It's all gone, no more.
My stomach rumbles, wanting to take what's left.Sometimes I cry and lick whatever's next to me to get a taste.Anything to make the hands strangling my stomach go away.
The sun came up again after being gone for too long.For a little while, I thought someone turned off my eyes and ripped the switch and wiring out of the wall.I keep checking though, to see if they’ve fallen out or chose to dangle from my eyelids.When I touch, on the hunt for blood's sticky residue and the smell of it on my fingers, I always come up empty handed.
Then, I asked the spiders.
Feather-light tippy-taps lurk along the skin of my neck, on their merry way to my ears.There, I can hear them.Faint, teeny tiny whispers but they speak!
It was taking a nap—the sun.Can you fucking believe that?Lazy.Weneedthe sun, okay?What are humans supposed to do when it’s lollygagging around taking fuckingnaps?
Don’t get me started on the damn mirror.Kate’s ugly face fills the reflection any time I pass by.But the worst part is I’m actually sad to see the glass carving her features.So, I pulled it all down and set it in a pile on the shower floor.Once I wrenched the water on high, the pain and sadness that I watched fester in the broken shards went away.Washed down the drain—all gone.
Of course, it’s in my fucking way now.Everything is and it has to go!
For another sun-nap, I attacked whatever moved in my cave then banished it!Outside, there’s a cliff with metal grates that let me see the sky and land beyond.It’s so pretty; sometimes I want to squeeze through and frolic so my people can see me pave the way with glee.But the high countess forbids me, therefore, it holds my court safe from invasion.
Further outwith and through the dragon-proof barrier, I cast out filth which has no place in my kingdom.In my royal chambers, chin held high like that of a queen, my subjects are rendered silent.
Good.
They fear me and what I may do.The man holding my coat was just sacrificed to a fire-breathing lizard.It would do the rest of my court well to stay in their place or suffer!
"Trick-or-treat!"I scream.
The door still refuses to open as I stand before it in the best costumeever!
I’m a kitty.
I look like Bruce.
Oh, Bruce...I miss him so much.I...it makes me sad.I should go to him.He needs his mama.We are supposed to exchange hugs and kisses every day, and I owe him!One, two, three, four...wait a second.
"Hey!Give me the candy!"My fist pounds on the barricaded door.
I can hear the rude lady hiding on the other side.Her dog begins to sniff at me from under the wood with huffs so hard dust kicks onto my paws.
That's it.
Giving the door my back, my right leg lifts and launches, slamming into the wood with my boot’s heel until the framework rattles.
I'll get in this damn house one way or another.
Back at the apartment, my candy held protectively against my chest, I twirl my extra-long kitty tail around and around as we plop on the couch and rummage through our spoils.Kate keeps opening pieces and sniffing them, which makes me giggle.She has the ugliest face; Liz just rolls her eyes and snatches away the sweet.With a toss, it lands somewhere on the other side of the living room.Why she won’t eat what she takes, I don’t know.Always so picky and specific.
“Me next!”
I rummage through the bag for a few seconds, on the hunt for my favorite tangy tablet candies.When I find them, I can’t stop myself from shaking the container to listen to the pieces rattle within.I flick my wrist and twist the top off so quick it launches.In one massive kitty-gulp, I swallow them whole.They're supposed to be sweet, sour, and fruity, but all I taste is chemical bitterness.
Fuck, these are disgusting.
Displeased, I snatch the bag from Liz and find another goodie—taffy this time.Unwrapped, my teeth grit as sugar punches through the enamel to my jawbone.An ache spreads far and wide; at least it tastes better than the pills.
This is much better.
This is the life.
Chapter twenty-five
