Around the Corner (Discontinued)

Chapter 24

Fern's P.O.V.

I shoot Eliza a warning glance, and she replies by coiling up on the passenger seat. Another warning, and she stares back, begging the same question I've been asking myself constantly since I've seen her. To my dismay, no answer presents itself, only predictions. More false coins to gamble. I shrug off her questioning stare, locking my eyes on a narrowing road. Eliza's attention wanders back down to a tear in her oversized hoodie, fingers widening and stretching the hole, tearing black strings away.
A pitiful meow from the backseat manages to overpower the sound of the BMW's rumbling. My eyes flutter to the rearview mirror once more, looking over the seats behind me. A duffel bag eats up two of the four leather seats. Beside it, a small mountain of fur presses up against the corner of the duffel bag and seat fearfully. The cat cries eerily again. It's yellow eyes are illuminated in the darkness, dark slits like needles cutting through glowing topazes. Then Laila. Looking down at her thumbs that dance against each other, twirling and shifting. That isn't Laila. That isn't curious, annoying Laila. This is someone I don't know nor want. This isn't the person I was thinking of for the past week. This isn't the person that haunted my thoughts at home, at the club, at the gas station, at the parties and festivals. Where is the ghost I grew so fond of over the weeks?

We glide into the parking lot, park, and plant silence, where it blossoms and blooms instantly. Removing the keys, I whip around to stare at the stranger in the backseat, beside her crying pet. Eliza mimics me, leaving the hole in her sleeve at peace. Laila doesn't glance up instantly, brows raised and attentive. No, she lifts her chin slowly, and looks at us wearily. Her cat ends it's pleas and jumps onto the duffel bag, crouching. Watching. I shift in my seat, willingly giving the blame to discomfort.

"So, what are we going to do about that cat?" Eliza asks, no longer pinning Laila down with a stare. I turn to her, and force a smirk.
"We? You are going to carry it to the apartment and if it runs off you're going to hunt it down. Got it?"
She frowns and grumbles, but exits into the night after I give her the keys. I watch her open the side door after closing her own, her face visible with the caress of a street lamp looming above. The brown cat is paralyzed in fear, eyes wide, but I see those narrow blades of black shifting swiftly and consistently to the vast, open parking lot behind her.
Run I thought let it run away and die at the tires of a car. I couldn't bear to sleep knowing those topaz eyes would find me in the dark.
It never does make his grand escape. Eliza cradles it awkwardly, and winces as he digs his claws into her, easily cutting through the fabric of her hoodie. I watch them rush up the stairs, glad the cat is far from me. I wonder why it didn't take the chance it had. I wonder what could have been greater than freedom in it's purest and most vile state. I shove open the door and jump out, drinking up the summer night's freshness, my eyes looking over the stars sprinkled on the vast sky. The sky isn't a beauty like everyone makes it out to be. It's dim and dark and too large for anyone to fathom, yet I find myself awe-struck by it. It's just so dark and empty, you could lose everything in it. So I did.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the girl trying to heave a duffel bag onto her shoulders. I would help her, but the stars have me pinned in a the middle of parking lot, losing everything in them. My sorrows, my joys, my thoughts, my words, myself, all being thrown into the sky, hoping the night would eat them up so they'd been gone forever. I want to lose it all.

Laila is half up the stairs when I draw my eyes away and follow her, my heels making a particular hollow sound against the brick. I would have to explain to both her and the group why Laila is here, and not tomorrow night. I would also have to explain the excuse for the cat. Ryan wouldn't listen, he would just make smart remarks about Bruno. Bruno would continue to ignore him, but never take his eyes off the floor. All it's done is add an unnecessary edge of envy and sadness to me. Eliza knows I feel isolated, but once I heard her suggest me to leave him, I no longer came to her for advice.