UNEDITED CHAPTER NINE [2]

       Like she said, Catherine and Nathan walked the pie off for another three blocks until they stopped at another tall building. The outside looked a little fancy, but the inside was just four plain walls with a few chairs and an old woman behind the front desk; she was asleep with a newspaper displayed in front of her.

       "That's Gloria," Catherine pointed out. "She's a pretty nice lady, once you look past her mean outer-crust."

       They got in the elevator, and she pressed the button for the third floor. The elevator music was quite unbearable for him, though his mother seemed pretty calm and casual. Of course, she was used to it by now, wasn't she?

       The ding of the elevator, followed by the door opening came as a relief to Nathan.

       "Room 412," Catherine mumbled as she searched in her bag for her keys.

       The halls were narrow, so Nathan ended up walking behind his mother. The walls were a yellowish color, probably not the original color, though. There were some stains on the carpet, and it smelled like wood varnish.

       They reached the end of the hall and stopped at the door labelled 412. Catherine got her keys, and fumbled with the lock for a moment before the clicking of the lock was heard. As she opened the door, Nathan felt something furry touch his foot. He looked down to see a very furry, grey kitten.

       A smile crept up on his face, and he reached down to pick it up.

       "Her name's Tulip," his mother told him.

       "Tulip?" Nathan questioned as she held her up close to his face.

       Meow.

       Nathan smiled and gently scratched behind her ear. She seemed to like it.

       "I found her hiding in the pot of tulips outside on the balcony," Catherine pointed out the opened window.

       Meow.

       Tulip licked Nathan's finger; her rough tongue felt weird against his finger, but it was a new sensation, and it kind of felt good.

       "Have a seat, I'll be back," his mother said before disappearing into another room.

       Nathan walked over the couch (it was very old looking, but it smelled like flowers). He placed Tulip on his lap, where she sat comfortably. Nathan rubbed her head with his index finger, causing her to close her eyes and purr. After a few seconds, her eyes opened and she caught Nathan's finger between her sharp teeth.

       "Ow!" Nathan chuckled in delight. It didn't hurt his calloused finger that much, but he thought it was very cute.

       Nathan set her down on the ground and knelt in front of her with his finger moving about in front of her.

       Immediately, she pounced into the air and tried to snatch his finger. Nathan pulled back and watch her land on her paws, her eyes wide and frantic. He laughed and went back into position. Tulip settled into a get-ready stance, her tail in the air swinging behind her.

       Nathan smirked and teased her, moving his finger closer and closer until eventually pulling away abruptly.  Tulip leaped forward, but failed to catch his finger; instead, she bumped into his knee, and meowed in defeat.

       Nathan picked her up and went over the the couch once again. Tulip settled into his arms, rubbing her head against his right arm.

       Nathan had a cat before—he was probably twelve or thirteen—but not for long. Everyone that lived close by had dogs: big and viscous dogs. Now of course, there was no way of keeping a cat indoors forever, and it was Nathan's mistake of accidentally leaving the window of his room opened; His cat—Frisk— slept in his room most of the time, and that night he was sound asleep on his bed.

       Somehow, in the dead of night, he must have woken up and decided to go for a midnight stroll, only to return with bloodied fur and a broken leg. Nathan cried all the way to the vet, clutching his barely breathing feline companion.

       Forty eight hours later, Nathan was digging a hole for his old pal, Frisk.

       "She likes you," Nathan was bumped out of his thoughts by his smiling mother. She sat next to him and tucked her feet under her. "I wish I could keep her though," she sighed.

       "Why can't you keep her?" he asked, petting Tulip's head.

       "There's a No Pets Allowed policy. The landlord's already threatened me twice."

       Nathan nodded.

      Silence.

       Purr.

       Silence.

       Purr. Purr.

       Si
       le
       nc
       e.

       "Would you like to take her home?" Catherine asked. Nathan turned to look at his mother: her hands were clasped tightly in front of her with her lips clamped shut with a 'would-you-please-take-her?-look-she-already-loves-you' look.

       "I don't know... I don't think dad might be okay with it," he replied.

       "I don't think your dad's that heartless. I think she'll be safe with you-"

       "No she won't," Nathan said, remembering Frisk. He didn't want the responsibility of taking care of Tulip, only to be careless with her like he did with Frisk.

       "Nathan, I know she'll be safe with you," she touched his head. "At least take her home until I find someone else who might be able to keep her permanently."

       Tulip was now laying on the arm of the sofa, her back against his outstretched arm.

       Nathan sighed.
       She was so cute.
       How could he say no?
       He sighed again.

       "Okay," he said.

       A smile crept up on Catherine's face, and she squealed in delight. Suddenly, Nathan felt her arms wrapped around his shoulder. He'd never felt his mother touch before: she squeezed him tightly, with her soft cheeks pressed against his. She smelled like flowers, too.

       Catherine realized that she took her son by surprise, and so she pulled away quickly.

       Nathan felt the place where she had touched him become cold almost immediately when she pulled away. He tried not to look upset, but a rush of pain and guilt engulfed him. There was still a lot left for him to resolve with her and his father.

       "Your dad and I spoke about your choice in career path, and I think being a musician is pretty cool," she began.

       "You're not mad that I don't wanna be a doctor or a lawyer, or something?' He asked.

       His father wasn't fond of his choice, and steadily complained that he should be focusing more on his studies rather than writing lyrics late at night.

       "When I was young I wanted to be a musician. I used to play the guitar, the piano, the trumpet, heck, I even talked my dad into letting me go to Cello classes at the community college near by. It's kind of where I met your dad..." she smiled shyly.

       "Dad played the cello?" Nathan asked, his eyebrow arched in curiosity.

       "No," Catherine chuckled and settled more into a story-telling position. They were communicating, and they both felt very comfortable for the first time. "He was a student there, and he took part in a lot of extra-curricular activities, one being table tennis."

       His father used to brag about all the table championships he'd won back when he was in college.

       "The table tennis room was next to the music room, and one day I ended up being late for lessons because I was busy peeking in and watching him play. It was interesting how intense it was. I thought it was just something old Asian people used to play when they were bored and wanted to get some exercise, like my grandmother. One time I just... I completely ditched cello just to stalk him... I was so embarrassed when he caught me," she bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling. She was blushing.

       Guess that answers one of my questions, Nathan thought.

       "I ended up ditching cello forever just to hang out with him. My dad was pissed when he found out..."

       "Did you stop playing music overall?" Nathan asked.

       "I stopped playing instruments, but my heart never stopped singing for James," she sighed.

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Currently working on the soundtrack for this book. How are you guys this evening? Aren't those kitty pics just adorable?! Tell me what you think in the comments below vvvvvvv

btw... CAMP NANOWRIMO IS TOMORROW AND I'M STOKED!

See any grammar mistakes? COMMENT BELOW! It helps me (:

Thanks for reading!

- love, rose