Freedom Series: Chasing Butterflies

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Anderson chastised himself as he looked at the time while walking up the steps to his exorbitant manner. It was past 9 pm and he already knew that when he opened the door he was going to be met with a blazing ball of fire named Lily. He just had to prepare himself, he thought as he took a deep breath in and then out, before opening the front door. He stepped through the threshold and closed the door as quietly as possible, looking around. Upon, not seeing her right away he figured that she was around the corner waiting to pounce. After a few more cautious steps and searching he decided that she must not have been home and walked up the stairs at a normal pace, checking his emails on his phone.

He took a left turn at the top of the stairs and walked to the end of the hall where his bedroom door was located. The door was open but the light was off so he felt along the wall for the little switch that would illuminate the room. When he found the switch he flicked it on, relishing the atmosphere the dim lighting had created. An atmosphere that was ruined by the sound of an object whirling through the air towards him. His canine instincts kicked in immediately and he dropped to the floor, just in time, to avoid the smashing of an object. Which he later found out was a vase. He whipped around to see a perfectly calm Lily sitting on their bed in a pale pink nightgown trimmed in pale pink fur. She looked at him as if she was surprised to see him even though she had just launched a projectile at him.

"Oh, I didn't see you there baby! Where have been at such a late hour?" She asked, batting her eyes and casually smoothing the silk sheets on the bed.

"I was out with a couple of friends-" 

"Liar!" She screamed, slamming her hand down on the nightstand in an abrupt explosion knocking over a lamp. She squeezed her hand into a fist and closed her eyes, in an attempt to rein in her anger, before opening them again and replacing her facade with an innocent yet curious smile. "I mean, I checked with all of our friends and they hadn't seen you all day."

"You don't know them." He said vaguely.

"I don't know them?" She said, getting up and walking towards him slowly. He held his ground until she came within striking distance and he began to back up subtly until he hit the threshold of the door. "If I don't know them," She walked closer to him and poked him in the chest. "Then you don't know them. Point. Blank."

She stepped around him, like a vulture watching its prey struggle to live, and looked at the ground as her furry bed slippers crunched through the broken porcelain from the thrown vase.

"Clean this crap up." She hissed brushing past him.

He began to look for the broom and dustpan.

<8>

Anderson stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, simply staring, watching as his contempt for himself choked him and brought that familiar stinging sensation to his eyes. He blinked before the traitorous liquid could fall from his eyes, one single tear escaping before abruptly turning from the mirror and leaning against the sink with a shuttering breath. Looking at his imperfections further reinforced his self-hatred for himself. Hearing his name called from his bedroom he wanted to slam the bathroom door shut and sink to the floor holding his head but that would not block out the sudden onslaught of memories hitting him from every direction.

Her voice, Lily's voice, carrying insults after insults at him. His hair was too dark and curly, it could never be controlled and made to lay down. His eye color to mixed, the greens, golds, and browns creating a color resembling the floor of a forest. His lips too big, his physique too narrow, his chin too strong, his posture too weak, his clothes to juvenile, his life to worthless. A stronger feeling of disdain rose up from the inside of him coming from his wolf spirit. Even he was upset that he was stuck with such an inadequate human spirit.