Obsession - Ch2

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"blah, blah" - normal conversation.
'blah, blah' - thoughts.
"...'blah'..." - words that are stressed.
BLAH, BLAH - exclaimed words
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Ch- 2, A Distracted Mom?: 2

Packing his bag, and placing his new cat on top of it, Peter looked around the changing room, to check for one last time before leaving. He found nothing that he should be missing, and so he made for the door. The changing rooms for the soccer players were placed under the ground. Not in the literal sense, but it was below and off to the side of the ground, which was technically below the sitting area. 3

Peter was outside, on the grounds again in a couple of minutes, when he saw someone on the stands. It stood out to him only because – there was nobody on the ground playing, and so therefore no game to be watched. He looked and saw that it was the ‘oh-I’m-so-pretty’ kid from earlier. ‘And what’s he doing here,’ he thought, ‘hmm.. definitely ‘fishy’. One point to Claire!’4

Now that he saw him, he realized that the kid was looking at him. He had a calculating look on his face mixed with something else. ‘Gods, what does he want with me?’ The kid seemed almost brownish with all the light that was pouring on the grounds, which made him look like a bronze doll or an Egyptian god – ‘Whoa. Where ever that came from’, thought Peter. ‘He is a blond guy with pale skin remember? Must be the trick of lights’ he assumed. 5

Peter shook his head and headed for the exit which was to his right and headed-off towards the car-parking lot. He went to his Mustang, and thinking along the lines of ‘That kid is givin’ me a headache!’ while opening the car when, feminine hands were hugging him from the back. 6

‘Rachel’, he thought. He smiled. Rachel was an okay kid when compared too along those creatures claimed they were girls. Not only was she good in looks and brains, but also at heart. She would make a great friend too. She loved singing, and despised guys with attitude, with a passion, which luckily didn’t include him. She could be the right terror when she wanted and at the mean time could be as sweetly innocent as a five year-old. Maybe, she did suit him, after all; suited him enough to distract him from his worries. 7

“Hi, Rache, how was your day?”8

“Hmm.. the usual.” She gave an odd squeak. “What have you got here?” she demanded. 9

He turned to see what she was talking about, and realized that it was his kitten. 10

“Well, meet my new pet, Caesar”. ‘Well what do you expect? I am a history fanatic, remember? The first name that comes to mind would be something like that, surely’ he thought. 11

“What ever happened?”she purred trying to mimic Caesar, who was doing anything but that. Caesar seemed to be contently sleeping. She made to take Caesar into her hands, but stopped and asked, “Is it a stray?”12

Peter hesitated. “Well, maybe yes, maybe no. He came strolling to me during practices. Seemed like he was lonely and wanted a mate. So, I guess, I took him in,” he lied with a straight face. 13

“Pete, you know, it could have dozens of things on it. You might get sick, if you start to take in strays,” she chided. 14

Peter got in the car carrying his pet with him. He just shrugged and said, “I already like him, and if it will make you feel any better, I will just give him a wash or something. I’m not letting him go. But he wants to go, he can go, I’m not going to force him.15

She took the hint and launched on another topic. They both drove of to Rachel’s home, where Peter dropped her off and drove to his home. 16

*****17

Peter reached home at exactly 6: 45. He pulled up his car on the garage on the right side of the entrance, which was not just a garage, but his personal storage room. He climbed out the car and went for the opened the back seat door, where he had placed his new kitten. 18

The cat seemed to have taken to him, from the way it was responding to his touches. It was as if the cat had been brought to this world just for him, which made him feel good in an obscure sort of way. But, he still wondered were Caesar had been, before this. The kitten did not seem to be hurt or harmed in anyway. It was comparatively healthy but not fat at the same time. It still had to wake up from the nap it was taking. ‘Wonder how long cats sleep a day,’ he thought. ‘Huh, that’s science and I don’t do well with science, remember? – This kitten is starting to make me think about its sleeping patterns, uh, uh, starting to affect me already, Cae?’ thought Peter affectionately. 19

It seemed to be like the most natural thought- Caesar was his. He had never stopped to consider having a pet before this, but now, now that he had Caesar, even thought only for an hour or so, he didn’t want to give it up. He would take care of it if it were the last thing he did. The cat nuzzled into his arms and mewed; it blinked and opened its sleepy eyes. 20

“Finally up, are you?” he purred the black feline creature, finally picking his bags and making his way to the outside of the garage. “You know, your eyes are like emeralds. And you are the most cutest creature I have ever met.” He continued his babbling, “And you know, you are going to have new home from today. No more locker pranks or anything, kay? I’m gonna take good care of you, Caesar. And yeah that’s your name, Mr.” He added the last part, almost forgetting it, “I will have to keep you a secret from mom, though. She isn’t cat-loving person from what I have learned.”21

*****22

Peter was in his room, when he heard the second car of his family pull up in front of their house. Mom was home. 23

Peter Turner had not been a Turner until he was a thirteen year old. Yeah, that’s right. He hadn’t been a Turner – no, just Peter, Good old -orphan Peter. He had been in a foster home, all his life when he was taken in by his mother. Now do you realize how lucky he was? When Mrs. Turner, had been left by her ex-husband, she had gone into depression and her health had deteriorated a great deal. But then she had seen Peter, through a friend of hers and had liked the sweet kid then and there. Not having a child of her own, she didn’t hesitate much to take him in. Life had given him so many good things to him, one of which was his mother. 24

Peter ran down the stairs, two at a time, and was there by the door in a couple of seconds. He opened the door just in time to see Mrs. Turner bang the car door, irritated. Peter winced inwardly, ‘It’s one of those moods of hers.'25

Mrs. Turner was carrying a black suitcase in her hand. She worked as a reporter in the city’s newspaper company. And with the way she was behaving, it did not seem as if she had any good news. But once his mother was near enough for him to see her expression clearly, he noticed that she seemed to be distracted. Her soft brown eyes were tinged with a gleam that he could not understand. Once her eyes fell on him, she gave a heavy sigh and walked to him.26

“Good evening, dear. What are you doing here, outside in the cold?” she asked concerned. Peter’s mom was a lean and strong woman, and a head short of him. She had this no-nonsense air about her that made those working under her cringe at the very sight of her. But she wasn’t unpleasant. She was polite and decent, but stern and uncompromising at the same time, too. 27

“Just thought would give you a hand with your suitcase”, said Peter, which sounded really unconvincing to him. 28

“Oh, no, no, get in, dear. You are going to catch a cold, if you stand here any longer. Get in, now”, chided his mother.29

*****30

“Mom! Your spilling food allover the table!” screeched Peter. That was what his mom was doing. She seemed to be so distracted that she didn’t even notice that her hands were shaking with the food in hand. They were having dinner obviously, but that didn’t give the reason why his mom was acting so weird. She had been acting this way ever since she came home. 31

“Mom, what’s the matter. Is something wrong?” asked Peter, concerned. 32

“Oh, it’s nothing, sweetheart, nothing. Why don’t you continue eating, I have some work to do.” said his mom. She stood up and left the dining room, without another word. 33

This annoyed Peter a great deal. It was obvious that his mother seemed to be worked up about something, and her lack of response made worry even more. But he didn’t let it show, or try to voice his feelings. He knew his mother would never open up if he persuaded her. He will just have to wait and let her talk to him on her own. 34

He stood up and nicked some cookies and a cup of milk and went upstairs to his room, planning to feed Caesar.
*****35

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