Started as a Feeling

Chapter 24 - Ring Ring Ring

Sans slapped the phone shut and shoved it far into his pocket, moving his bony hand swiftly upward to grab the door knob. With a twist and a pull, the door swung open with a whoosh, and the skeleton stepped out into the sunlight. Papyrus whirls around with a spaghetti sauce filled pan in his hand and beckons, "SANS?! Where on Earth-", but the door closes before he can answer.

Papyrus stares at the front door longingly, he wishes he could chase after his brother. Has something been bothering him? What was the phone call about? Only one could imagine. As if on queue, a little white mouse crawls out from underneath Papyrus's shoulder pad and pushes its way onto his arm, crawling down it to hop onto the counter. It sniffs the boiling pot of noodles and looks up to his white and bony friend. Papyrus looks down to the friendly pest and smiles, wiggling a small finger across its tiny head, "Do not worry little mouse, Sans is brave! He will be fine!" But Papyrus wasn't sure. Was he only saying that to reassure the mouse, or himself? Shrugging to forget about the sudden outburst, Papyrus turns around and puts the sauce filled pan back on the heat. He was sure that this would be the best spaghetti he's made yet. He started to hum a valiant tune and tapped his foot to create a beat.

This morning was truly beautiful, golden rays of the sun flooded the kitchen through small draped windows across the room. There was not a shadow to be seen. Suddenly a bird perched itself in the open window above the sink. It looked to Papyrus, and started to copy his tune with it's own. The mouse, seeing the predator, slipped back into Papyrus's torso for protection. The world was milking this moment as the beauty of peace and Papyrus shared these minutes of time. The smell of uncooked garlic bread filled the house, creating a sensationally mouth watering scent that would draw anyone near for a small taste.

To interrupt such tranquility, Papyrus's phone rings loudly. With no time to waste, Papyrus digs into his pocket and presses the answer button. He puts the caller on speaker, and bellows a hearty, "Hello Undyne! What must you be calling me for on this bright and wonderful day?"

*****

Behind of the old shopping cart scrolling down the tiled floor was a beautiful and young goat that goes by the name of Toriel. She is wearing a fashioned trench coat to keep her warm from the AC filled building. Even though she has a tremendous amount of fur, she was as warm blooded as a snake. She was in a grateful state of mind, happy to be where she is in life. She has a beautiful boy to call her mother, and an old shy son she will never have to say goodbye to again. But this isn't surely the last of what makes this womanly monster so happy; she is in love. She hasn't been this deep in love since the day she fell for Asgore, who coincidentally means very little to her now. Her feet were light with air, and being in heaven was a understatement. Who would have known it to be none other than the lazy bones who cracks jokes just to see her laugh? She giggled to herself as she thought of the night Sans came to stay with her in her room. That was truly a magical experience. Has she even felt that giddy with her ex husband? She couldn't remember, that was long ago.

Toriel turns down the cereal aisle and picks up a box. "Oh my...", she mumbled under her breath as she looked down at the cereal, "What does a happy monster eat for breakfast?" She chuckled lightly and stated with a warm smile, "Cheeri-O's." She placed the box of Cheerios into the cart and wheeled down the aisle. An older human lady passed by, and greeted Toriel with a faint good morning. Toriel waved to the stranger and offered a smile, how unusually nice. She passed through all of the grocery store rows, picking up useful things and plopping them into her squeaky cart. As she hesitated to reach for a package of ground beef, the sudden overwhelming scent filled her nose. She suddenly had the urge to get sick, and she covered her mouth quickly, trying to mask the smell. Why was it so gross to smell? Ground beef wasn't known for odor until it was in the pan. So what could it be? "What on Earth...", she muttered. She pushed her cart away from the meat section, "I wonder if they are too old... Yes that might be it." Surely, they could have been rotten. At first glance, they weren't seemingly grey or brown, it was mostly a pinkish color, the way it should be. Maybe it was mixed with something terrible as an accident? That was what she was going to go with. Forgetting the beef, she decided that her grocery trip was over.

As Toriel pushed her cart through a crowded line to the cashier, a familiar vibration rang through her coat pocket. "Could it be my Sans calling? Oh how I miss him..." She fished through her deep pocket and pulled out a small smartphone. A faint glow came from the screen as an unknown caller contacted her number. "Who could this be?" With a curious expression, she pressed the green phone icon and placed the phone under her floppy white ear. With a cheery tone she breathed out the words, "Hello! This is Toriel, who might this be?"

A faint breathing sound could be heard on the other end, but there wasn't a straight answer. Toriel opened her mouth to speak another word until the voice interrupted her, "Toriel. It's Asgore."

Toriel's expression became annoyed, "Asgore. Delete this number."

"Tori... I... I know you've been steered down a darkened path just to spite me, but I am going to make it right. I am going to show you how a real man should treat you. The love I have for you, my golden flower, burns hotter than the highest fire!"

"Asgore, I am in no mood to be dealing with such a pest like you!"

"I know about your affair..."

Toriel was baffled, "Affair?! We are no longer together! My personal business is no longer your business! Why must we keep going through with this?"

"I'm sorry Tori... I know this might hurt you at first, but this affair is coming to an end. It's over. I'm coming home tomorrow. Be ready for me."

"Asgore what do you mean you-", but before Toriel could finish, the call ended. Anger, rage, and worry filled Toriel's head. She will solve this after she checks out. Pushing out a frustrated sigh, she started to lift the items onto the cashier's belt for checking out. She firmly grasped a large box filled with soda cans and lifted it into the air. With a pained gasp, a sharp stab into her lower back coursed up her spine. She instinctively dropped the box onto the belt with a loud bang and cupped her paws over her lower back. Tears started to well up in her eyes, what had happened? A worried cashier and an older man with grey hair, who was next in line behind Toriel, hurriedly stumbled up to the poor goat, "Miss are you okay?", asked the cashier.

Toriel wanted to say yes, but reluctantly shook her head no. The older man took a glance down, and bent his knees to closer inspect what he was looking for. Toriel, rubbing her back noticed this, "What are you looking for? Is something the matter with me?"

The older man looked up at the poor woman and spoke with a soft tone, "Miss, how long have your ankles been swollen...?"