Chapter Nineteen - Cat
"Party! Party!" The boys all chanted as they were on their way home. Even Henry had joined the journey - Aaron's van made it possible to fit everyone in so there was no need for Henry to have made his own way. It was good that he did, as it let him relax for a while.
Still, Cat found herself laughing at their immaturity - if they looked as bad as they sounded, then she should have been embarrassed by her association with them. It wasn't difficult to make a comparison between them and five year olds. A part of her was a little shocked at Aaron though, since he seemed quite calm and somewhat sensible.
She smiled as she thought of him. Her relationship with Aaron was no longer hidden to Henry and she couldn't expect a better reaction from him. Kissing Aaron had only been an impulse at the time - being around him so often meant that she recognised every facial feature immediately. All she had had to do was pull him towards her so that they were level. If she had remembered about Henry being right beside them, she probably wouldn't have done it. Then again, she hadn't expected for the band to pass the audition stage.
"Come on, guys! Celebrate at mine, yeah?" Henry cried, stealing the hat from Cat's head. The engine came to a halt, with everyone piling out after one another.
Even she was in high spirits as she jumped out, soon realising that it wasn't like Henry's car. She struggled to find her feet hitting the ground and instead felt a pair of arms catch her. Her hands pressed against the figure's chest, suddenly aware of how they moved against it.
"Thanks," she spoke. Part of her knew it wasn't Aaron - she could recognise his touch almost instantly - yet her physical body wouldn't move.
"N-no problem," a slightly breathless Mickey spoke in reply. His hands were gripped at the edge of her waist; Cat's body tensed at the sudden realisation of how close he was to her - having him so close to her once again almost terrified her. As her body shook in discomfort, his hands released her from their tight grip.
A gentle spring breeze skirted the sky, whistling at the fear of letting him in once again. Mickey had hurt her once before. We're his intentions the same? Cat couldn't be certain, yet she was absolutely sure of one thing: she was happy and as free as she could have possibly been. With a loving brother, a mother who was too focused on her job and new relationship to even think about support group and a boyfriend who loved her with the same care and tenderness that he had given her when they had first met. Kyle and Mickey were her only problems, ones that she wouldn't be able to rid herself of.
Yet that moment wasn't in need of despair; it was a time for celebration. Cat skipped in excitement before everyone else, hiding away her bubbling smile from her chattering band mates. Not noticing the extra car in the driveway, hearing the walls shake with thunderous voices froze her.
"You can't control who I can and cannot see!"
She could clearly hear her mother screaming at another - quite confidently, she might add - yet it was unclear who was at the receiving end of the argument. There was a dark reply, from what Cat could make out and although the voice should have been enough to put a name to the other person, it wasn't. Harsh words were exchanged, going back and forth. The voices were two strong winds pushing in opposite directions, as though forcing the other to step down from their place in the family's hierarchy.
"Are you serious..." Henry began to curse as he pushed past Cat, ordering Aaron to keep everyone away for just a few minutes.
As per usual, their celebration had been cut short but none other than Kyle Evans.
"What are you doing here?" His voice snapped between them like a whip, with such a ferocity that even the others had to gasp. Beside her, Cat felt Aaron take her hand in his. Its clenching fingers were almost too tight for her but she squeezed his just as tightly.
