Devil's Cat

06. I Made a Girl Cry

Chapter 06: I Made a Girl Cry

     Monday morning came. A full whole day Dave wasn't talking. He just brooding in my room, looking out from my window and occasionally let out a morose sigh. It broke my heart to see him like that. I had my free time on Sunday feeling bad for him. My mom attempted to take Dave to the vet, when he started eating less, but I stopped her. Who knows what may come up in his result.

Even when I was readying myself to go to school, Dave didn't budge. He stood on my windowsill. His back to me. For sure, he wasn't watching the squirrel.

I stood unsure on my doorway. My bag slung over my right shoulder. I had grabbed my homework, books, gym clothes and my phone. A plate of bagel that I put on my nightstand for Dave was left cold. "Urmm..bye. I gotta go to school." I said lowly.

He didn't respond or I should take the low sigh from him as my reply.

"Bye." I said again, louder this time and closed my bedroom door.

After I grabbed my portion of bagel for my breakfast, checked my reflection on the window of my sister's Plymouth Fury. My hair was messy like a bird had nested on it. It was doing its floating thing again, where it looked like I had jammed my finger into an electrical outlet. I hastily braided it and combed it with my fingers. Then, I made my way to the bus stop.

It was my routine. Wake up in my room, eat and shower then go to the bus stop. Nothing peculiar except for this day, I went about my day with a worried heart. A deadline. Dave now had a deadline to change himself into his original form. Who or what exactly was Valentino Rofocale? I didn't have the opportunity to ask Dave about him.

War? Ares? Dave's brother? Something told me Valentino Rofocale wasn't the douchebag Dave liked to claim about his brother.

Five minutes walk to the bus stop, my mind already caught in a loop of Dave's conflict. A date for Valentine's ball. I didn't have any desire to go to the ball. But, I had to. Should I go hunt for partner now?

At the bus stop, there was only me waiting. Usually, there was other few students like me and my twin brothers were running late. As always as they had been. I sat on the bench under the awning. A mossy cypress grew thick and old, dropping dew onto me.

Something rustled on top of my bus stop. A metallic scratch. It must be the branches from the tree screeching against the zinc. It was a misty morning, the branches were heavy with morning dew and very often the tree dragged its bony twigs across my bus stop's roof.

Another rustle, this time it wasn't on the roof but behind my back. I tensed and then relaxed back. Jeez, why I wanted to get so worked up over some random sounds? This is Mansfield. The only haunted place was the Ohio State Reformatory, where there was "The Shawshank Redemption". I shouldn't be thinking weird things.

For my whole life, this was my place. I'd never known another home. I had grown up within these streets and neighbourhood. During summer, I would play with my twin brothers under the leafy shade of the tree. I would build snowman and had made improvised sleds out of garbage can lids in the winter. I knew this place like how I knew myself.

A branch snapped in the trees. I shifted uncomfortably, determined to keep calm. Then, I smelled sulfur. It was so pungent and out of place that I forced to look around and investigate.

I whirled around and there was the fiery orb of spectre from my nightmare. I froze in terror. It hovered close to me. I saw every red tendrils of its fire. Closing my eyes shut, I turned away from it and tried to steady my hammering heart. Maybe, it's just your morning hallucination. Maybe, there wasn't any fiery orb of spectre. I attempted again. I looked around so fast I almost snap my neck and the fiery orb was gone. I stammered.