by Kaylee Kane
“Me too, Katrine. You are my greatest blessing. I can’t live without you,” Vylan husked.
Just then, we heard a knock at the door. Our eyes snapped to the door in unison and we shared a knowing glance.
“I guess it’s the cue for us to get out,” I said.
“If we have to.”
13
Dinner was marvelous. It was almost given since it cost four hundred dollars on the bill. If it was any lesser, you had the right to see the manager and probably ask for a refund.
At least that was what I would do. The signs that you grew up poor. My phone was already buzzing in silent vibration from Cecily’s messages that decked my inbox the moment we set foot out of the restaurant.
When Vylan got the bill, the waiter flashed us a strange look. He and his colleagues probably heard everything from the washroom. Probably he was making mental notes to not accepting our reservation in the future.
I couldn’t really be bothered. I didn’t think Vylan and I would come here that often. Worse comes to worst, we would find elsewhere for our naughty little escapade.
I hadn’t looked at Cecily’s messages yet, but I already could guess what they were about. What else Cecily was looking for besides the details of everything that happened between us.
My mind was already stringing together the events, creating the perfect storyline to share with Cecily. She would be so thrilled and jealous at the same time.
The restaurant was just a few blocks from where we lived, so we decided to walk around the city after dinner.
The warm summer breeze blustered over my hair, the hastily redone version was no match to Cecily’s expertise but it still looked okay on me.
In fact, tonight had to be the most dolled-up moment of my life. I tried to look as sexy as I could as Mysterious Kitty, but mostly I just drew my brows, put on my cat-eye wings, and my signature red lipsticks.
For tonight, Cecily had opened my eyes to the new meaning of makeup, included but not limited to the over-the-top facial and cleavage contouring.
That totally reconstructed my facial structure I was a little afraid that Vylan couldn’t recognize me. Well, he only met me once without the mask on. And we were occupied with something else.
Car lights and store signs illuminated the streets. Young people and their friends clad in colorful summer clothes licking popsicles and chattering happily. Families and lovers snuggled up in cozy little restaurants that had mushroomed during the season.
This was the face of Corn City I wasn’t familiar with. I had to admit it was a vibrant, happy little place full of happening events. A place I would live for the rest of my life.
As we strolled down the street, I felt Vylan’s hand hold onto mine. The warmth of his touch came like a blessing on the windy night. I smiled to myself and tightened his hold.
I was still wearing his jacket. The fragrance of his cologne embraced me and I rested my head on his shoulder while snuggled close to his chest, listening to his heart beat against mine.
“Thank you for the wonderful night, Vylan,” I said. “I had such a wonderful time. I don’t want the night to come to an end.”
“It’s alright,” said Vylan. He pulled up and turned to look at me. “If you let me, I will take you out every night, spend the rest of my life with you.”
I smiled. My eyes stilled on the handsome face of the brooding alpha superhero, the man of my dream. What did I do to deserve such a perfect man?
I raised my hand and slid my finger over his sharp jawline. “You are my everything, Vylan.”
My mind wandered off to the imaginary world where Mysterious Kitty and the Beast reunited their forces and rescued the world from evil nuclear boss villains.
It reminded me of Xavior and Trixter. Maybe I should tell him about our alliance against the two supervillains soon.
“You are mine,” said Vylan. “By the way, I have good news to share with you.”
“What is it?” I asked as we continued to stroll down the street.
“I got a pay raise today. I’ve been fighting for months for it,” said Vylan, smiling bashfully to himself. Every time he smiled, his eyes did too and his whole face turned bright pink.
“That’s really great news, Vylan. Congratulations! I didn’t even know pay raise still existed anymore,” I said.
You could tell how his smile was genuine, unlike Xavior’s wry smile that always suggested malice. The longer I stared at Vylan’s face, the more I fell in love with his genuinity and nobility. The more I forgot about Xavior.
“Yeah, my company is always looking for ways to cut costs and suck money out of its employees. Though my CEO just recently made into the top ten richest billionaire list,” said Vylan with a shrug.
“That’s why there are people like us, upholding justice and shit,” I said, pumping my fist in the air.
“Yeah, that’s why I admire great people like you. Speaking of that, I think that’s the end of the Beast,” said Vylan.
“Wait, what?” My eyes snapped to him immediately. “What do you mean that’s the end of the Beast?”
Vylan smiled sheepishly. “I mean, I just got my pay raise. It’s time to focus on my day job more and give up being a vigilante. I can never make it like you anyway. Let’s leave that noble job for the professional.”
“Wait, hang on!” I stopped at my tracks, pulling Vylan back by his hand. “What does that all mean? Just because you get a pay raise doesn’t mean that you have to give up your dream.”
“You don’t get this, Katrine. I am not you. I am not the Mysterious Kitty. Heck, I can never be half as good as you,” said Vylan. “It was all just for fun.”
“Just for fun?” My heart shattered. “How could you say being a vigilante is just for fun?”
Vylan raised his hands. “Look, I am sorry. I wasn’t supposed to belittle your profession. All I wanted was to pay my bills. It’s never a lifelong commitment.”
I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my face when I stared at him, the love of my life, who broke my heart. “If you weren’t there the other day, I wouldn’t have met you, Vylan. I would have–”
I didn’t want to go down that road as the mental picture of the flaccid dick flashed in my head.
“Look,” I sighed. “You were my savior. You were my superhero and I thought you were everything that I wanted.”
“I am still me, Katrine, even if I were not a superhero,” said Vylan, almost begging as his blue eyes met mine. I tore my eyes away, unable to look into his.
“No, Vylan, you were not,” I murmured as I pushed his hand off mine and turned away to start walking back towards my apartment.
“Katrine!” His voice chased me but he didn’t.
Tears stung my eyes. I couldn’t hold them back any longer, so I started to run as far and fast as I could from the man I loved and who broke my heart.
14
When Cecily said she’s got her husband’s permission to stay over at my place, I felt slightly better, not because she could be here with me. But because I didn’t have to deal with a husband.
Which made me feel even better for walking out on Vylan. Not that he was that kind of man. But you know, famous last words.
“So which part of it went wrong?” cried Cecily, sounding totally devastated. “Was it the dress? The shoes? The makeup? Impossible. Everything was perfect. How come we were both back here? You should be next door, fucking your hunky superhero.”
“Don’t call him a superhero. He’s just a coward,” I said, slumped against my table with a bottle of wine in my hand. “I just can’t believe it. I thought I found the one. How could he tell me that he’s quitting vigilante just because he’s got a pay raise.”
“Well, at least you know he’s got money now. Can’t really pay for your sports car, but you know,” said Cecily.
“It’s not even about the money anymore. It’s the fact that he was everything that I dreamed of and suddenly, he
called quit. He even said that being a vigilante was just a means of paying his bills,” I said. “Right, I live on the rewards too, but I really want to uphold justice and put the bad guys behind bars.”
Xavior’s handsome face danced into my head. If it was Xavior who disappointed me, it wouldn’t hurt that much. Heck, maybe I should just choose Xavior after all.
I chugged the bottle again and wiped my face with my hand.
“Drinking doesn’t solve your problems,” said Cecily. Her face twisted in slight disgust when she stared at me. She was probably the only person who had seen me drink like that. From her expression, I vowed not to have another witness.
“So is doing anything else. Cecily, I am so fucked. I lost my job and now I lost the man of my dream too,” I moaned.
Cecily’s mouth parted to say something when there was a knock at the door. Our heads snapped up in unison at the source of the sound. I already predicted who that would be.
“Do you want me to check it out for you?” offered Cecily. She already got up on her feet.
“If he’s the coward, don’t let him in. Just tell him I am not here,” I said.
Cecily shrugged. “Okay.”
I withered on the table and continued to chug my bottle.
Cecily opened the door and the familiar voice came out, “Kat–hey, um, I’m looking for Katrine.” Vylan craned his neck into the house and I pretended not to notice him.
Cecily glanced back at the lounge room and I shook my head.
“Kat said she’s not here,” said Cecily bluntly.
I smacked my palm on my head and buried my face in my arms.
“Look, I need to see her. It’s really important,” said Vylan.
“Nope, sorry. She doesn’t want to see you, alright? Have some self-respect and go home,” said Cecily, closing the door.
When Cecily returned, I already chucked out the first bottle and uncorking the second one. “Gosh, Kat. He’s really hot. I mean, if you don’t mind, he really deserves a second chance, just by his body. I mean, he didn’t really do you anything wrong.”
“Cecily, you’re supposed to be on my side,” I sighed, hating how much her words rang with truth. Vylan was really hot and he was one of the hottest men I had ever met.
And he fucking saved my life before. I felt sorta ungrateful walking out on him like that. But still, that didn’t mean that he could disrespect the vigilante.
“Okay, Vylan looks like a dick,” said Cecily. Then she mouthed, “But a real hot dick. And I can imagine why you’d ride his dick.”
I rolled my eyes and drowned myself with the second bottle.
“Kat, please stop drinking!” said Cecily. She tried to yank my bottle away but I pushed her off.
“Don’t bother me, Cecily. All I want to do now is to be knocked out unconscious and sleep for the rest of my pathetic life,” I grunted, continued chugging.
“Don’t be like that, Kat. You still got a bright future ahead of you. You are the Mysterious Kitty. Worse comes to worst, you can always run back to Xavior, right? I mean, he’s hot too. And he’s rich. I bet Vylan can’t buy you a sports car.”
I rolled my eyes hard. “I can’t be with Xavior. I have decided. He’s the bad guy and I am the Mysterious Kitty. My duty is to uphold justice and put him and his syndicate behind bars. I did stray because I was out of control and intoxicated by his charms. I will never let that happens again.”
“So what if he’s a supervillain, Kat. I never liked the idea of you dating Vylan anyway. But I still support you and respect your choice because you’re my best friend. But now Vylan’s hurt your feelings. You need to get rid of him and run back to Xavior.”
The heat was boiling my chest. It didn’t help that Cecily was jumping on my every last nerve. “You don’t get it. Being a vigilante is my life aspiration. It’s all that I want to do. I will never let Vylan disrespect that. And I won’t disrespect Mysterious Kitty by dating Xavior.”
Not only dating but being Xavior’s sugar baby. What was I even thinking?
“You gotta think about your future, Katrine. You are not young anymore. You don’t have a proper job and you just broke up with the so-called man of your dreams. It’s clear that he’s not meant for you. It’s clear that Xavior is the one for you. Can’t you see the signs?”
“What signs?” I raised my voice a little. The alcohol was getting the better of me, clouding my thoughts. My head had started to spin. Maybe I had a little bit too much.
“The sports car! That’s the first sign. Have you ever been happier in your life than when you first got the car? You quitted your job right away. What’s important is that Xavior’s got the money and the power. It’s everything you would want in your life, Kat.”
“Just stop putting a price tag on everything, okay?” I snarled, unable to conceal my annoyance anymore. Why did I even ask Cecily to come over? I might be better off drinking alone and crashing on the floor.
“That’s just life, Kat. And you gotta stop drinking, really.”
“That’s not life, Cecily. Not everything is about money. I know you like rich men and their money. I am not money-minded and greedy like you!” I blurted out before I even could stop myself.
The look in Cecily’s face told me that I should have kept my mouth shut.
“What do you fucking mean? Yeah, I like rich men and their money. But I am not really all about money.”
“What about those expensive clothes and jewelry you got there? Would you even bat your eyes on someone who could afford any lesser?”
“Kat, you’re drunk. I am not arguing with you.” Cecily’s face had turned so red, she looked more like she’d finished two bottles.
“I am not drunk. Not yet, Cecily. You’re just hating it because I am telling the truth. Besides spending your man’s money, what else could you do? What did you do for the society?”
Cecily let out a heavy sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. “Yes, you are right. I am kinda useless to the world. I am leaving. Take care, Kat!”
Tucking her branded designer purse under her arm, she stomped out of the house.
“Yeah, that’s right. Grab your thousand dollars purse with you and leave!” I shouted right before she closed the door.
The apartment went deadly silent after Cecily left and I realized I was all alone again in the fortress of my own solitude.
A week ago, I had everything. A job I could be proud of. Three men to call my own. A proud and respected vigilante alter ego. A long lost school mate turned best friend.
Now I had lost everything. I couldn’t even afford to pay my bills at the end of the month.
Closing my eyes, I squeezed the bridge of my nose hoping that the pain that hammered inside my skull would go away. How did I screw it all up? What the fuck was wrong with me?
“Hello again, Mysterious Kitty,” a familiar male voice broke the silence of the lounge room.
My heart somersaulted to my throat as I snapped to my feet. My knees were so weak. My vision was blurry. The floor was wobbling and spinning out of its axis.
I staggered back and held onto the dining table for support. I scanned the lounge room and saw a black silhouette sitting on my couch.
I blinked a couple of times and peered into the blurry figure. “Who are you?”
“You don’t remember me?” His voice became warped.
The mysterious figure stood up. I could only see his blurry shadow as he approached me. He held his hand up to me. Darkness. All I saw was darkness and everything that I ever knew ceased to exist.
15
I had no idea how long I had passed out. Acid scorched my eyes when I tried to open them. All my senses came back to life. Immense pain hammered the inside of my head.
That wasn’t the only pain I felt. My bones felt like they were all broken. That’s why people say you shouldn’t really do booze after teenagehood.
Few minutes passed when my eyes were more accommod
ated to the light. I peered through the white slit and made out the familiarity of my own lounge room.
I blinked a couple of times and scanned the empty house. I was alone again. I looked out of the window and the bright morning sun shone in, filtering through the pink curtains.
The cacophony of traffic filled my ears, punctuated by birds singing. It was just another day in Corn City.
When my limbs regained strength, I pulled myself up from the cold floor. I was still wearing the red dress from yesterday, which reeked of alcohol and stained with sex and dirt.