Bloody Souvenirs

Chapter 17

A strangled cry escaped my throat when I saw Felix lying in my backyard. There was a lot of blood around him and it looked like somebody had deliberately cut him open.

Tears suddenly pricked my eyes and I turned away, not being able to take the sight anymore. There was some shuffling at the porch and I turned to see Jax running towards me.

"Kat!" he said as he skidded to a stop beside me, "What happened? Are you okay?"

I only managed a little nod between my sniffles.

"I was just returning from a friend's house when I heard a cry from here." he said. Then his eyes fell on what mine had been avoiding, "Oh, God..."

"S-somebody killed h-him, Jax!" I whispered, my breathing shallow and the tears still not stopping.

"Sshh." Jax said as he put an arm around my shoulders, "Don't cry Kat. Let's just get you out of here."

"But Feli-"

"We can see to him later." he said, "Right now, I think it would be for the best if you stay at mine until your brother gets home."

I nodded weakly. He led the way to his house and I didn't dare look back to where we had come from, fearing I would be overcome with a fresh bout of tears.

Sure, Felix was 'just a cat'. But that doesn't mean I couldn't love him. He was part of the reason I smiled during the day and I had never even thought I'd lose him this way, out of everything. The thought that now there would be no one to knock things down, no one to get stuck in the window blinds, no one to rub against my feet asking for food, these thoughts were enough to threaten tears.

"Come on." Jax said, opening the door to his house and beckoning me in.

I followed him in and sat down on the couch. "I'll get you some water to calm your nerves." Jax said and disappeared into the kitchen.

Sighing softly, I bit my lip. I took a deep breath to calm myself down before trying to think rationally about the situation. Who could have wanted him dead? That too in so terrible a manner. The scene was replaying itself over and over in my head. The way Felix was lying still, covered in blood, the image was imprinted on my mind and I couldn't get it out, no matter how hard I tried.

Jax returned from the kitchen, a glass of ice cold water in his hand. "Here you go." he said, handing me the glass. I took it from him and took a small sip, letting the coldness of the water wash down my parched throat.

"Feel better?" Jax asked.

Instead of replying to him, I just watched the condensation on the glass of cold water before finally speaking, "Who do you think did it, Jax?"

He look perplexed but replied, "It doesn't necessarily have to be human you know. I mean it could have been a wild animal or-"

"Yeah right." I scoffed.

"-Or a dog or something." Jax continued, ignoring my snide remark.

I rolled my eyes, "Dogs don't practically gut other animals, Jax!"

He sighed, scratching his head, "I'm stumped. I guess I just don't want to accept it."

I took another gulp of water and watched as two drops of condensation raced each other down the glass. Suddenly I remembered something I had seen lying beside Felix in my backyard. As the image became clear in my mind, I dropped the glass in shock. It clattered down, splashing both me and Jax with water.

"Whoa, what happened Kat?" Jax asked in surprise, bending down to pick up the glass, "Are you okay?"

I swallowed hard, "I'm sorry."