I looked at Rachel, my feelings indifferent as she stared at me, her eyes searching mine for something, but she seemed unable to find it.
"I got better, and I left." I said simply, not wanting to give her more than that, but she looked at me incredulously.
"That's it?? You've been gone for months, Eli! Months! I thought you were dead! And suddenly you just show up, and man handle Keith looking like...this??" She yelled, gesturing to my muscular form.
"Why do you care? You both made your choice, and threw me away. I moved on. I had help in figuring out what was wrong with me, fixed it, and found someone who actually gives a shit about me." I said, which caused Rachel to look over at Cici, who had been sitting next to me silently for a time.
Rachel's face seemed to scrunch up in... something. Was it irritation?
"And is this my replacement?" Rachel asked, a hint of venom in her tone.
Before I could even say anything, Cici actually hissed at Rachel, causing the woman to take a step back.
"I'M HIS WIFE YOU SELF ABSORBED BITCH!" Cici said, making not just Rachel's eyes widen, but mine as well, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH YOU HURT ELI??"
Rachel was too stunned to say anything, and I think a large part of that was due to the aura of anger emitting from my angry kitten. Honestly, I found her anger kinda... hot. Cici glared at Rachel, and breathed in and out several times, before cooling her anger somewhat.
"Do you have any idea what you did to him? How much you hurt him? Your words make it seem like you care, but I don't think you do. You weren't there for him after you two broke him, but I was! And he still cared about me more than himself! And you know what I didn't do? I didn't leave him! I stayed by his side! Even if I thought I might lose him, I didn't give up on him, because I love him! Do you even know what love is?? You're... AWFUL!"
Cici's passion and anger surprised me, but the words coming from her just reaffirmed once again that she was perfection incarnate. I looked over at Cici, noticing the anger on her face, and the tears that fell down her face. I put my arm around her and pulled her into my side, causing her to begin melting into me.
"Shh. It's okay love. She's not worth your anger." I said, my words causing Rachel to flinch back, but Cici's words had done the job well enough.
Rachel didn't say anything, she just looked at the floor as tears fell from her eyes as well. I didn't think they were fake, but I also couldn't bring myself to care about her feelings all that much. I wasn't sure if that made me an asshole or not, but I just couldn't pretend I gave a shit. I didn't want her to get hurt, but that was about it. Her soul was not murky, but it was clouded with sadness and regret. She wasn't a bad person persay, she was just stupid, and made bad decisions. I could see that plain as day now.
"I... I'm sorry..." Rachel said, her words thick and barely above a whisper.
"It's kinda too late for that now." I said as I began to stroke Cici's hair, and she purred softly for a second, before she caught herself, remembering where we were.
"I know... but I'm still sorry... I didn't... I wasn't thinking about what I had done... until you vanished." She said, and that actually made me snort.
"I'm sure. Glad you decided to give a shit after I was already gone." I said, and that caused her to look down in shame again.
"I... never claimed to be a great person..." She muttered, but I just waved it off.
"Forget about it. What's done is done, and at least you feel bad about it, unlike that asshole." I said, referring to Keith, and then I smiled as I looked down at Cici, "Honestly, in some ways, I feel like I should thank you. Those events led me to where I am now, and I ended up finding the most wonderful woman in the world."
Cici rubbed her cheek against my shoulder as I continued to run my hand through her delicate white locks. Surprisingly, as Rachel kept watching this happen, I saw her eyes soften just a tad.
"Where... did you run off to?" Rachel eventually asked, but I just gave her a non answer.
"I left town. There was nothing left here for me. I met Cici shortly after I walked in on you two, and we both left together." I said, bringing my hand to Cici's back and rubbing it affectionately.
"And... how did you get better? And so... large?" She asked, but once again, I didn't care to answer her truthfully.
"Cici helped me get better. This size just happened once I got better." I said, and Rachel frowned, but then she looked resigned.
"I get it... you hate me... and-" She said, buf I cut her off.
"No, I don't hate you." I said, causing her eyes to widen, but I brought her back to reality, "That being said, I don't like you. You're not worth it to me, wasting strong emotions like love or hate. You're just a person that exists, like everyone else. I'm not sharing my life story with you."
Rachel looked at the floor, and I actually saw a few tears fall from her eyes, before she wiped them away, and looked back at me.
"I deserve that..." She said, and then she looked at Cici, "Your name is Cici?"
Cici looked at her with a cold indifference that my kitten rarely showed anyone.
"Cecilia. Only my husband and friends can call me Cici, "She said, glaring at Rachel, "And you are not my friend."
Rachel flinched as if she was slapped, but to het credit, she recovered quickly.
"You... look quite lovely... and I can tell how much you care about him. I hope you will take good care of Eli." Rachel said, her words actually surprising me a bit, but I didn't let my surprise show on my face.
"Of course I will. Unlike you." Cici said, and damn if this side of her wasn't turning me on.
Rachel lowered her head, and nodded.
"Yes... you're right." She said, sniffling once, before she looked back at me, "So... why did you come back?"
"I only stopped here to grab some stuff. I wasn't expecting to find you here. After this, I'm going to get my mom. I taking her away from my dad." I said, Rachel's eyes widening at my declaration.
"I haven't anything about either of them since you disappeared. I've been worried about Helen... I hope she's okay." She said, then her nose scrunched up, "Marcus is such an asshole."
I hadn't used their real names in so long. Maybe I should though, at least for my... no. Marcus wasn't my dad. That man hasn't acted like one of those in a while. He wouldn't be getting that from me anymore.
"I heard you arguing with Keith. He lost his apartment and you both decided to freeload off of me?" I asked, and Rachel grimaced.
"Well... I mean, you disappeared... but the place is still paid for. The landlord doesn't care, as long as he's getting his money... plus you never took me off of as a resident so..." She said, and I chuckled.
"Oh yeah. Forgot to do that." I laughed again, but she just continued frowning.
"Keith lost his job a little while after you disappeared, and hasn't been able to keep one since then. He's been involving himself with a bunch of shady people to make money recently, and ever since he's done that... he's changed. He's not the same anymore. When he does get money, its a decent amount, but its gone just as quickly. My job is barely enough to cover the rest of our expenses." She continued, making me scratch my chin.
"He always was an idiot. Gullible... what kind of people?" I asked, and while I had no intention of doing anything, I was a bit curious.
"I don't know, but I think it's a gang or something. He always just tells me not to worry about it." She said, and it truly sounded like that was all she knew.
Nodding, I stood up, and walked towards my room. The silence from the living room made me snort as I reached under my bed, and pulled out a small box hidden underneath my mattress. I'm glad neither of them found this. I opened it, and pulled out a wallet I had inside, which contained a couple thousand dollars, as well as the phone I had left in here before I left with Cici. I turned it on, and was actually surprised to see that it still had roughly 80% battery. Even if it was off, I expected it to be dead by now.
The time said it was just past 2. I put the wallet and phone in my pocket, and traveled back to the living room.
"Come on Cici, time to go." I said, and Cici looked relieved as she stood up quickly, and walked over to my side.
"Wait... what do you..." Rachel asked, but I just waved her off.
"Stay here. I don't really care. But don't follow me." I said, and without even bother to see her reaction, I took Cici's hand, and together we left, leaving Rachel alone with her thoughts as I began walking towards my old home.