Cinnamon // Sally Face

T h i r t y - F o u r

Sal ended up recieving a text from his dad that he'd be home late. He also added that this did not count as permission from him to leave the apartment or invite anyone over. Technically, he didn't invite Violet over, so he figured he'd let her stay just this once. 

The two were sitting on the floor now. Violet sat between Sal's legs as he pointed a cat laser at the wall. Gizmo meowed and attempted to climb up the wall to capture the little red dot, causing them to burst into laughter.

"Do the door again, Sally!" Violet squealed.

He shifted his aim to his closed door, which Gizmo proceeded to charge toward and pounce against it. He let out a slightly more frustrated meow this time, so Sal moved the laser to the floor and let him catch it. They'd been at it for nearly 20 minutes. He deserved a little victory.

"We used to have one of those sticks with feathers on the end of it," Sal reminisced, "but we had to throw it out because Giz kept trying to eat the feathers. So we stuck with the laser pointer."

Violet giggled. "How is he dumb enough to eat feathers but smart enough to take bubble baths?"

"I dunno, he's pretty strange."

They watched as Gizmo clawed at the carpet where the laser was pointed, cocking his head with confusion as the dot appeared on top of his paw whenever he tried to touch it. He certainly was a strange cat. Not only could he work the bathtub, but he also knew how to use a TV remote. Violet was honestly surprised that he wasn't able to play video games too. And yet, despite the cat's intelligence, laser pointers and feathers were a mystery to him. 

Eventually, he gave up on trying to catch the red dot and made his way toward the teens. He crawled into Violet's lap with a loud purr and nuzzled her cheek. 

She stroked his silky orange fur. "Hi Gizzy-mo!"

Sal put tossed the laser pointer onto his bed and reached to pet him as well. This cat was ridiculously spoiled, especially by Violet. She constantly snuck him extra treats, and has even put her food down while she was eating just to give him stratches. No wonder he loved on her so much. 

There was no denying that Gizmo missed her greatly once Sal stopped inviting her over. Sometimes, he'd sit by the door and wait for her to arrive, only for her to never show up. As if it wasn't hard enough on Sal to be ignoring someone he loved so much, he had to watch his actions hurt his companion as well. Needless to say, blowing Violet off had certainly done more harm than good. He couldn't have been more thankful that things were going back to normal.

"You spoil him, you know that?" He said to Violet as she kissed Gizmo on the nose. "He's rotten, now."

"I do not!" She cried, defensively.

"You do too! He literally prefers you over me now."

"That's just because I'm nicer to him, Sally."

"Well, I hope he remembers who cleans his litter box, feeds him, and buys every toy he owns," he eyed Gizmo as he said this, earning himself a sickeningly sweet expression in response. 

Violet leaned into Sal's torso and rested the back of her head on his shoulder. Both of her hands remained occupied with Gizmo while she stared lazily up at the ceiling. She liked that Sal had a cat. She never knew boys to be the cat-keeping type. Most of them liked dogs, snakes, or even bugs, at least to her knowledge. But she thought a cat was perfect for him, especially this specific one. Laid back, loveable, and incredibly smart (while also a tad stupid at times). 

Sal snaked his arms around her waist and gave her a squeeze. "What are you thinking about?"

"Why did you choose a cat, Sally? I thought boys liked dogs and reptiles and stuff."

"Well," he breathed, "I guess I didn't choose him, technically. He was assigned to me."

"Assigned to you?"

"Yeah. My doctor thought he'd help me cope and whatever after my mom died. He helped a lot, actually."

Violet considered lifting her head and offering him the traditional "I'm so sorry for your loss", but decided against it. She never thought that a response such as that seemed genuine. It was merely something humans were conditioned to say when they heard about someone's death. Sal had probably heart it hundreds of times in his life already anyway. Besides, she didn't want to overreact and cause him to not want to share his history with her anymore. 

"So he's a service animal?" She inquired. "Like a service dog, but a service kitty instead?"

Sal chuckled. "Yeah. They didn't think it would be good for me to have a service dog because...I dunno."

"Maybe your dad is allergic. Mine is."

"No, it's not that."

"You just don't know?"

"I do, but..." he trailed off there. He was terrified of risking telling Violet his story and scaring her away. With the prosthetic and paranormal involvement, he felt that he was already pushing his luck. Then again, if he was going to be in love with her, he needed to learn to trust her. Especially since she had yet to give him a reason not to. "My mom's death was kinda dog-related."

Violet leaned further into him, letting her hands fall over his as Gizmo curled up in her lap and fell asleep. "I can listen if you want. But you don't have to tell me."

"I-I know. I think I'm ready, though."

"Okay, Sally. Only say what you want to."

Sal gulped. "My mom's death was my fault. I heard a dog barking and pretty much demanded that she took me to pet it. I was such an idiot kid."

"How old were you?"

"I was three or four. I don't really remember."

"Sally," Violet sighed, tightening her grip on his hands, "you were little. You didn't understand."

"I know, but—ugh—nobody believed me about what really happened. They still don't." His tone was growing hoarse. Violet knew that they were treading into very sensitive territory. She felt anxious for Sal. She didn't want to push boundaries or make him say anything he wasn't ready to. It was more important now than ever not to pry. No matter how badly her curiosity burned her up inside, she had to keep it under control.

"Take your time," she assured him. "You can stop whenever you want."

Sal took in a slow breath and then released it. "I know what I saw that day. My mom wasn't mauled by a dog. She was shot by a man wearing a dog mask. She jumped in front of me and took the bullet."

"I guess they thought you were too young to know what you really saw," she commented.

"Y-You believe me?"

"Of course I do. I don't think you're crazy, Sally."

Ever since his mom passed, Sal felt a weight on his shoulders that he could never seem to get rid of. An unescapable shadow of some sort hung over him constantly. It left a small part of him in a constant state of frustration. But hearing Violet say this swept it all away. It was like feeling a cool wave of water wash over him after laying in the heat for hours. 

He didn't say anything after that. He moved one arm to wrap it around her ribcage, while the other remained on her waist, engulfing her in the tightest hug he'd ever given a person. Violet moved her hands up to his forearms gave them a tight squeeze. She turned her head so that her forehead rested in the crook of his neck. 

She wasn't sure why, but this must have been the right thing to say, and she couldn't have been more glad that she said it.