I planned this chapter so many months ago it's so nice I can finally write it
Chapter thirty two is dedicated to the dog that I saw at the beach today and kind of wanted to steal and almost did because he was so cute oh my gosshhhh
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"I'm coming for you, Mocha!" Link smirked, crawling along the floor with slow, careful movements.
She had leapt from Link's lap when Rhett left and cowered under the coffee table, meowing loudly for him to somehow come back. It amused Link and made him get down to the floor too, and tempt her out with his calm voice. She watched him inquisitively, but stayed in place.
"Come here, kitty..." he whispered, almost within arms reach to grab her. Mocha let out a final long note and gave into Link's persistence, pushing her head on Link's now-extended hand and purring contently. Link smiled and moved round to hold her better, and stroked her gently on the head.
"Hmm, Mocha," Link spoke aloud to her. "Do you think I can pick you up?" He got into a kneeling position and hoisted her up, surprised at how light she really was and not struggling to really hold her at all.
"Aaah, you're so adorable!" Link smiled, and cuddled her against his chest like a small baby. He imagined that was what it was like for Rhett, when he held him through the night.
Link carried Mocha a few steps across the living room until she had enough of seeing the world up high, and jumped off his supporting hold. She went to explore inside the kitchen, and Link was about to follow until he noticed a book sitting alone on a side table in the room. Looking at it closer, Link realised it was his parallel universes book that Scott had taken, and Rhett somehow retrieved.
The neon green lettering took him back to his room which he had spent so much time in, but the image didn't last long as he'd rather forget about that place for now. Link smiled from finally having his gift back and returned to the sofa, and began reading from chapter one. Mocha trotted back into the room and hopped onto him again, and for the next twenty minutes Link told her all about the math he could vaguely remember and hope she understood it. She didn't, but Link liked to think she did.
Halfway through a rather long, tricky sentence, there was a loud, and sharp knock at the front door. Link looked up from the pages and felt his heart begin to abruptly race, feeling so much more nervous because he was all alone, and especially without Rhett. But with some courage, and swallowing the lump in his throat, Link made his way towards the door with very slow steps. Before he arrived, they knocked again, but a lot harder than the first time. Link hurried and grasped onto the handle, pulling it open and coming face to face with the unexpected visitor.
In front of him, stood a medium length blonde haired woman, around 5'9 and carrying a navy blue handbag in her left hand. She wore a black v-neck dress, five inch heels, and her makeup was so perfectly blended that Link had never seen anything like it before. Her head was tilted to the side and she looked deep into Link's eyes, figuring him out before talking.
"Hey darlin', is Rhett around?" She asked, with a sharp and commanding tone. Link felt himself almost daydreaming until her voice jolted him back and he held onto the doorframe tightly.
"Uhm, he's out right now," Link stuttered. The woman took a step forwards and rubbed her dainty hand on his arm, but he was too slow to pull it away so he just let her continue. Link tried to study her face as it seemed so uncomfortably familiar, but he brushed it off. She was just a very sweet girl looking for her friend.
"Ahh, perfect. It's okay, I just left something here when I last came round, and I need it back," she said. Link nodded along, and simultaneously pressed his thumbnail deep into the palm of his hand, sending a small pain through his body. Something was telling him he shouldn't let her in, but she looked like she'd do no harm. She seemed very kind, and Link was still trying to process her (in his opinion), very nice face.
"Okay," Link finally exhaled, and he stepped to the side to let her through. Her heels clicked against the floor and then grew quiet as she stepped onto the carpet, and Link slowly closed the door on the horrendous weather and turned back around.
"Sorry, but w-what's your name?" Link hesitantly asked, almost not wanting a reply. She took a moment to reply, but her answer was loud and clear.
"I'm... my name is Misty," she replied. "I live down the road, and I'm good friends with Rhett."
Misty. Didn't ring any bells. Link huffed out, and happily smiled at her as she walked into the kitchen, and took something off the furthest counter top.
"I'm just going to leave him a note to say I've been," Misty called through, and Link answered back with an alright. He shakily sat back down on the sofa with Mocha, and waited for her to come back in the lounge.
After two minutes and a paper note left on the side later, Misty arrived and sat on the opposite couch, staring at Link. She had her expensive handbag by her side, and as she pulled it closer, Link looked up from petting Mocha and placed the dense book on the floor.
"So are you and Rhett friends?"
Link took a second to think. "Uh, well, yes. He cares for me here, I guess."
"Aw, that's sweet. Any idea when he'll be back?" Misty asked. Her palms were clamming up, and Link spotted her bright, shining wedding ring on her finger. He liked the sight, but didn't want to bring any attention to it as he was quite desperate for her to leave. In turn, Link hands were sweating too.
"He's out with a work friend, so I'm not sure. Soon, probably."
Misty stayed quiet and kept staring at Link, as he felt the pressure seeping onto him. After pulling at his face like he usually did, and digging into his palm once again, he quickly slurred out the words that were floating around trying to get out.
"Sorry, I just think you're... really pretty," he said, and immediately felt his checks blush and his head fall down. Misty's eyes widened, and tried to accept the compliment, but something wasn't settling right. She decided to ignore the statement, and ask what she really came for.
"So, I have a problem in my house... the TV remote is stuck on the lowest volume and I can't fix it for some reason. I've been waiting forever for an engineer to come and sort it out, but nobody's came. Do you mind... coming to help?"
She tilted her head the same way as she did at the front porch, but Link wasn't fully convinced at her plea.
"It'll only take a few minutes, I promise," she added at the end. Not wanting to disappoint her, but feeling a sudden rush of anxiety, Link turned towards the only idea he had.
"Mocha, do you think I should go?" Link asked, anxiously smiling down at the dark haired cat in his lap. Misty deeply laughed from across the room, and Link kept eye contact down. She gave a loud meow in response and rubbed her head against his tummy, signalling to Link that Mocha thought he should go. He looked up at Misty and nodded, trusting her in saying it would only take a few minutes.
"Yeah, I can help," Link smiled sweetly. Misty almost creepily grinned back and slid her hand little by little into her handbag, and took something out Link couldn't quite see. They both jumped up and reached for a semi-awkward embrace, but the second skin touched skin, Link knew this wasn't just a girl called Misty wanting help with her television remote, but something a whole lot scarier.
In one swift motion, Misty swung Link's arms behind his back and held them together extremely tightly, causing him to struggle but giving up almost instantly. Although there was the height difference, Misty held him in such a way that it was impossible for him to move. He tried to yell out, but before Link knew it, a piece of ashen-looking grey duct tape was stuck onto his face and his lips were now completely sealed. Misty rested her head close on Link's shoulder towards his neck, and listened to his muffled, scared whimpers. A sick smirk crawled onto her face.
"Rhett knows where ya' going. Walk straight, now," she barked, and Link, with his arms held back and blonde hair falling into his face, began stumbling to front door and out into the pouring, freezing rain. Misty walked with him, and guided his body beside carefully as Link was now silently crying, wishing to be released. She scooped up her bag from the couch, and was so happy Link was that gullible to take her absolute lie of a story.
"Shut up, right now," Misty ordered, as they turned into some back lanes behind Rhett's small little home. They were ominous and damp, and Misty was struggling to walk in her heels down the uneven ground. She moved her mouth right up to Link's left ear, and whispered sharply into it.
"And if you weren't so dumb and clueless, you'd know it's not Misty - It's Christy."
