Free to Feel [Temporarily (??) Discontinued]

Chapter 12.

Catherine sat on the sofa, twirling the teaspoon in the cup of tea to help the sugar dissolve. A small smile was resting in her face since she finally felt somewhat relaxed and safe. Why she had never felt this way at home was way beyond her, but it wasn't like she had anything against it.

She looked down and giggled a little when her eyes settled on Heather. He lay on the sofa, his head on her lap and his eyes closed as she played with his purple hair. It was really amazing how much of that he could withstand, she would get sick and tired of all this patronising after an hour or so.

Thunderous laughter roared from the kitchen, and the lip of the slave twitched up when he heard the voice of his daughter in that laughter. Raven had come home after the games in the snow with her face red, her hair messy and her eyes shining as bright as two stars. It was clear that John and Nick had kind of taken her under their wing, always staying beside her and not paying any attention to the knife she was carrying at all times. Pride swelled in Cat's chest when she mentally thanked her brothers for that help. Unknowingly to themselves, they found out that side that the girl had always been forced to hide, helping her explore it.

Heather yawned and stretched and then rolled onto his stomach, laying his head to the side.

"More scratches?" The woman asked in amusement. How much joy did he take in all that petting?! He hadn't been reacting to touches with the same surprise and satisfaction as he used to the first few months after being bought, but the hair rubs were still something he would never deny.

"Yes, please." The pet nodded and muttered, sounding rather sleepy. "You know me better than to ask."

Catherine chuckled and lovingly stroked his hair, watching his beautiful purple hair thread between her fingers as she raked through them. Calling them beautiful would really be nothing. They were marvellous, though they really needed to be cut again. They'd been cut when Heather first checked into the hospital, and now it was time to cut them again, because apparently he only tolerated it as long as it didn't get lower than his hair. The fact that when he was a kid he'd been injected with all sorts of serums to help his hair grow stronger and prettier and also faster didn't help in their situation.

"Remembering the-" Mom walked in and quickly shut up when she saw the guy lay like that. "Sorry, uh, is-is he sleeping? Should I leave you two alone or-"

"It's okay, he's awake." Cat giggled and nudged the slave. He opened his eyes and smiled at the elder woman a little, then closed them again. "You wanted to talk about something?"

"Oh, yes, I just... I just wanted to talk." Mom beamed and sat on the armchair opposite from the sofa. The young journalist felt her face light up. If this was going to be just a mere small talk, then she was all for it. It had been years since the two of them had a decent conversation!

"It's so strange being back here." She whispered and looked around the living room with a small smile resting on her lips. Everything here was the way it had been when she left, just as in her room. Same old wallpapers, same old photos, same old furniture. "It's almost as if I went back in time."

"Yeah." Mom let out a quiet chuckle. "Do you remember our Christmas tree? Or that golden ball that you loved the most?"

Catherine bobbed her head up and down as the memories came back. Their Christmas tree was so huge that it almost scratched the ceiling. Dad would always make jokes about it scratching the ceiling and would even point at the spot which he believed got damaged. He... He used to always drive to a forest and come back with actual spruce twigs and needles to give scent to their plastic tree. Meanwhile, Cat and her brothers would spend such a long time decorating the huge tree and arguing with each other where to hang which toy. All the while Mom was busy cooking in the kitchen and sending the mouth-watering scents throughout the entire house. And those sneak missions Cat used to have with her brothers to grab some amazing food from the kitchen! And the nights spent in hopes of spotting Santa Clause! Oh, how amazing was that!