Chapter 6
Torrance shivers in disgust when she feels Boston brush his face against her back. Though she couldn’t tell a lie, she did like the new name Alani that he has given her. She shakes her head, thinking to herself that she can’t forget the real name that her parents gave her the day she was born. She feels Boston’s heart beating excitedly against his chest as he carries her back to the cat condo. After she is returned to her cat condo, time seemed like a blur. She sits by the glass, peering out after Cindy and her murderer as they leave to fill out the paperwork for her adoption. Then in a blink of an eye, even though in reality it was nearly thirty minutes, they are back standing in front of her. Cindy is telling Boston that he won’t be able to take her home that day because of the surgery and other matters that needed to be done first. Boston looks disappointed but tells Cindy that he understands and that it will give him time to cat-proof the house as well as time to set up the items he had bought from the pet store.
Boston stands in front of Alani’s glass as Cindy explains that she will request for the spaying surgery to take place right away so that he will be able to take her home at the beginning of next week. Boston nods as he holds his hand on the glass, cursing at himself inside his head. He wanted to take her home that day but he knew that with the holiday weekend coming up, he would have to wait to take the cat with him after the weekend.
“Okay, then Tuesday or Wednesday can I come back to pick her up?” Boston asks as his hand falls away from the glass.
Cindy nods, “We will say Tuesday morning. Hopefully, we can fit her in for surgery tomorrow morning so that way she can rest the next three days.” Cindy places a card that she had brought back with her stating that Alani has already been adopted and is no longer available. She motions for Boston to follow her and the two head back to the front.
Alani…Torrance watches as they leave again, this time neither returning. Surgery? But she still wants kids. Of course, that won’t happen now since she is a cat and no longer a human. What will happen to her parents? Have they buried her already? Will she ever get to see them again? Maybe she can sneak out of the house after she gets her revenge and find her family. She can become their cat. Her mind reels with thoughts of her family and friends, tears slowly slipping out of her eyes, her fur growing wet. She continues to sit by the glass and watches as other staff and visitors come in and out for the next couple of hours. Finally, it is the end of the day and the lights turn off overhead. Torrance slowly walks back to the bed provided to her, lays down, and forcers herself to fall asleep.
About five miles away, Boston is making himself some dinner. He plops down on the couch with a beer in one hand and a big plate of nachos in the other several minutes later. He sets his things down on the coffee table in front of his dark gray couch, switches on the TV, and he flips through the channels until he finds a show about the paranormal terrorizing the living. He glances over to the corner of the living room where he has just put together a three-tier cat tree and takes a swig from his beer bottle His skin prickles as he enjoys the bitter cold drink as it hits his taste buds. He smiles, excited that he will get to bring Alani home on Tuesday even though he wishes he could have brought her home that day. It’s going to be a long weekend waiting around to bring her home. But at least the next couple of days with work and finding a new victim will keep him preoccupied.
He returns his attention back to the TV show and grabs a chip smothered in cheese, refried beans, and salsa. The crunch is satisfying and the mixture on top makes his taste buds beg for more. He grabs another chip but this time smothered in cheese, shredded chicken, and sour cream. After eating a couple more nacho chips and putting the plate back down on the coffee table, he drinks his beer and leans back in his dark blue rocking chair, relaxing. He rocks a few times in his chair before his hunger wins and he picks up the plate, devouring the rest of the nachos. He sets the plate back down on the coffee table and leans back, sipping his beer from time to time as the show finishes and another begins. The next show piques his interest as he sees a group of investigators staying the night in a supposed haunted castle in Ireland. He has always wanted to go to Ireland. The empty beer bottle makes its way next to the plate and the people on the TV jump from time to time as they hear strange noises somewhere off in the darkness. Soon, the sky outside grows dark and Boston’s house grows dim with the lights off. Boston doesn’t bother turning on any of the lights when he came home, so the house slinks into dusk.
After the fourth paranormal show, Boston glances at his wood and metal clock that sits on the wall close to the new cat tree. The hands tell him that it is almost 10:30 pm and that it is time to turn the TV off for the night. Yawning and stretching, he pushes the power button on the remote and the TV turns off, plunging himself into complete blackness. He slowly stands, his body popping from the movement since he hadn’t gotten up from the chair except for maybe twice; once to get another drink and take his plate into the kitchen, and then another time to use the restroom. Boston trudges through the inky black house, heading to the back of the house where his bedroom sits. He runs into a couple of the walls, cursing under his breath with each bump but refuses to turn on any lights since he just wants to crash on his bed. He knew that if he turned on the lights, it would wake him back up again. He finally gets to his bedroom, undresses down to his boxers, brushes his teeth, and then climbs into bed. Feeling exhausted, he lays his head down on the pillow and nearly drifts off to sleep instantly.