What Cat Lost (The Last Life of Cat Book 1)

by Chelsea Thayer

  “There’s Cheap Joe’s,” Rachel said. “They have everything. Why?”

  “Would you mind taking me by there, after we finish lunch?” Cat inquired nonchalantly.

  “Not at all,” Rachel smiled. “I didn’t realize you were an artist.”

  Cat couldn’t lie to her, “Well, I’m not. But I have a friend who is … I thought I would buy them some supplies, as a little surprise.”

  “Oh, that’s so sweet of you,” Rachel looked as though she wanted to hear more on the subject, but the waitress brought their check and distracted her.

  Cat was relieved, but she still wasn’t sure how she was going to buy eight-hundred dollars’ worth of art supplies without Rachel asking any questions. She had promised Luke to keep his secret and she was determined to do so. Now was the one occasion she could see the benefit of having her license.

  When they entered Cheap Joe’s, Cat saw that Rachel was right. It had everything. The warehouse was quite large and overflowing with every creative tool imaginable. It was like a candy shop for artists. Cat inhaled deeply. She didn’t know where to start. Once she started shopping, Rachel would certainly realize how much money she was spending. Dropping nearly a thousand dollars on art supplies was sure to illicit some questions.

  Luckily, Cat saw a distraction standing right in front of her: Clarissa.

  “Oh, Rachel,” Cat whispered. “Look who it is!”

  Clarissa’s back was to them for the moment, but who knew when she would turn around and spot Cat. It had become common knowledge among their peers, since Cat and Luke’s kiss at Watauga Lake, that they were now an item. It was also common knowledge that Clarissa felt towards Cat the same way Cat felt towards squirrels: sheer, unbridled hatred. Clarissa had made that quite clear to the Facebook world moments after leaving the party at Watauga Lake. She had used words to describe Cat that Cat couldn’t even bring herself to say. Luke had wanted to attack back, but Cat insisted that they remain aloof and ignore all her jabs. The fact that she had failed to produce a rise out of them had only annoyed Clarissa even further.

  “Should I distract her while you shop?” Rachel hissed back.

  Perfect, Cat thought.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?” Cat smiled.

  “Of course not, I don’t want her ruining your birthday with her rotten attitude,” Rachel patted her on the shoulder and was off to make nice with the enemy.

  Cat turned and headed in the opposite direction. What she needed was someone with an expertise in art. She had no idea what brushes or paints were the best to buy. Luckily, she found a middle-aged woman stocking the shelves a few aisles down.

  “Excuse me?” Cat approached her.

  “Yes? Can I help you?” the woman turned to Cat.

  “Yes, I need to purchase some paint, brushes, and canvases,” Cat began, “and anything else a painter might need. I really don’t know where to start.”

  The woman smiled. Cat wondered if they worked on commission. If so, today was her lucky day.

  “Well, what sort of price range are you looking at?” she asked. “Paints and brushes range from quite cheap to very expensive.”

  “Why don’t you show me the best brands you carry and we’ll go from there,” Cat responded.

  She could tell this wasn’t a response they heard very often and certainly not from someone her age. The woman’s enthusiasm to help her was contagious. Cat soon found she was overjoyed at her growing stack of acrylics, paint brushes, and easels, too.

  Before too long, Cat had added enough items that her money was spent. She examined the mountain of items at checkout with the realization that they probably wouldn’t even fit into Rachel’s Honda Accord.

  “Would you like this delivered?” the saleswoman asked Cat at the checkout counter.

  Cat nearly shouted her answer, “Yes! Oh, that’s great! I didn’t even realize you guys did that.”

  “Well, we don’t advertise it. But we make exceptions here and there,” she winked at her. “When would you like it delivered?”

  “Could you deliver it tomorrow afternoon?” Cat asked. “I know it’s a Sunday.”

  “No, no” she waved her hand, “that will be fine.”

  Cat breathed a sigh of relief. This had worked out better than she had imagined. Rachel had led Clarissa outside to chat while she shopped unnoticed. Mimi would be gone tomorrow afternoon to Charlotte for the day with Jim, so she wouldn’t be there when the art supplies arrived. It would be perfect.

  Cat joyfully forked over $831.42 and left Cheap Joe’s. Never before had shopping been so rewarding, and she had had many successful shopping trips in her seventeen years.

  Rachel was waiting for her in the car reading the latest Vogue.

  “Did you get lost?” Rachel joked as Cat slid into the car.

  Cat laughed, “No, I just don’t know anything about art.”

  “Well, I’m sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for,” Rachel said, while backing up her car.

  “Huh?” Cat asked before realizing that Rachel was referring to the fact that Cat didn’t have any shopping bags with her. “Oh, yeah. I know. Turns out they just didn’t have quite what I had in mind.”

  “So, how did you manage to get Clarissa outside so quickly?” Cat was anxious to find out.

  “Wasn’t hard at all,” Rachel smiled wickedly. “I just told her I happened to have a note for her from Luke in the car.”

  “You didn’t!” Cat shrieked.

  “Yes, and then I rummaged through the mess in the backseat for half an hour until she had to leave!” Rachel giggled. “I told her I’d find it and give it to her later!”

  “Classic,” Cat nodded.

  “She thinks it’s an apology note. I told her I hadn’t read it,” Rachel made a face. “As if he’d apologize to her after the things she’s been writing about you.”

  “Well, now he’ll have to write something,” Cat mused. “She’ll be expecting that note.”

  “Hmmm, I guess so,” Rachel commented.

  They drove back through Boone towards Valle Crucis. Cat was having a real high school sleepover at Rachel’s house for her birthday. This was something she hadn’t done in at least four or five months. A girly sleepover was long overdue.

  They picked up Mellow Mushroom and ran by Blockbuster. After much debating, they decided to rent “All the Right Moves,” an older 80’s flick that was one of Tom Cruise’s first films. Cat had never seen it and Rachel assured her she wouldn’t be disappointed.

  After pizza and the movie, the girls laid giggling on Rachel’s bed.

  “I told you, you could see it!” Rachel laughed.

  “Maybe for half a second!” Cat agreed.

  “But still, you saw it.” Rachel nodded.

  “Only because you played that part in slow motion and paused it!” Cat chuckled.

  “Well, I just wanted to make sure you got a good look at it,” Rachel blushed. “Consider it your birthday present, from me to you.”

  “Well, that was mighty generous of you,” Cat shook her head at Rachel’s silliness. “Now my virgin eyes are scarred forever!”

  “Oh, Cat!” Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Are you?”

  “Am I what?” her full belly and late hour had Cat’s mind working slowly.

  “You know,” Rachel said suggestively. “A virgin?”

  “Oh!” Cat took the last swig from her can of Cheerwine. She had grown quite fond of this Carolina soft drink. It was, in fact, the only soft drink she allowed herself to drink. She was strictly a sparkling water kind-of-girl.

  “You don’t have to answer that,” Rachel added, before Cat had a chance to respond. “That was too personal.”

  “Rach, we’re friends,” Cat smiled. “You’re my best girlfriend here. I don’t mind if you ask me things. But, to answer your question �
�� yes, I am.”

  “Really?” Rachel looked shocked.

  “Why do you look so surprised?” Cat was a little offended by her response, but she wouldn’t admit it.

  “No, I mean, that’s great.” Rachel quickly remedied her reaction. “I just thought, you know, being from a place like New York. You would have, you know. You just seem so worldly, compared to people around here.”

  Cat didn’t know how to respond. There seemed to be so many stereotypes she faced being a ‘northerner’ and a ‘city girl’ in the rural South. Then again, there had been many stereotypes she’d had about ‘them’ prior to living here that had been proven mostly false. She shrugged it off.

  “Well, I’m no different than you,” Cat smiled. “Unless, you have?”

  “Lordy, no!” Rachel squealed. “I don’t think I’d be so excited about seeing that little bit of one tonight if I had done that.”

  The girls laughed together until Mrs. McKinney had to tell them to keep it down since the rest of the family was going to sleep.

  After the laughter had stopped and Rachel and Cat had settled into their beds, Rachel in the twin bed and Cat in the trundle bed usually occupied by Rachel’s younger sister, Rachel leaned over and picked up the conversation where she had left off.

  “But, do you think you will?” Rachel whispered, her tone more serious now. “With Luke, I mean?”

  Cat paused in thought.

  “Maybe someday?” Cat blushed and shrugged. “But he’s informed me he’s waiting till marriage. So, that will be a while.”

  “Luke?” Rachel asked.

  “That’s what he said,” Cat nodded, wondering why Rachel looked so surprised.

  “Luke is waiting till marriage?”

  “Again. Yes.” Cat added firmly, “Rachel, is there something I don’t know.”

  “I don’t want to upset you Cat, but Clarissa claims that they did it,” Rachel wrinkled her nose as though disgusted with the thought.

  Even though Cat knew this was a blatant lie, she couldn’t help the sickening feeling of jealousy that washed over her.

  “She’s probably lying, Cat” Rachel amended. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  Cat just nodded.

  “Are you okay?” Rachel’s tone asked soothingly.

  “Oh, yeah,” Cat put on a happy face. “I’m just tired. It’s been a long day.” She added a fake yawn for emphasis. “Thanks for the great birthday, Rach.”

  “You’re welcome,” Rachel said. “Thanks for letting me spend it with you.”

  “Of course,” Cat yawned again. “Night.”

  “Night,” Rachel replied.

  Cat lay awake listening as Rachel’s breathing grew heavy and even. She knew that Clarissa was lying; but even so, the fact that untold numbers of people thought that she and Luke had slept together made Cat nauseous. She wanted to set the record straight, but how? She knew she would have to get Luke in on whatever she planned to do, whenever she thought of a plan. She wished he was here now for her to talk things over. She had grown accustomed to discussing every thought or question that popped into her head with him. They had only been apart for nearly three days and yet, Cat missed him terribly. That was when it hit her; harder than a train or a piano being dropped from a five-story building (ouch): she loved him. She really loved him; and not puppy love or infatuation, but best friend, would-rather-tell-him-over-anyone-else-all-the-silly-little-things-I-think, crazy jealous, spend-over-$800-dollars on art supplies, loved him. She smiled. Cat was in love. It had taken her eight lives to find her true love and she had happened upon him when her life was in the direst of circumstances. One life left and she had found her love.

  Cat drifted to sleep with that thought in her mind. Her last life was for love. What else was worth living for anyway?

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The art supplies were delivered right on time the next day, as promised. Cat was grateful that Mimi had left early that morning for a day in Charlotte with Jim, whom she called her beau. Cat smiled as she recalled how excited Mimi had been while waiting for him to pick her up. She hoped that she would always feel that giddy about Luke. Somehow, she knew she would.

  Taking another glance out the window to ensure the coast was clear, she bent down to pick up the last box of paints.

  “Last trip,” she said aloud as she looked up the stairs grudgingly.

  Being the only one at home had benefited her in the sense that no one knew of her purchase, but it also left her alone to assume the burden of bringing in all the supplies and carrying them upstairs, box by box. It had ended up being a total of twenty-four boxes and several large canvases.

  She was now regretting her six-mile run this morning, climbing the stairs had been exercise enough.

  She plopped onto her bed after she placed the last box with all the others, stacked against her wall.

  Mimi hadn’t been here to see the boxes arrive; but if she came into Cat’s room, they were quite in plain sight. Only three boxes had fit into the closet itself.

  Cat looked at the time. Four o’clock. If she knew how to drive, she might take Mimi’s Jeep for a spin out on the Parkway. It was a beautiful day. She hoped that Mimi had something for her to eat in the fridge because not driving also prevented her from going out for dinner.

  Cat looked at the sun streaming through the window. Then, she glanced at her pale skin. She was in serious need of some sun. School started Wednesday and she didn’t want to be mistaken for a ghost. In minutes, Cat had pulled off her clothes and found her swimsuit hiding in the bottom of her dresser drawer. She wiggled into it, grabbed an old beach towel out of the linen closet, and dashed out the door.

  Delighted by how wonderful the sun felt, she spread out the towel and laid on her back. Just when she was starting to feel a bit too warm on that side, she flipped over to lay on her stomach. Cat didn’t even have a base tan, so the last thing she wanted was to get burnt. She figured about half an hour on each side would be perfect. Just perfect — like the way the sun felt on her now. It was so relaxing. Cat sighed.

  An untold amount of time later, Cat felt a cooler breeze, making her shiver. Opening her eyes, she knew immediately that she had fallen asleep. It was still light out, but the shadow of the nearby tree, which had been much further away when she’d first laid down, was now stretched across her.

  Cat groaned. She prayed that she wasn’t completely burnt on her back. Just her luck that she would start the school year looking like a half lobster. She touched the back of her calves. They were slightly tender. Cat pouted as she got up and trudged back into the house.

  Approaching the door, she could hear the phone ringing inside. She skipped up the back steps and into the kitchen to pick it up before the machine did.

  “Hello?” Cat spoke breathlessly into the receiver.

  “Cat? Where in good heavens have you been?” Mimi demanded.

  “I was outside,” Cat informed. Why was Mimi so snippy all of the sudden?

  “I have been calling you for two hours! Since four-thirty! Jim and I were about to come home I was getting so worried,” Mimi spoke with a calmer voice now.

  “I’m so sorry, Mimi. I was laying out in the sun and I fell asleep,” Cat felt bad for making her worry so.

  “I thought you might have gone off with Luke without telling me,” Mimi said, her tone was suggestive.

  “No, no. Besides he’s gone camping till tomorrow, remember?” Cat said, realizing just how much she missed him.

  “Oh, that’s right!” Mimi said brightly, “Well, now that I know that you’ll be home safe and sound tonight I wonder … would you mind if I didn’t return till tomorrow?”

  “Mimi, you don’t have to ask my permission.” Cat laughed.

  “I know, I know, but I just thought I’d check. Jim has surprised me with tickets to Mary Poppins! We’ll be getti
ng out late, so we thought it might be better just to get a hotel room. Wouldn’t want to fall asleep on the drive home. It gets dangerous driving too late at night, especially at our age,” she trailed off.

  Cat fought the urge to laugh. It was clear by the way her grandmother was going on that she didn’t want Cat to get any other ideas about their overnight trip.

  “No, you should stay,” Cat agreed. “I wouldn’t want you guys driving that late, either.”

  She could almost feel the happiness in Mimi’s voice as she spoke, “Really?”

  “Absolutely!” Cat reassured.

  “And you won’t be too lonely?” Mimi asked again. Cat knew she was just asking again to be polite.

  “No, I have my summer reading to do. You guys have fun … at the show, I mean,” Cat added quickly.

  “Oh yes, yes. We will.” Mimi sounded giddy with excitement. “We’ll be back tomorrow around lunchtime. Bye now.”

  “Bye-bye,” and with that Cat hung up the phone.

  She didn’t really have any reading to do. She had finished the book last week at Luke’s insistence that she get it over with, so they could have more time together before school started. But she had wanted Mimi to feel okay about leaving her by herself tonight. She knew that Mimi wouldn’t have stayed in Charlotte if she thought her granddaughter would be moping around the house, lonely, with nothing to do.

  She also knew that if Luke was in town, she wouldn’t have stayed, either.

  Despite Luke’s attempt with his “she’s like my sister” comment, Cat had a feeling that Mimi didn’t buy it. Luke didn’t look at her like a sister. When he rushed to pull out her chair for her or to hold open the door, Cat knew Mimi noticed, even though she didn’t say anything.

  Though Mimi would be fine with their dating, she also knew her parents would not. How long would it be before Mimi shared with her mother what she already suspected? Cat knew her mom. She was probably insisting on thorough reports on her behavior and activities. The amount of time she was spending with Luke would not go unnoticed. She would have to start making other excuses for where she was going when they were getting together. Cat was not ready to surrender their unsupervised time.