Chapter 274 Cat and Mouse 30

Chapter 274 Cat and Mouse 30
Cat

I don’t remember Dana shouting for Copper, or him carrying me inside the house after Psych had rode off and I had collapsed in the dirt. 

I remember Danny and Lana coming to me and giving me a flower they had picked from the garden and I remembered clutching that tiny stem all the way home.

After that it was a blur. 

I’d been here before. In this depressive black hole where I didn’t go to work. I didn’t answer my phone.

I didn’t even shower and I only ever got out of bed when I absolutely needed to. 

I just laid there on my side. In the tshirt I had found down the side of my mattress that still smelt like him and stared at that little wilting flower.

I don’t know how much time passed. It felt like an eternity and even though I knew that I had to give myself a shake and face the world.

Even though I told myself I’d get up tomorrow. Tomorrow never came.

I was filthy. And soon enough the shirt smelt less like psych and more like the grime that coated me after days and days of not washing. I didn’t take it off though. It was the only thing I had left of him.

Psych was gone and he wasn’t planning on coming back. I had lost the best thing to ever happen to me and all because I had been scared.

Chase would have called me a fucking coward. He would have yelled at me and told me I threw away a good man over a ghost. I knew he would. 

But I had been scared. Scared of loving and losing again and all that had got me was more loss. Because Psych was gone and I couldn’t even blame him for it.

This was all my fault.

Bringing my knees up to my chest, I dry sobbed into them. I didn’t have any tears left in me.

I didn’t have anything left of me.

I was broken beyond repair.

“Her door is unlocked.”

I heard the familiar voice but it didn’t really register in my brain. Not until my door opened and a gaggle of women entered.

First and centre Dana. Her eyes found me straight away and softened. “Oh sweetheart.” She rushed forward, falling to her knees and pulling me into a hug. “Have you been in bed all this time?”

I shrugged awkwardly. 

“Looks like it.” That sounded like Lottie. My eyes flicked to her. Next to her a red haired girl was fidgeting uncomfortably. Her little upturned nose wrinkled up. And that’s when I realised the state of the place. Sitting up, I pulled on a ratty robe over my equally ratty tee. 

“Sorry.” I mumbled. “If I had known you guys were coming over I would have tidied up.” Blushing scarlet I headed to pile plates that had been scattered everywhere into the sink. Which was already full.

There were things growing on some of them that probably needed naming soon.

The little red head, Mairi. Gunners woman and Ravens daughter touched my arm. And then without warning she hugged me to.

When she stepped back she signed quickly. I didn’t understand sign language

“She’s telling you it doesn’t matter. As long as you are ok.” Someone told me.

“I- uh.” I was about to lie and tell them I was doing ok. But that would be a lie. It was the kind of lie that was all around me. I was very clearly not doing ok.

“Oh sweetheart.” They swarmed me. And I was surrounded from all sides by the warm embrace of women I knew wanted to be my friends.

“It’s going to be ok. He’s a fool and-“

I hiccuped. “He was right. I was torturing him with not knowing what I wanted but-“ another sniffle. “He did the right thing. It just hurts.”

“Do you know what you want now?” Rancher's woman Melody asked softly. 

“To be happy. I just want this awful empty hollow feeling to go away.” I admitted. “I want to start living. I just don’t know how.”

“Well shower first.” Dana stepped forward. “Shower. Take as long as you need. We aren’t going anywhere. We will straighten up out here and then lunch.” Her nose wrinkled at the junk food wrappers in the rubbish bin. “Maybe something with a vegetable.”

“I don’t want to go anywhere. I’m not ready.”

She gripped me by the upper arms. Forcing me to look at her.  “You’ll never be ready unless you force yourself to be.”

“Plus.” Lottie said. “We aren’t here purely from the kindness of our hearts.”

The others glared at her and she shrugged. “She deserves to know.” Hands on her hips Lottie stood her ground. “Daisy got a letter two days ago.”

I stared at her. “Ok.”

“With pictures and threats to the baby.”

My heart which had been beating slowly. Suddenly sped up.

“What?”

“It said.” She met my eyes evenly. “You took something I loved from me. I think it’s time you knew the same kind of pain.”

I felt sick. Stella. I had almost forgotten her in all the mayhem of the last few weeks. I already knew she was crazy but to threaten a new born seemed to be a new sort of low.

“No way.” I shook my head. “How is Raven taking it?”

“He has her and the boy on lockdown. Which is why we are here. We need your help.”

I blinked stupidly. “What can I do?”

“She’s contacted you hasn't she? Before. But she doesn’t know you are affiliated with the club.”

“She probably does.”

“I don’t think it matters.” Dana said softly. “I think if you invite her to a meeting with your friends she won’t be able to resist coming. She wants more than half the people here dead. She blames us for what happened to Josh and whatever that other dude's name was.”

Lottie's lips thinned but she didn’t give his name.

“Ok, I can do that as long as the club knows-“ I trailed off as their eyes shifted away. “You do plan on telling the men don’t you? She’s dangerous and-“

“We will tell them. But when they can’t stop us. We need her crazy ass off the streets if any of us are going to live peacefully. So what do you say Cat, will you help us?”

Hopefully expectant eyes turned towards me. Usually I wouldn’t get involved but I knew something about living in fear and there was only one person standing in the way of their happily ever afters .

I might not get mine anymore. But I wanted all of them to get theirs.

I nodded. Yeah I would help them.