Meow, Meow
Eight
Narissa is up on her feet, standing near her study desk. Her deep brown orbs stare at me wildly, taking in my appearance. Her mouth lolls open, but she quickly shuts it once she realizes exactly the of situation she believes she’s in.
“W-who are you? And what-what do you want?” Her voice is higher pitched and broken in parts.
“The name is Penny.” I breath, my eyes following Narissa carefully. “And it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.” I smile, untwisting myself from the now empty sheets and sliding off the bed slowly so as not to alarm her.
Eyeing me just as closely, she shift as far away from me as possible. “I don’t have a lot. All the money I have is in shoebox in the closet. And t-take anything in the house you want. Just-Just don’t hurt me.”
“I don’t want money and I definitely don’t want to hurt you.” I admit with a sure shake of my head.
My tumultuous feelings crash over me, muddling my mind and making it near impossible for me to focus with any real clarity. All I want to do is wrap Narissa in my arms and hold and comfort her like moments ago.
This insane urge causes me to make a very big mistake. I take more than just one unbridled step towards her, my hands reaching.
Her eyes widen and she hastily grabs the first thing she can, which is a lamp, and rips it from the wall to brandish as a weapon against me. “Get-get away from me!” She croaks.
Fear is written all over her. In the white of her widen eyes, the way she stands pressed tight against the wall, and how her body trembles violently.
I don’t like it. And I hate that I’m the reason behind it.
Restraining myself, I bow my head taking several steps backwards. I open my mouth to say something but an intelligible garble emits instead of words that I don’t even know if I should say.
She blinks, looking incredulously at me.
My brain tries to come up with something to explain the reason why I’m here naked in her room, and was previously clutching her as if there was no tomorrow. I try to find words to express the fact that the only thing I want- need from her is her reciprocated affection.
Before I can, her voice reaches me again. This time it has an edge to it. The look in her eyes tells me that even though she’s afraid she’s mentally prepared to fight me just in case I try something.
“What do you want?” She asks for the second time.
“Uhhhh…I…I…I don’t want anything from you.” I fumble and throw my hands up helplessly as I struggle painfully.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. You’re ruining it. She’s never going to want to talk to you or see you again. You should’ve just shifted! Why!
“Then get the hell out of my house.” I look up from my mental attack on myself to see that her expression had hardened and glazed over. She shifts her arms, poised and ready if needed.
“But…but I-I…you’re my mate.” I blurt even more helplessly, adverting my gaze and fall into my habit of bringing my hands together to fiddle with thumbs. “I just-I just want to be here with you.”
There’s a long, tense silence. Even without looking into her face, I know that it has to be twisted with shock and maybe even disgust.
“I want you to get out.”
My heart quivers inside my chest. I can’t hold back the shameful whimper that makes its way out of me. I gasp afterwards, reaching up to cover my mouth and hide the flush of my cheeks.
Another much shorter silence fills the room, in which our eyes reconnect when I slowly lift mine to hers. She considers me intensely.
“I don’t care what you think I am. Get the hell out of my house.” She commands, taking a step towards me, lamp in hand. “Now.”
Like a fish out of water I gasp and shudder under the intensity of her tone. It reminds me of something I really rather not remember. Least of all now, and not from her.
“I-I’m sorry. About this and everything.” I mumble softly, not even attempting to look her in the eyes.
A kind of sorrow begins to well up inside me, obstructing my throat and making tears sting the backs of my eyes. Before it can spill out, I shift into my cat form and with a quick glance at her I turn and run. And run and run as fast my feline body will allow.
At least I do until my legs give way from under me and I collapse onto a side street of a town much bigger than Clinton. Actually it’s more of a city.
The rain, alternating between a torrent of icy sheets and a lighter drizzle, is still pouring from the dark smoky gray sky. Every so often there’s a gust of wind that could shake the doors of any house.
None of this matters to me, not the rain or the cold. Or the fact that I could possibly get ran over.
She rejected me.
My body jerks and I can’t seem to get enough air into my lungs, so my breaths come in short gasps. It feels like my heart has a ragged tear in it. And it hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt before, even all the things that Luka has done to me.
A flash of lightening suddenly illuminates my less than attractive surroundings. A deafening clap of thunder trails not too far behind, so loud that makes my teeth rattle.
An inkling of my survival instinct comes in as I pull myself together enough to find a small alley between two buildings that I can slip into. It’s just wide enough that I can shift into my more human form.
I pull my legs up to my chest and press my forehead against my knees. Tears begin to stream down my face, mixing with the rain that is pouring from the sky.
Even though my skin is a lot tougher than a human’s, after a while the cold creeps into my bones, making me tremble more violently than just my emotions alone. However, I don’t attempt to move to shelter. I sit, folding in on myself, tears streaming from my eyes.
You’re being dramatic. I tell myself. She didn’t reject you. She was just scared, that’s all.
Still, I feel like my whole world is starting to tumble before my eyes. And it hurts. It hurts like hell. because I might have scared off the one person who could make it better.
The minutes pass and lengthen into an hour. Finally, in the midst despair the despair that’s clouding my senses, I notice a presence coming towards me. I don’t make a move to shift, run, or even look up to see who it is. It could be Tracker for all I care.
“Penny?”
At the sound of my name I glance towards the entrance of this little alcove I’ve huddled myself into. From behind a curtain of black hair, purple tinted eyes stare at me, full of the deepest concern and worry. A pale, hand reaches out warmly, offering me comfort.
A quick second passes by. My body groans as I shift and reach out to take the hand, which I find to be warm and dry. Almost instantly, I feel calmer and more relaxed. The raging emotions inside of me are quelled to a quiet storm.
“Come on, hun. Let’s get you home.”
“W-who are you? And what-what do you want?” Her voice is higher pitched and broken in parts.
“The name is Penny.” I breath, my eyes following Narissa carefully. “And it’s alright. I’m not going to hurt you.” I smile, untwisting myself from the now empty sheets and sliding off the bed slowly so as not to alarm her.
Eyeing me just as closely, she shift as far away from me as possible. “I don’t have a lot. All the money I have is in shoebox in the closet. And t-take anything in the house you want. Just-Just don’t hurt me.”
“I don’t want money and I definitely don’t want to hurt you.” I admit with a sure shake of my head.
My tumultuous feelings crash over me, muddling my mind and making it near impossible for me to focus with any real clarity. All I want to do is wrap Narissa in my arms and hold and comfort her like moments ago.
This insane urge causes me to make a very big mistake. I take more than just one unbridled step towards her, my hands reaching.
Her eyes widen and she hastily grabs the first thing she can, which is a lamp, and rips it from the wall to brandish as a weapon against me. “Get-get away from me!” She croaks.
Fear is written all over her. In the white of her widen eyes, the way she stands pressed tight against the wall, and how her body trembles violently.
I don’t like it. And I hate that I’m the reason behind it.
Restraining myself, I bow my head taking several steps backwards. I open my mouth to say something but an intelligible garble emits instead of words that I don’t even know if I should say.
She blinks, looking incredulously at me.
My brain tries to come up with something to explain the reason why I’m here naked in her room, and was previously clutching her as if there was no tomorrow. I try to find words to express the fact that the only thing I want- need from her is her reciprocated affection.
Before I can, her voice reaches me again. This time it has an edge to it. The look in her eyes tells me that even though she’s afraid she’s mentally prepared to fight me just in case I try something.
“What do you want?” She asks for the second time.
“Uhhhh…I…I…I don’t want anything from you.” I fumble and throw my hands up helplessly as I struggle painfully.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. You’re ruining it. She’s never going to want to talk to you or see you again. You should’ve just shifted! Why!
“Then get the hell out of my house.” I look up from my mental attack on myself to see that her expression had hardened and glazed over. She shifts her arms, poised and ready if needed.
“But…but I-I…you’re my mate.” I blurt even more helplessly, adverting my gaze and fall into my habit of bringing my hands together to fiddle with thumbs. “I just-I just want to be here with you.”
There’s a long, tense silence. Even without looking into her face, I know that it has to be twisted with shock and maybe even disgust.
“I want you to get out.”
My heart quivers inside my chest. I can’t hold back the shameful whimper that makes its way out of me. I gasp afterwards, reaching up to cover my mouth and hide the flush of my cheeks.
Another much shorter silence fills the room, in which our eyes reconnect when I slowly lift mine to hers. She considers me intensely.
“I don’t care what you think I am. Get the hell out of my house.” She commands, taking a step towards me, lamp in hand. “Now.”
Like a fish out of water I gasp and shudder under the intensity of her tone. It reminds me of something I really rather not remember. Least of all now, and not from her.
“I-I’m sorry. About this and everything.” I mumble softly, not even attempting to look her in the eyes.
A kind of sorrow begins to well up inside me, obstructing my throat and making tears sting the backs of my eyes. Before it can spill out, I shift into my cat form and with a quick glance at her I turn and run. And run and run as fast my feline body will allow.
At least I do until my legs give way from under me and I collapse onto a side street of a town much bigger than Clinton. Actually it’s more of a city.
The rain, alternating between a torrent of icy sheets and a lighter drizzle, is still pouring from the dark smoky gray sky. Every so often there’s a gust of wind that could shake the doors of any house.
None of this matters to me, not the rain or the cold. Or the fact that I could possibly get ran over.
She rejected me.
My body jerks and I can’t seem to get enough air into my lungs, so my breaths come in short gasps. It feels like my heart has a ragged tear in it. And it hurts more than anything I’ve ever felt before, even all the things that Luka has done to me.
A flash of lightening suddenly illuminates my less than attractive surroundings. A deafening clap of thunder trails not too far behind, so loud that makes my teeth rattle.
An inkling of my survival instinct comes in as I pull myself together enough to find a small alley between two buildings that I can slip into. It’s just wide enough that I can shift into my more human form.
I pull my legs up to my chest and press my forehead against my knees. Tears begin to stream down my face, mixing with the rain that is pouring from the sky.
Even though my skin is a lot tougher than a human’s, after a while the cold creeps into my bones, making me tremble more violently than just my emotions alone. However, I don’t attempt to move to shelter. I sit, folding in on myself, tears streaming from my eyes.
You’re being dramatic. I tell myself. She didn’t reject you. She was just scared, that’s all.
Still, I feel like my whole world is starting to tumble before my eyes. And it hurts. It hurts like hell. because I might have scared off the one person who could make it better.
The minutes pass and lengthen into an hour. Finally, in the midst despair the despair that’s clouding my senses, I notice a presence coming towards me. I don’t make a move to shift, run, or even look up to see who it is. It could be Tracker for all I care.
“Penny?”
At the sound of my name I glance towards the entrance of this little alcove I’ve huddled myself into. From behind a curtain of black hair, purple tinted eyes stare at me, full of the deepest concern and worry. A pale, hand reaches out warmly, offering me comfort.
A quick second passes by. My body groans as I shift and reach out to take the hand, which I find to be warm and dry. Almost instantly, I feel calmer and more relaxed. The raging emotions inside of me are quelled to a quiet storm.
“Come on, hun. Let’s get you home.”