| View Blog
|
|
|
|
| Scribble Challenge #47, T'was the night before... |
I woke up this morning with a desire to do some scribbling. It's my day off and I've felt a little impatient waiting for the next challenge to come about so I decided to try one of the previous ones. So while I was thinking over my answers (and how to use them) I was chatting with a friend. Conversation brought up an old story I had been in the middle of many moons ago that I had never finished. This got me thinking about Valley of Shadows and the challenge I was currently attempting. Add alot of discussion over the latest challenge (#48 2012+1) and the result is... well... you'll just have to read. :P
My Answers
1. freezer
2. 13
3. Dublin
4. 7:27 p.m.
5. mozzarella sticks
6. Lynn
7. $43
8. house
9. wolf
10. Pontiac
Twas the night before...
"Kat?" the woman called as she walked from the dinning room to the kitchen. "Be a dear and come help me clean up dinner."
"Just a sec., Rose," she replied glancing at the clock. 7:27 p.m. Her show was almost over but her response was more of a stall tactic to avoid spending time around the older woman. Kat watched the last few minutes of her show; a spin-off of Charmed that is set in Ireland. What I'd give to be in Dublin rather than here! she thought silently. Turning the t.v. off, she rose and headed for the other room to help her stepmother. She gathered the used plates and silverware from the table and stepped through the arch way into the kitchen when she noticed Lynn wiping back a few tears.
"You know," she began, "It still hurts me sometimes when you call me that." Rose took the dirty dishes from Kat and placed them in the sink. "I know I'm not Lynn, but I still..."
"Don't start this again," Kat interrupted. "Just because my dad married you does not make you my mother." Kaytlin thought her dad had remarried too soon after her mother had passed away. She believed that he hadn't spent enough time grieving. Even though raising her alone was no easy task, he should have waited longer before finding a 'replacement-mom', as she sometimes called Rose.
Her stepmother was about to speak when tears began to fall freely down her pale cheeks and she turned and hurried from the room. It didn't take long before her dad hobbled into the kitchen to scold her for her comment. The routine never changed. He would lecture her on how hard Rose tried for her acceptance. Kat would argue her disapproval of her father's choices and her reasoning behind acknowledging Rose as her mother. The two would debate back and forth, until one of them became so frustrated that they walked away. This was one of the times her dad did not back down and Kat was the one who stormed off.
Heading out of the house, she swiftly made her way towards the garage. Her dad hollered at her to get something out of the freezer and Kat responded by slamming the garage door behind her. In the darkness of the room, she dropped to the cold concrete. With her back against the door and began to cry. It had been seven years since the fatal accident, but the pain felt like it was only yesterday. She was no longer the teenage girl that she was back then, though she still felt like a child, especially at times like these. She could, and probably should, have left home long ago. Instead, she used her fathers injuries as an excuse to stay.
Kaytlin looked up at the old Pontiac through her glistening eyes. There were times she hated that car with every fiber of her being. It had belonged to her mother and was her pride and joy. After the wreck, Kat and her dad had spent many nights restoring it. Just the two of them spending time together. That's the way she felt it should have stayed. Then one day he came home with Rose and everything seemed to change.
She glared at the muscle car again and thoughts of revenge crept into her mind. To sit in that wretched thing was taboo. The car was even a subject of conflict between Rose and her dad; the one thing of Lynn's he refused to let go of.
"He may have won earlier," she thought, "but the night's not over yet." Kat stood with renewed determination and climbed into the car. Her friend had a cabin 13 miles out the other side of town and would be a good place to 'disappear' to for a few days. Pulling the sun visor down, the keys fell into her hand and were quickly placed into the ignition. Kaytlin took a deep breath to try to steady her nerves. Pressing the remote for the garage door, she knew she would have to be as quick as possible.
* * * * *
Tom was in the bedroom trying to comfort Rose when he heard the mechanical sound of the garage opening. She wouldn't dare! he thought as he limped toward the window. The roar of the muscle car coming to life rattled the glass in front of him.
"Kaytlin, no!" he yelled. He ran out of the room heading for the back door. Rose called out his name but his mind was flooded with thoughts of his daughter sharing the same fate as his late wife. The sound of tires spinning as he reached the door told him he was probably too late. He lept from the porch, but upon impact, the pain of his old injuries sent him crumpling to the ground. As he screamed out her name once more, he watched the taillights quickly fade into the night.
* * * * *
Kaytlin had barely made it into town when her pulse began to finally slow. For a moment, she considered turning back and facing the punishment she knew was inevitable. But in her stubbornness, she quickly dismissed the notion and kept going. She made a brief stop at the local gas-mart and realized she had left her purse at home. Her only saving grace was the $43 in cash still in her pocket from shopping earlier that day. Reassuring herself there would be food and drink at the cabin, she put what little she had into the fuel tank and headed out of town.
All too soon, her fleeing was over as she parked the GTO in front of the two-story log building. Her friend called it a cabin. And, for all intent and purpose, it was. However, to Kat it was more a secluded retreat with all the enematies and comfort of city living. She retrieved the key from it's hiding place and let herself in. Her friend had let her use the place before for a late night date or two. This time it would be just her spending a few nights so she was sure her friend wouldn't have any objections.
Kat headed straight for the kitchen with full intention of drowning her sorrows. The prospect of a cold beer was lost when she opened the fridge, though. A plate of mozzarella sticks and spaghetti had been left there since who knows when and the smell nearly made her vomit. Closing the door, she decided to deal with the science experiment in the morning and opt for a hot bath instead. An uneasy feeling came over her as she made her way upstairs but she brushed it off. Her queasy stomach coupled with being out in the woods by herself was just making her edgy.
It was almost midnight when she entered the bathroom and began drawing her bath water. Watching the tub fill, her mind drifted back to the argument with her father. Now that she had some time to calm down, regret took hold. Over and over again, her bitter words to her dad and step mom cut through herself like razors. The grandfather clock in the living room made an eerie chime that echoed throughout the cabin. It's haunting toll brought her back to the present. It was too late to go back tonight; she would head home first thing in the morning. Maybe, she thought. Maybe, it's time to give Rose a chance. Kat shut the water off and opened the closet looking for a towel only to find it empty. Hoping there were clean ones in the laundry room, she headed back downstairs. That was when she saw the werewolf lumbering toward the front door.
|
|
Posted by spiritualcoma on 2009-10-18 23:54:13 | Rating: | Views: 23
|
|
| |
|
|
Email This to a Friend 
