The kitten with more white fur than anything else steadied itself, ready to pounce. It eyed the five limbed monster in its path. It was as pale as the moonlight. The kitten waited a few seconds, biding its time. When the monster stopped twitching, the kitten pushed off, fresh claws extended, and landed directly onto the monsters back. The kitten squealed as the monster lifted into the air, pushing the kitten onto its back. The kitten tried to jump after but the nice giant the coexisted with the kitten, took care of the kitten, revealed itself.
With groggy eyes, Selene cursed, bringing her hand to herself and staring at the three little cuts on her palm. She couldn't even sleep without being attacked in her own home. She eyeballed the offender, the tiny kitten on the floor, and swung her legs off the couch to scare it away. The furball only attacked Selene's foot. Selene picked it up by the scruff of its neck and placed it on the couch. She figured it would take a while for the thing to gain the courage to jump back onto the floor. She was right. With that problem taken care of, Selene rubbed the sleep from her eyes and decided to keep that promise to herself that she made the night before. She was going to go out and bask in the sunlight.
After taking a quick shower, Selene dressed scantily in short shorts and a bikini top. If she was going to get a tan she'd need as much skin exposed as possible. She thought about simply going naked and setting up a lounge chair out back but that seemed bleak, so she opted for spending the day in the park.
The day was scorching. As she sat in her car, halfway to the park, Selene begun to rethink her choice to go out. What would she even do at the park? Sit there and look like a moron? She tapped her thumbs on the steering wheel and made up her mind. All she needed was an excuse to be out. So, turning into a shopping center, she parked her car in front of a bookstore. People still read at the park, right? She wished she could have just picked something up from home but it was too far now and she didn't feel like driving back.
There weren't many patrons inside the bookstore and the only person that acknowledged Selene was the young man shelving books in front of the store's window. Selene strolled the limited aisles, reading spines and observing covers. She didn't know what she wanted, or even what was good or popular. An annoying thought buzzed around Selene's mind and she tried to swat it away. She kept wanting to call Aviva and ask what she was reading, what she would recommend. Selene even brought out her phone, ready to call. She sighed and knew she shouldn't. Aviva had specifically said not to call, text, or anything else. Besides, it would be too soon- Aviva had only said those things two days before.
Not realizing she had already made a round of the aisles, Selene came out of her thoughts just as she stepped up to the store's counter. The young man who was stacking books in front of the window was now seated behind the counter, staring at Selene oddly.
"Can I help you?" he asked, noticing Selene wasn't holding anything to buy.
Selene blinked for a few seconds and managed a small smile. "I'm sorry. I came in here looking for a book but I have no idea which one. I just need something to read. Can you recommend something?"
The young man smiled warmly. "What are you in the mood for?"
"Something..." Selene tapped her chin. "Something scary, maybe funny, too. And otherworldly, not true life. I want to escape."
"Let me see." The man tapped at his computer for a minute, then stopped and stood. He beckoned Selene with a hand. "I think I know just the thing. I read it a while back and loved it. Maybe you'll like it." He led Selene around the store near the back, then stopped at one of the shelves lining the wall. He bent down and pulled out a dark green book then handed it to Selene.
"It's about a creature that has to take care of a wizards castle," the man explained as Selene studied the front cover of the book. "When the wizard dies, the beast tries its best to tend to the monsters and curses that fill the castle while simultaneously fighting off the forces of darkness. It's pretty funny."
Selene nodded. "Alright. I'll take it."
The worker was surprised. "Really? Oh. Okay." He jogged back to the front desk and waited for Selene to hand back the book. He scanned it, took Selene's money, scribbled two lines into the book when she wasn't looking, then gave her her purchase. He smiled and waved at her as she left.
With that taken care of, Selene could finally make it to the park, and have an excuse to be there. No one would have probably questioned her presence but she felt better knowing she had something to do. She took a seat on an empty bench near the fringe of the park then took out her new book. Scribbled on the inner cover was a name and number in blue ink. Selene figured it was the boy from the store, and she found herself annoyed. When did he even have the time to ruin the book? Selene was fairly certain she was watching the whole time. Then again, her mind wasn't really present. She sighed and wished he had at least written in pencil so the scribbles could be removed. She was never going to call him. She didn't want to nor did she think she'd ever want to. Her annoyance slowly rose to anger, and the blazing sun wasn't helping at all. For once she wished no one would attempt to get into her pants. Her past work had her in those situations every single day, she didn't want it anymore. She just wanted to be left alone.
Her phone rang and she growled. She fished it out of her purse and answered without seeing who was calling. She figured it was Bobby. "What do you want?" she asked angrily.
"If you didn't want to talk to me you could have just ignored my call," Aviva said, a little bit of hurt in her voice.
Selene shut her eyes and lifted her face to the sky. She felt stupid. "I'm so, so sorry, Aviva. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't want to talk to you. I was just a little upset- it wasn't you, I swear."
"Why were you upset?"
"Some annoying kid gave me his number and completely ruined my book."
"He wrote in one of your books?"
"I just went to the bookstore. He wrote in the one I just bought."
"Oh, okay." Aviva sounded relieved. "Are you still out?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Where are you?"
Selene grew anxious. "At the park. Why?"
Aviva sounded like she was getting ready. Her keys jingled loudly even over the phone. "Can I come see you?"
"Yes!" Selene cleared her throat and waved at the elderly woman who was squinting in her direction. Selene hadn't meant to sound so excited, so needy for Aviva's presence, so she tried a calmer response. "Yeah. That would be okay."
"Great. I'll be there in a bit."
Selene waited for Aviva to hang up first, then she tossed her phone in her purse and almost jumped with joy. She hadn't expected Aviva to call so soon, and to want to meet up for that matter. It made Selene's head buzz and her skin itch with excitement. She tried to read some of her book but she only made it to chapter two before her mind was completely filled with thoughts of Aviva. Selene put her book in her purse then spread out over the park bench, laying her arms over the back of it and stretching her legs out before her. There weren't many people around and none of them looked like they were going to sit with her so she thought it was okay. She laid her head back and let her hair fall behind her, shutting her eyes against the unrelenting sun.
It was almost a half hour before Selene was startled awake. She didn't even know she had fallen asleep. She rubbed her blurred eyes then grinned happily when her vision cleared and she laid eyes on Aviva. It was a beautiful sight.
"Hello," Selene croaked. She cleared her throat then sat upright and tapped the bench seat. She crossed her legs and waited.
Aviva sat down and flashed a quick smile. She was trying not to oggle Selene. It was difficult. Very, very, difficult. "Hey." She ran her eyes over Selene's body one last time, quickly, before looking Selene in the face. "What are you doing out? And where are your clothes?"
"I was getting quite pale. Well, paler than usual. I decided to come out and try to get a little sun." Selene hesitated. "What, uh, what did you want to see me about?"
Aviva chewed on the inside of her cheek and fiddled with her hands. She looked down at her lap. "I had... I just wanted to see you," she whispered.
Selene scooted a little closer to Aviva to be able to hear her.
"I was upset, too," Aviva went on. "I don't know. I thought of you and thought... maybe I'd feel better with you around. I hate that I feel like I need you. It's just-" She cut herself off, shaking her head.
"What happened?" Selene scooted even closer to Aviva but left a strip between their bodies. Selene wasn't attempting anything, she only wanted to lend an ear. There was nothing but sympathy in her eyes.
"When I came to see you last I thought I had gotten over you enough to not feel so attracted to you. I managed to avoid you for a month and all of that progress was dashed in less than an hour. I got upset this morning and the only safe place I thought of was with you. How screwed up is that?"
"It's not screwed up. You're just stressed out. What I did to you- and whatever it was that made you upset this morning- has you all mixed up. And you're right to feel that way. I wish I knew what to do to make things better. I'll try anything, I will. I want you back-" Selene's cheeks burned hot, and that had nothing to do with the sun. She scrambled for words that wouldn't make her sound like a lovesick puppy. "-even if it's just as a friend."
Aviva smiled, and felt butterflies in her stomach. Boy, did she love hearing Selene yearn. Then the butterflies died and her stomach dropped. She had come to see Selene because she wanted to feel safe, but she also needed a favor. Something she hated to ask for, especially since she knew Selene would certainly agree. But Aviva had no choice. She was desperate.
"I need a favor," Aviva finally said.
Selene nodded enthusiastically. "Anything. Just name it."
"I need- I need to borrow some money."
Leaning back, Selene stared at Aviva in a new light. An inkling of betrayal sizzled in Selene's blood. "So that's why you really came here- why you started talking to me again. This 'safe place' was my money. You knew I wouldn't be able to refuse, not after what I did." She actually thought Aviva cared for her. Selene couldn't help but feel a bit hurt.
Aviva turned and pleaded with her eyes. "That's not the only reason. I really did want to see you. I did."
"Yeah." Selene shook her head and sighed. "Sure."
"I really need this money, okay? I'm-" Aviva sighed angrily, ashamed that she had to admit her failures. "I'm getting kicked out of my apartment in a week. I'm so behind on my payments- for everything. Corey's car has already been repossessed. I gave her the one you bought and went back to using my old junker. Please. I'm on my last leg here." When Selene didn't utter a word after a few minutes, Aviva felt completely ridiculous. She hated crawling to her ex, telling a sob story and begging for money, but she had nowhere else to turn. It pained her more because Selene thought that the money was the only reason she returned.
Broken, Aviva stood. She couldn't handle the embarrassment any longer. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'll go."
Selene latched on to Aviva's wrist. She guided Aviva back to a seated position. "No. Don't go. I'll give you what you want. If you don't want me, that's fine, but I want you to be happy. You can't be happy if you're living on the streets. But I'm not paying for you to live in that apartment."
Aviva frowned. "How-"
"I'm going to buy you a house. Somewhere nice where you and your cousin can be comfortable. You need more space, right?"
"Selene..." Aviva pried Selene's hand off her wrist. "I can't accept something like that from you."
"You can."
"I can't."
"And why not?"
Aviva sighed then, deciding to come straight out with it, looked Selene straight in the eyes. "I'm not going to be indebted to you like that. We're on the rocks as it is."
Selene's jaw worked, her muscles flexing. Her right hand wouldn't stop moving, the tip of her middle finger flicking across the pad of her thumb repetitively and harshly. "Fine," she finally said.
Aviva watched Selene's thumb switch from being pummeled by her middle finger to her first finger. "Fine what?"
"Fine. I'll help you. I'll give you whatever money you need. I'll even get you another car to replace Corey's."
Aviva shook her head. "You don't have to do that. I already told you i'm not going to be indebted-"
"I know what you said." Selene stopped flicking her thumb, forcing herself to try and sound calm. "You don't owe me a damn thing. I'll give you the money, get Corey a car, and you don't ever have to come back to me again. We both know you don't want to." She gathered her purse then stood. "I'll come by your place tomorrow and drop off a check."
Selene ignored Aviva's pleas for her to wait, and she simply walked off. She feared that if she waited like Aviva wanted, she would break down and wouldn't be able to salvage herself. Her heart hurt, especially since Aviva only came out of the woodwork for money. Selene didn't fully believe that, but she felt that that was the number one reason for Aviva's sudden turn up, and that's what was painful. Selene truly wanted to be a safe place for Aviva. The fact that she wasn't only made her walk faster.
