Scout Stories: Bruised Beginnings

A Cat Of Many Colours

Keefe went still. He could feel his heart beating in his chest like it was trying to jump out between his ribs. He shook his head in a slight, slow movement. Yet there was no denying that little cloud. He reached out a hand as if to touch it and then stopped and took a step back.

He stared at that little rain cloud like it was a bloody knife.

"You're leaving?" he asked.

Her hand fell with her smile and the little cloud vanished.

"Well," she said, "Yeah. That's the plan, anyway."

Keefe smirked.

"Great," he said. "I guess you won't have to hang around this hole with us pieces of dirt any longer, right?"

"I didn't say that!"

"But you want to go, right? You want to leave us?"

"You don't?!"

Keefe let the smirk drop and shook his head. She didn't know anything.

"No," he said. "I don't want to go. You wouldn't either if you had any sense."

"Well it's too late now, anyway," she said holding her arms and setting her mouth in a smug smile that he hated.

She wouldn't be like that after they came for her. Besides, Peigi had no idea how to take care of herself. Her grandfather spoilt her rotten and made everything easy for her. No one would do that for her if she left. She wouldn't be able to handle things alone. Peigi was always changing her mind, anyway. Only this time she had made it so she couldn't.

Keefe turned to walk away from her and spotted a cat sitting at the entrance of the alleyway.

"I won't let you," he said.

"What?" asked Peigi.

"I said I won't let you leave!"

Then Keefe ran at the cat. The cat waited a moment and got a good look at him before bolting.

Peigi was running after him. She was calling his name but he didn't care.

A week ago his parents had called him aside. They told him that they couldn't make the town any bigger and the house was full. They told him that soon enough they would have to start consider what he was going to do with his life. He was fourteen. It was only a year left before they had to decide about it. They told him about some stupid forest girl from a town with lots of room. They wanted him to start writing her letters.

Keefe was so focused on catching the cat that he didn't notice the distance between him and Peigi growing.

He didn't notice that he had gotten faster than her.

Note: Not much left now until the end, folks! I have noticed that some stories are waayyyyy longer than others so I'm going to have to watch that with the next volume. (Yes, there will be a new volume).  I think I'll try to stick around the 17k mark for each story. 

Or would you like the stories longer/shorter? Leave a comment and let me know. 

Thanks for reading!