Chapter 22 — Bloodstain

JUSTIN walked around the parking lot to find Audrey, but he couldn’t see her. He was starting to get nervous because her alter persona, Althea was causing trouble whenever she took over Audrey’s body. It’s not just simple trouble that could be quickly resolved by proper communication; Justin knew that Althea could do worse than what she did at the mall. He can see in her eyes how she hated him and Nikki for fooling her and Audrey. She was furious and was ready to hurt anyone without second thoughts.

Althea is dangerous, and Justin has to do everything to stop her from causing trouble before she can put Audrey’s life in danger. Every time Althea was doing something terrible, Audrey was being held accountable. Like what happened earlier, she was attacked by Nikki because she thought it was the woman who assaulted her and her friends yesterday.

Althea badly wanted to get out permanently. And, if that happens, Audrey will be gone forever. But why does Althea kept insisting that it was her who came out first?

Justin roamed around the parking lot to look for Audrey, then he heard giggles from behind the red sedan. He slowly walked towards the car and peeked behind it. There he saw Audrey crouched in front of a tabby kitten who stared back at her.

“Hi, there, kitty,” Audrey greeted the stray kitten and reached for its head, but the kitten hissed. “Oh!”

“Audrey!” Justin immediately caught her back before she fell to the ground. “Are you okay? Did it bite you?”

Audrey looked up at him and smiled awkwardly. “I guess not.” She stood and checked her hand. “I don’t see any bite marks,” she said and showed her his hand. “I guess the kitty is as stressed as me.”

Justin took her hand and held it tightly. “I was looking for you; I thought you’ve left without me.”

Audrey knotted her forehead. “I’m just here. Then, I noticed this kitten under the car.” She looked at the cat. “She looked hungry and weak. Do you have food in your bag?”

Justin shook his head. “Let’s go to the canteen and buy food for…” He looked at the kitten. “What’s its gender?”

Audrey shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know how to check a kitten’s gender. Do you know how?”

Justin crouched in front of the kitten and caught it on the nape. He lifted its tale and looked at its butt. “It’s female,” he said and released it. The kitten meowed at him as if it wanted to be lifted again.

Audrey giggled. “I think she likes you, Justin. Should we give her a name?”

“If you give her name, she might think that you’re adopting her,” he said and pinched her cheek.

“I want to adopt her, but I don’t think my mom would want a cat in the house and…” She hesitated. “And I don’t want her to witness my switches.”

Justin smiled and caressed her head. “I’ll take her home. But for now, we have to get her food.”

Audrey’s eyes sparkled in excitement. “Really? You’ll do that for me?” When he nodded, she jumped and hugged him. “Thanks, Justin. I will visit her often—oh, is it okay with your parents to have a cat?”

“Mom loves animals so much that she took a veterinarian course in college,” he said. “And, about dad, it’s fine with him as long as I’ll be responsible for taking care of it.”

“Wow, I hope I have parents like yours,” she said and smiled sadly. “I really don’t know why my mom doesn’t want us to have pets. Uncle Edward once brought a dog in our house, and mom got hysterical, shouted at him to get the dog out of the house.”

“Maybe she’s allergic to animals?”

Audrey shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. She never mentioned to me that she has allergies,” she replied and sighed. “Anyway, I’m really thankful that you’ll adopt this kitten. But where are we going to hide her? If the guards found her, they might throw her outside.”

Justin thought about it. “Let’s bring her to the industrial park.”

“Isn’t it too far? We’ll go to the canteen, right? How about we get a box there and put her inside it temporarily. We’ll visit her here every after class.”

“Okay, then let’s get her a box and food quickly,” he said, then remembered her wet clothes. “You should change first, then we’ll get the kitten’s needs.”

Audrey nodded and took the P.E. uniform from him. She talked to the kitten before they left. “Hey, stay here, okay? We’ll be quick. Don’t go anywhere.”

***

AS SOON they got inside the canteen, Audrey went to the comfort room to change. She looked at the mirror and noticed the faint red stain on her uniform. She cursed and quickly washed the bloodstain out of her uniform. It was just a tiny dot, and she doubted if Justin saw it.

“I hope he didn’t,” she said and smirked at her own reflection in the mirror. “Mom doesn’t want to get a pet because she still can’t move on from what happened at dad’s funeral.”

After making sure the bloodstain was gone, Althea stepped inside the third cubicle to change her clothes. After just a few seconds, she heard the comfort room door creaked open, and the voices of two or more girls filled the room.

“Have you seen Nikki?”

“No, why?”

“She didn’t attend her first class.”

“She was always like that.” The girl chuckled. “Maybe she’s having a good time now at the industrial park.”

The other girl groaned. “Maybe she got stressed by that weirdo because Justin came to her rescue.”

“That weirdo acted strange earlier. Did you notice it? It was as if she was a completely different person—”

Althea swung open the toilet door and went on their side in front of the mirror. The three women looked at her in startled expressions. “If I am not mistaken, you are talking about me?”

The three women swallowed hard, but the one in the middle spoke. “Yes, why? Do you have a problem with that?”

Althea smirked. “You’re so brave, sweetie. Are you brave enough to get your head banged on the sink?”

They all stepped back with what she said. When they couldn’t speak, Althea laughed at them.

“Look at your coward faces in the mirror,” she said and pointed at the mirror. She walked towards the door, but before she stepped outside, she looked at them. “I’m just kidding, by the way.”