Kathy

Chapter 13; Kathy

After showering, Gray stood motionless in front of the mirror, greeted with the familiar sight of having his eyes marked by deep eye bags. He held his toothbrush with his right hand, while the new tub of toothpaste was in the other.

He poured all of his remaining and dwindling strength to squeeze the toothpaste, almost making a mess.

He brushed his teeth with his eyes closed, wishing of being able to sleep for over ten hours straight. 

If sleeping were sport, he would be the world champion! 

If Gray didn't know what to do, his answer was sleeping! If he was bored, his answer was sleeping! If he was mad, his answer was sleeping! If he was sad, his answer was sleeping!

The events happening in these past days troubled him deeply, causing him to be afraid of losing his precious hours of sleep, especially due to his special need for a good night's rest. 

He was particularly worried that one day, once he was strong enough, Genesis would activate inside every dream, bringing a countless amount of revelations with it.

Regardless, he felt as if it was a worthy sacrifice for his sister's sake. 

He washed his hands with warm water, letting it flow on his fingers while he swayed half-asleep, fighting the urge to take a nap.

His state of pleasant relief was broken once he heard a knock on the door.

"One moment please. I'll go out in like 2 minutes…" he said. His word were slurred, resembling those of a drunken man.

A cold silence permeated the house for some moments, and then, Kathy finally spoke.

"Alright." she nodded.

Gray could notice that she seemed still hurt by earlier. However, he couldn't help but think it sounded less pained.

Since Kathy nurtured him his whole childhood, she had grown extremely attached to him. If he didn't respond to her texts, she would grow increasingly paranoid with every passing hour. 

Most of the times she was only overly concerned, of course, afraid of her little brother being in any kind of danger. 

Because of this simple fact, Gray was sure that, had Kathy been in his position, she would have done the same by doing her best to protect him. And it made him happy.

Even though he never had much in life—be it money or clothes, he felt lucky of having a sister who cared for him during his entire life. He had never seen someone care for one another like how Kathy did with him. Unless his mother, of course.

Gray began to wash his face while thinking of her, reminiscing about his past mistakes and issues. 

"Kathy is making you extremely happy, I'm sure of it. But is it the same for me? Is my intent of protecting her from all harm enough? Is there something else I have to do?"

His life had always been ridden by uncertainty. He was always unsure of what to do—even on the smallest things, making him avoid them altogether.

…

After wiping his face with the bathroom's towel, Gray tidied the bathroom, putting the items he had used in order. Then, he went outside, informing Kathy.

While his sister was inside the bathroom, he went inside his room to see the subjects of the day. He searched for his bag, and when he found it, he opened the notebook, seeing the subjects. 

1st hour: Greek.

2nd hour: Greek.

3rd hour: Science.

4th hour: History.

5th hour: English.

6th hour: Maths. 

Gray cursed silently, annoyed of how he had to deal with 2 whole hours of greek.

Greek was one of the subjects he hated the most.

He couldn't help but loathe on how every word had strange accents and diacritic signs which morphed the pronunciation of the words. And since his teacher was especially strict on them—calling out every mistake the students did when reading, made Gray hate it even more. 

He quickly grabbed the books he needed from his messy library and began to put them inside the school-bag, pondering of how he was going to point a plucked, bloodied eye at Nekare without getting caught by anyone else at school.

"I can't do it in the middle of class, I would get caught instantly," he silently noted. "If i were to be caught, I would get suspended…"

Recognizing his mistake, he sighed. "No, it would be worse. Who the hell brings an human eye at school? They would clearly call the police immediately. Therefore, I must find a place where it's just me and her."

"I should be able to be alone with Nekare only during break."

"Casanova said he would watch over me, but even then, Is being alone with her the only option? Is there a way to use Dusk Catcher while nobody can see me? It's not that I don't trust him to protect me, it's just that I don't know anything about her abilities…" he then began to shiver, recalling his past encounter with her. "And that malevolent feeling I perceived…"

Gray chuckled quietly, rubbing his eyes with his trembling hands.

"It's painfully obvious; I'm still afraid," 

He let out a shuddering breath, closing his fist with force, "I just—I just don't want to leave Kathy alone, dammit! I'm afraid of what would happen if I were to die because of her!"

He went towards his bed, sitting on its edge.

He tapped his right leg on the floor anxiously, and as he took a deep breath, he started on preparing himself mentally. 

"I have to stop being like this."

"There's no time to grumble, I have to think about this thoroughly."

"I can't follow Nekare extremely close—it would be akin to walking inside a lion's den. Regardless, I must to tail her in some way. In theory, as long as I find her rough location, I should be able to point Dusk Catcher at her, maybe blending amidst the people who are close? But even then, I might get caught."

"The risk is too high, I can't let anyone to see the eye."

Let's think of two possibilities: 

"If she's inside the school's building during break, it means I have to tail her until we are in a place devoid of any people. Only then I'll use Dusk Catcher. I have to take in mind the startup process too…"

"Now, time for the second option."

"If she's outside with everyone, I'll have to find an empty class facing the schoolyard. Only then I would be able to stay hidden from both Nekare, and the other people."

"I must watch her at all times, if I lose her, my plan will fail."

Gray exhaled deeply and stood up, facing the light that shot and reflected through his windows. The golden sunlight caressed his face, exorcising his gloomy air. 

After finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, he stared at the gleaming sun before smiling. 

The plan is ready.

Basking in its light for some moments, he took Casanova's walkie talkie and Dusk Catcher from under his pile of clothes. He took his bag, making his way towards the living room, noticing that his sister Kathy was sitting on the table, using her phone.

Since he felt it wasn't the right moment to talk, he avoided speaking entirely to evade a possible confrontation.

Gray moved the chair in front of her and left his school-bag on top of it before going to the kitchen. He swiftly opened the fridge and took out the milk before opening the cupboard and taking a cup. Then, he took a spoon and grabbed a pack of cookies. 

Satisfied, he returned to the living room, moved his school bag and sat on the chair.

He ate his cookies silently, glancing upwards a couple of times.

His sister's face didn't seem nor too hostile and nor too melancholic. Regardless, she seemed a little down, like a student after seeing a bad grade.

From his discovery, Gray could predict that his sister was going to return into her peak condition in no less than two days.

While reading Lord of The Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability on his phone, he savored the chocolate cookies he dipped into the milk, letting the chocolate chips melt in his mouth before chewing on the soft biscuit.

Gray had been eating many cookies when suddenly, Kathy slammed her phone into the table.

He was about to ask if she was alright when immediately, she muttered quietly, 

"I'm sorry…" Kathy's gaze was locked on the table, as if in embarrassment. 

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused by the unexpected turn of events.

Since his sister stayed in silence for some moments, he started pondering on what she had done.

Why is she apologizing? Gray silently thought.

Kathy then slammed both of her hands on the table.

"Fuck! I'll just say it!" Kathy yelled, posing her piercing gaze upon her brother.

"I'm sorry for yesterday!" she bowed her head, apologizing.

"Eh?" Gray looked at her, dumbfounded.

She didn't do anything wrong though! he mused.

Kathy then started rambling, looking around the room. Sometimes she looked at the table, while on the others, he looked at the floor, the kitchen, and so on.

"Yester—No, I mean tod—Yes, this morning! I was too angry!" Kathy gestured with her hands as she continued, "My behavior was too exaggerated! You are a teenager, so it's normal for you to come home that late!"

"…I think," she scratched her nose. "I'm not too sure about it, I never had the chance to do those things..."

Kathy…

"I promise, I was just worried. I'm still the coolest sister you could ever have!"

Gray stayed in silence for some seconds before chuckling lightly, amused from the bizarre situation. He pointed at her and half-jokingly asked, "Is that how you say sorry to someone?" 

"Hey!" Kathy yelled, surprised at how the tables had turned. 

The mocked became the mocker! 

Gray snickered for some moments as he shook his head slowly. "Kathy, you don't have anything to apologize for, I'm serious. I did the mistake of not answering your calls. For that, I have to bear the consequences. You did the right thing, believe me."

He scratched his hair and continued talking, unsure of how to put his thoughts into words. "Also, would it be alright for you if I started working part-time? Of course, I'll keep going to school. I just want to help you."

He smiled. "You know, I really want you to enroll back into school. You had to give up on your dreams for me, so it seems fair that I should help you in turning them into a reality."

"Also, I think that Casanova would accept if I were to ask of working with him for some hours."

I feel bad for that poor man. He's going to have to deal with me so much… 

Kathy looked down in embarrassment before smiling wholeheartedly.

She looked at Gray, her eyes glimmering from the morning sun and said, "You grew up so much, you know? I can still remember the days where you cried on the way to school, hoping that I could follow you inside class." 

Kathy chuckled lightly—not mockingly. 

Gray then almost choked on his food and started to cough intensely.

"U-Unfortunately, yes, I do remember that." 

"So… Can I start working part-time?" Gray repeated. 

"Yes." Kathy gave a firm nod. "But only if Casanova accepts your offer." 

Excited to start helping his dear sister, he thanked her intensely before continuing to eat his cookies, not savoring their taste due to his increased pace.

After resolving their conflict, he felt even more compelled to unravel the mysteries that surrounded Nekare. 

There was no room for failure. He had to return home.

Kathy watched him while he devoured his food, a dumb-looking smile plastered on her face. Her thoughts were indecipherable, but as sweet as honey.

Once Gray was done, Kathy rolled up the sleeves of her black shirt and checked her watch, making a "tsk" sound with her mouth.

"It's late, I have to go to work," she sighed.

The young woman worked as a waitress for one of the most cherished restaurants by the Rosano's inhabitants, its name was "Rose Rosse". Although it was extremely far from the most renowned restaurants, it was still considered as one of the places with the best food in the city.

Unfortunately, due to Rosano's lack of tourism, the owners found great difficulty in popularizing it outside the borders. 

Thanks to Kathy's excellent experience in the working field, she was able to land the position rather quickly, bringing home a stable income that ranged from 1100 euros to 1350 euros if she decided to work overtime. 

Normally, she would work full time—8 hours on average. But when the staff was short handed, she had to work overtime—sometimes reaching over 11 hours.

Working overtime made her gain more money, all thanks to the tips gained from the sympathy of the customers who saw her hard work and from the increase in that day's salary from the owners. 

Kathy had to pay for the groceries, taxes, various bills like the wifi, cellular service et cetera, which in total amounted to 600 euros per month, leaving them with a comfortable budget for their necessities.

Because of their past, they didn't spend much money in trivial matters.

They preferred saving up, doing their best to be prepared for every situation. 

"I guess I'll go too then." Gray grabbed his bag, attempting to keep his anxiety in check.

The two went outside together, with Kathy taking her bike while Gray started walking.

Subconsciously, he touched Dusk Catcher.

There is no going back.