October Writing Prompts- Pinterest List by ZellyKatArt
October 24- Scary
Sapphire walked into her apartment and closed the door behind her. When the door slammed, she heard someone groan from the other room, her roommate Holly. Holly had been up all night studying for a test while Sapphire had been out all night working. She was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get to bed. Sapphire gently wrapped her knuckle on Holly’s door as she always did and made her way to her small room towards the back of the apartment. Sapphire got ready for a few hours of morning sleep and fell into bed. Sapphire placed her phone on her side table on the charger. She curled up under her covers and fell asleep.
Sapphire heard something behind her as she walked towards the library at school. She couldn’t figure out what the sound was and when she looked behind her, she didn’t see anyone there.
Swish…
Swish…
Swish…
Sapphire quickened her pace and ran up the stairs to the library. The sound only grew louder and closer behind her. She turned to catch whoever it was right behind her, but again she saw no one. Something hit her from behind and sent her flying down the stairs.
Sapphire sat up in bed, screaming. Sweat poured down her forehead as she stared around her room. The birds were happily chirping outside her window and the sun peeked through the curtains at her. She checked her phone and saw that she had only been asleep for three hours. Sapphire had wanted to sleep for another two more hours at least, but after that nightmare, she wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep. She pushed her covers off and got out of bed. She washed her face and changed her clothes. While she changed, she heard movement from the kitchen. Holly was up.
Sapphire joined Holly and took the mug of hot coffee from her friend. She sipped it and sat down, cradling the mug in her hands. “Thanks.” Sapphire smiled over her mug as Holly sat across from her. “So, are you ready?”
Holly looked at her strangely. “Ready? Ready for what?”
“For us to go to the Kitty Café to adopt our new friend,” Sapphire said, excited. She sipped her coffee, her eyes never leaving Sapphire’s face.
Sapphire smacked her forehead. “I completely forgot that was today.” She sighed and looked at her friend. “I’m so sorry, Holly. I already made plans to go out with a few friends from class and get lunch.”
Sapphire’s face fell, and she glared at Holly. “We’re supposed to do this together, so we know the cat likes both of us.”
“Sorry, Sapphire.” Holly shrugged and sipped her coffee. “I’m sure you can find a cat on your own. Besides, I told you I wasn’t really into getting a cat. But I said I would let you get one and all that, but it would be your cat.”
Sapphire shook her head and stood up, flinching when the chair scarped on the floor. “That’s fine. I’ll go by myself and find my cat.” Sapphire stormed out of the kitchen. She had been looking forward to today and had wanted to go with Holly. She wanted to make sure the cat liked both of them, so there weren’t any issues. Sapphire grabbed her purse, keys, sunglasses, and the cat carrier she had bought to bring the cat home in. She stormed out of the apartment and to her car. She grumbled, “She used to be my best friend. Now we live together and she wants to hang out with anyone but me.”
Sapphire drove to the Kitty Café and parked, still fuming. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She didn’t want to take in her negative energy and not find a cat. Sapphire grabbed her things and headed to the door. She pulled it opened and smiled. There was a café that sat outside, a huge place where cats from local humane societies played with one another. Kittens dashed around the room while the older cats lounged on the furniture that had been donated. Sapphire walked to the front and smiled at the young man behind the cash register.
“Hi, I’m Sapphire Davis. I made an appointment to come play with cats and hopefully find one to take home.” She held up the cat carrier to show him she was serious about adopting that day. She read his name on his nametag.
“Great,” Gerret said. “I can keep your carrier with me while you play with the cats.”
Sapphire handed him the carrier, signed in, and headed into the play area. Sapphire laughed when two kittens jumped on each other and became a ball of fluff. There were few others there, but not many. She walked around, just watching the cats. She wanted to see if any of them came to her first. Sapphire sat down on one of the couches and just watched. A beautiful Torti with long hair walked over to her. She looked up at Sapphire and meowed. Sapphire stared into her blue and green eyes and smiled.
“Well hello there,” she said, and bent down to pet her. The cat pressed herself against Sapphire’s hand and purred. After a few minutes of her petting the cat, Sapphire sat up and looked around again. No other cat had come to her except for this one. She didn’t know if she wanted a long-haired cat, though. It meant she’d have to clean more, but the cat was friendly, cute, and seemed to love her already.
“Do you want to come home with me, kitty?” She scratched the cat under the chin. The cat meowed at her and jumped up on the couch, forcing herself onto Sapphire’s lap. Sapphire smiled and picked the cat up. The cat clung to her and rubbed her head against Sapphire’s. “Okay, then, you’re coming home with me.”
Sapphire placed the cat on the couch. “Let me go to the paperwork and then we can go home.” Sapphire hurried out to the register. “I’ve found her.” She turned and pointed at the Tortoiseshell long-haired cat. “Her! I’ll take her!”
Garrett smiled and nodded. “She just came in a couple of days ago. Her owner passed, and the family didn’t want to keep her, so she came here. Her name is Chloe.”
“Chloe,” said Sapphire as she stared at the cat. Chloe sat on the couch, staring out at her. She ignored the other cats as a few tried to play with her. “Then I will take Chloe home with me.”
Garrett nodded and grabbed her file. “Here is everything we know about Chloe and sign these.” He gave her a pen and the papers, saying she’d take care of Chloe now, but if she couldn’t, she’d bring Chloe back there and not anywhere else. “I’m glad Chloe has a new home. She’s such a loving cat.”
Sapphire signed everything, took the paperwork, and paid the adoption fee. Once it was all finalized, Garrett let her back into the back with her carrier. She sat on the couch and took a picture with Chloe, who stood on her lap and stared up at her. When Garrett placed the opened carrier next to Chloe, Chloe walked right in and sat down, ready to go home. Sapphire picked up the carrier and left.
“I can’t wait for you to meet my roommate, Holly. She’s great and one of my best friends.” Sapphire parked in her marked space and carried Chloe to her new home. She had already told the landlord about getting a cat, so she wouldn’t have to worry about getting in trouble. Plus, the landlord had cats, too, so she was excited to have more cats on the block. Sapphire just had to tell her about Chloe and to show the landlord.
Sapphire walked inside and was about to call for Holly, but she remembered Holly would be gone. She let Chloe out and showed the cat where her food and water bowl were, both already filled, and where the cat litter was. Chloe ate a little, then ran to find a place to sleep. Sapphire let the cat in her room, then went and watched TV for a while. Growing tired, she went to her room and cuddled with Chloe.
Swish…
Swish…
Swish…
Sapphire looked around her, but couldn’t see what was coming at her. Was it someone wearing a skirt or robe or something? Sapphire ran. She ran until she came to stairs. She started to go down them when something hit her in the back. She screamed as she fell forward.
Sapphire sat up just as the front door slammed shut. She walked out, rubbing her eyes, and saw Holly was back. Holly hung up her keys by the front door and dropped her stuff. She saw Sapphire and smiled. “Hey.” She went into the kitchen. “So, did you find yourself a cat?”
“Yes, she’s gorgeous. She is a Tortoiseshell long-haired cat, who is 1 years old, and her name is Chloe,” Sapphire clapped her hands excitedly. “Do you want to meet her?”
Holly looked down to see Chloe walk into the kitchen and sat beside Sapphire. Chloe eyed the other human and cocked her head. She meowed a couple of times, but Holly didn’t say anything back.
“Great, long hair. That means we will have to vacuum more.” She grabbed a soda from the fridge and opened it, taking a long sip. Holly looked Chloe over again when she stopped drinking. “She is pretty.” She walked past the two out of the kitchen and disappeared into her room.
Sapphire looked down at Chloe. “Just give her some time. She’ll grow to like you.”
A month had passed since Sapphire adopted Chloe. Holly still ignored the cat and seemed to be acting even stranger than usual. She would snap at Sapphire and started fights more often than usual. After a big fight, Holly had stormed out of the house in a huff. Sapphire had to take Chloe to the vet for a few vaccines and felt drained after the fight. She put Chloe in her carrier and drove to the veterinarian’s office. When she got there, Holly called.
“Listen, Sapphire, I’m really sorry. I’ve just been stressed out over my job and school and tests. I feel like I just can’t catch up with anything,” Holly said, as she sat in her car across town. “How about we meet up after Chloe’s appointment and talk?”
“I am sorry, too, Holly.” Sapphire was glad she had called and apologized. She hated when she and Holly fought. She just wanted everything to be the way they were before they had moved in together. She wanted her best friend back. “Where do you want to meet to talk?”
“I’m close to the library. Meet me here.”
Sapphire agreed and hung up. She grabbed Chloe’s carrier and went inside so they weren’t late for the appointment. Everything went smoothly and Chloe was good for a while. Sapphire drove over to the library, grabbed Chloe’s carrier, and made her way towards the stairs. She stopped at the bottom of them and just stared up. They were the stairs from her nightmares. She shuddered and made her way up them. When she reached the top, she looked around but didn’t see Holly. A cool breeze drifted over her and she shivered. She sat Chloe down and rubbed her arms.
“Sorry, Chloe, we’ll go home right after I talk to Holly.” She looked around, but Holly was still nowhere to be seen. Sapphire grabbed her phone to text her when a sound caught her attention. It was someone coughing a few feet from her. “Chloe, let me check to see if that is Holly, okay?” She glanced down at the carrier when she heard a meow, then walked towards the sound she had heard. There were large pillars at the top of the stairs and Sapphire walked around one to see if Holly was on the other side. There was no one there. She threw her hands up and was about to turn when she heard it. The sound!
Swish…swish…swish…
Sapphire froze, and her breathing came out rapidly. It felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest. Swish…swish…swish… Sapphire turned to face whatever was walking towards her. She looked down and saw Chloe walking towards her. She laughed and placed a hand against her heart when she saw it was Chloe’s tail that had made that sound.
“Chloe, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” She bent down to pet her cat, but froze again.
Swish…swish…swish…
It wasn’t Chloe’s tail this time. She stood up and saw a pair of hands coming at her. Sapphire screamed and wheeled her arms to catch her balance after the hands hit her. But she felt tiny paws hit her as Chloe jumped up and kicked her legs. Sapphire screamed, and she fell backwards down the stairs. When she hit the ground, her eyes stared blankly up at Holly and Chloe.
Chloe weaved around Holly’s legs, brushing her long fluffy tail against the skirt Holly wore. Swish…swish…swish… Her tail and the skirt made the sounds. Holly picked Chloe up and walked back to where Chloe’s carrier still sat. Holly put Chloe down, who walked into the carrier, and picked it up. Chloe walked down the stairs, ignored the people who were screaming and calling 9-1-1, and got in her car in the parking lot. She climbed inside and sat the carrier down on the passenger seat. Holly grinned at Chloe, who purred with her eyes half-closed.
“Let’s go home, Chloe.” Holly stuck her fingers into the carrier and pet Chloe on the head. Chloe shook her head and laid her head down, getting comfortable. Holly pulled out of the parking lot and turned her car towards the apartment with her cat sitting beside her.