LOVEBITES

Chapter 14

AFTER all that said and done, Caitlin still has no clue of Luce's whereabouts. Kung saan-saan na siya nakarating. Pinuntahan na niya halos lahat ang mga posibleng lugar na pwedeng puntahan ni Luce ngunit hindi niya pa rin ito natagpuan. Kabilang na rin sa mga pinuntahan niya ang ilang acquaintances nito sa mga club na sinalihan nito pati na rin ang mga kakilala niyang classmates nito ngunit walang nakakaalam kung nasaan ang dalaga. All that's left on her list is this store. Nakarating na siya dito dati pero sa sobrang tagal simula ng pagpunta niya halos maligaw siya. Buti na lang maraming nakakaalam sa lugar na iyon kaya ng nagtanong-tanong siya agad na naituro sa kanya kung nasaan ang lugar.

Napabuntong hininga si Caitlin. Of course—maraming nakakaalam. It must be because of the weird name of the store.

Organic Kitten.Napangiwi si Caitlin. She was expecting an organic kitten lounging at the shop's doorstep. What could be an organic kitten look like?

Noong sinamahan niya dati dito si Luce—hindi siya pumasok sa loob. So she's not familiar kung ano ba talaga ang mga binebenta ng may-ari. Though, Caitlin thinks that it's just a normal looking creaky old store made with washed out and mouldy wood. It looks haunted but she wasn't scared—though she's a bit creeped out because of its weird name. Siguro dahil iyon sa mahilig siya sa pusa. Biglang niyang naalala si Cleopatra.

Caitlin bit her lip hard to wake herself up from the sudden painful spell. It can't be helped. Caitlin's pretty sure Luce has a good explanation for why Cleopatra's body was mangled like a broken doll but unlike Tita Matilda—Cleopatra has bite marks all over her body. When Caitlin last called Luce—hindi nakaligtas sa pandinig niya ang mga kaluskos ni Cleopatra na parang nagpupumilit itong kumawala sa kung kanino—she even heard an animalistic growl in the background that got her imagination in an overdrive. At that time, naramdaman na niyang parang may mali. Na parang may nangyayaring hindi maganda kay Luce at Cleopatra but due to the shock of how Luce reacted—Caitlin kind of fell off the grid and decided to ignore it. That was a mistake on her part.

Mas lalo sana siyang nagpumilit na kausapin o puntahan man lang ito. But she didn't and things happened. Caitlin swallowed the humungous lump that suddenly formed in her throat. She wanted to believe that it was not too late. She can still figure things out.

Nilipat ni Caitlin ang kanyang atensyon sa pulang pinto ng Organic Kitten—the only thing that was brightly painted. Mayroon pa ngang skulls and crossbones designed windchime na nakasabit sa may pinto. Speaking of skulls and crossbones—malapit na ang Halloween. And the day after tomorrow—it would be her 18th birthday. Though, there's no point in remembering it—since she couldn't possibly have the time to celebrate considering the circumstances right now. Hindi na nga niya sigurado kung may oras pa siyang dalawin ang puntod ng Papa niya.

Caitlin sighed. She needs to focus her attention on more important matters at hand—one's things for sure, patron si Luce ng store na ito. And if she remembers correctly—she's quite close with the owner too. The owner probably knows something.

As if actually sensing her presence—biglang bumukas ang pinto ng shop at tumambad sa kanya ang isang lalaki wearing a black cloak, a witch hat on his head with matching pointy black shoes. Caitlin just stood there—mouth agape.

Nanlaki naman ang mga mata nito ng makita siya. The next thing Caitlin knew—he's already right in front of her.

"Welcome! Welcome! My, my. What an unusual visitor we have here! Kamusta na Caitlin Rose?" masiglang bati nito. Bigla siya nitong niyakap ng mahigpit. Nanigas si Caitlin.

Hey! Hey! What's going on? I don't even know you!

Naramdaman siguro nito ang paninigas niya dahil agad siya nitong binitiwan.