my paintbrushes and Theodore walked towards the connected bathroom. I turn on the light and set the paintbrushes down. I look into the mirror with Adore in my arms, I also thought that Adore would be a good nickname for me considering that Theo just felt too basic as a nickname.

We both looked into the mirror and I started doing different poses making myself laugh and he seemed happy. I think this is my first time seeing a cat smile, probably online I have, it's usually just them being chaotic but Adore seems like such a calm kitty. After our cleanup, we head downstairs to see Stasia making dinner. “You okay” I asked her, it’s not out of the ordinary for her to be making dinner but I know she’s been upset lately and I want to make sure that she’s okay and if she feels it too, not only that she just seems so distracted today. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She said while nodding her head 

“I just have a weird feeling about today but I’m probably just being paranoid” 

“As if there's something wrong with today right?” I asked her. “Exactly” she exclaimed “I feel like something bad is going to happen today” we said in unison, we looked at each other and started laughing. I took a deep breath “we’ll be fine, just make sure to pay attention to shit and if anything then you’re an angel and I have a gun” I told her with a smile on my face and shrugged. She laughs even more, I’m glad that I was able to calm her nerves a little even if it won’t last long. “Whatever happens I’m going to whoop their ass with my powers' ' Stasia stated. I was enjoying our conversation but the hunger was kicking in very hard and the food smells so good. “Whatchu making?” I try to get a peak of it from my seat since I’m too lazy to get up and Adore is sitting on my shoulder, he’s a very smart cat, I swear he can understand me. “I am making chicken alfredo pasta with broccoli and texas garlic bread and I was thinking about if I should make baked potato with bacon, cheese, sour cream and chives” My eyes widen when she said that, “Yes” I scream, she jumps in surprise, taken back at my outburst. I love potatoes with my heart, it is so amazing. “Want me to help?” I asked her as calmly as I could. “Yeah, can you just wash up the potatoes?” she asked me.

I set Adore down and went to grab the potatoes. Once I wash them up, I decide to just take over the potatoes and make them myself since she made the rest of the food. “Okay, I’m done. Do you need any help?” Stasia asked me. “Nah, I'm okay. Wanna put on a movie while I finish the potatoes” I asked her. I think it's funny because I’m not actually asking her. We’ll say things as a question but it's more of a statement than anything.

Stasia put some food out for Theodore and went to pick out a movie. I put the potatoes in the oven and grabbed my plate of food on the counter and headed towards the couch to eat with Stasia. I get myself settled on the couch across from her with my food on my lap and we begin our dinner while watching a movie

♤♤♤

I’m laying in my bed, reading a book with Adore beside me asleep. It is currently 1 in the morning and the feeling is back. There's someone watching me. I pretend to not notice and continue to read my book while reaching for the gun underneath my pillow. I feel my fingertips hitting the cold metal, I slightly lift my head so I can hold it in my hand.

Something I don’t understand is that my windows are locked and my curtains are closed so how are they watching me? Am I just being paranoid? I start to doubt myself but the feeling is too strong and right on time, Theodore woke up and he’s on high alert.
Thud My eyes shoot to the door, I slowly sit up and bring my gun out from underneath the pillow, taking the safety off and putting the silencer on.

If it's not Anastasia and I do end up shooting someone, I don’t need her to hear it. I slowly got up from my bed, walking towards the door. I had my gun held in my hands then suddenly I slammed into my wall, knocking the gun out of my hand, sliding across the floor. I quickly got up, trying to get the air back into my lungs, I turned around and someone punched me in the face.

I regain my composure and get into a fighting stance, swinging a fake right hook and hitting them with my left fist. I’m swinging my fist at his head repeatedly while he is covering. I send a hard hit to his lungs knocking the air out of him like what he did to me a moment ago. He moved his arm away from his head, taking my opportunity to give him an uppercut.

He swung his arm towards me and I ducked under it then dropped to the ground, hooking my leg to his, taking him to the ground. I quickly look for my gun seeing it a few feet away from me. I jump towards it but I feel something wrapped around my neck, pulling me back and starting to choke me.

I grab it with my hands, trying to pull it forward to stop the choking but he’s too strong. I try to get up, barely standing. I ran backwards pushing him into the wall behind us beside my small table. He barely loosened his grip on me. I reached my left hand under my table, grabbing the dagger that I keep taped underneath it and stabbed him, twisting the knife. He screamed out in agony, I pulled out the knife, raising it and bringing it down, stabbing him repeatedly.

I elbowed him in the side, taking a step forward and swinging the knife towards his throat until another person pulled my arm back, holding me against their body and holding a cloth to my nose and mouth. I hold my breath, not breathing in the chloroform. I try to maneuver my hand to try and stab the person holding onto me but it's useless, instead I just jerk my body around, trying to fight them off until the person that I stabbed, punched me hard in the stomach forcing me to take a deep breath of the chemical that will soon be knocking me out.

I will not be giving up so easily though. I continue to try and fight before the drug starts kicking in and so will the dizziness. I can’t let them win so easily but I fear that they have already. I can feel myself starting to black out and I can only hope that Stasia is safe.