1 year after and flashbacks (Catherine)
She pressed down firmly on the bag until the zipper was finally closed. To be sure she hadn't forgotten anything, Catherine gave the space one more inspection. She was scanning the space when she noticed the plush bunny perched on her bed. How many feelings and memories could be connected to a teddy animal seemed absurd.
She made numerous attempts to discard it; after all, she is  a 33 year old well distinguished woman. She needs to live up to her reputation. Never failed, ever. She simply couldn't let go of the small toy, no matter how hard she tried. It was given to her as an Easter present from her mother when she was a young child.
After her parents passed away in a plane crash, she couldn't bear giving up any of the items she received from them. Hence, she continued to live in Bloomington, a tiny town, as a result. A woman like her aspired to do better and greater things, yet this was home to her. She tried leaving once before when she attended Stanford University for college, but came back as soon as she graduated. After she lost her parents, it was all she had left. This as well as a few material possessions, including the stuffed bunny. She felt robbed of her life without a family so she held these items close to her, as they were the only things she sought comfort in.
All of a sudden, the painful memory of Jackie insulting her inheritance came to mind. The tone of her voice, making her sound like an unmotivated, spoiled brat. Spoiled? Losing your family at the age of 15 is quite the opposite of living a spoiled life. Sure, the house was a lot nicer than everyone else's her age, or anyone else in Indiana for that matter. Sure she had nice clothes and a fancy Porsche, but what else was she supposed to spend the money on? She didn't have any children, no family, no spouse. She could give all of it up in a heartbeat to replace the emptiness she felt every night when she came home to an empty house, and every holiday she had to spend alone. Instantly, she felt the ache of her broken heart. It was that moment, almost a year and a half ago, when Jackie uttered those hurtful words that the rage inside her just exploded.
****
She remembered trying to cool herself down all night at the fundraiser, but she couldn't get the words out of her mind. When her date dropped her off, she saw the glow of the TV through the window. She couldn't believe Jackie had stayed after all of the vicious comments they exchanged, just hours before. As much as she tried to cool down, it did not work. Jackie crossed the line so she decided she could do the same.
She invited her date to come inside for a nightcap. Catherine turned on the lights and from the corner of her eye, she saw Jackie got up from the couch as she crossed the room, ignoring her presence on purpose. Her date then pointed out that there was someone on her couch. This was her moment to inflict the pain Jackie had instilled in her.
"Oh, yeah, it's that kid from that TV show, it's called Saturn, something."
Saturn, nice one she thought to her herself. Jackie was so proud of Neptune 26, it was the one thing she sought comfort in, much like how Catherine felt about her house that Jackie insulted. She saw Jackie roll her eyes. Now it was time to finish this. She invited her date to go upstairs with her, then looked Jackie straight in the eyes and said
" Hey, uh, make sure that you turn off the TV when you finish watching your cartoons. Okay?"
That was it, she saw the hurt in Jackie's eyes, mission accomplished. No one would ever hurt Catherine Stark and get away with it.
The sex was miserable. She thought it wold make herself feel better, help get her back to her old self. The self she was before Jackie came in and made a mess of it all. She had spend half of her life building a fortress around herself, to protect her from never having to feel the pain of losing someone she loved ever again. How could she let one, quiet, awkward girl come and destroy it all.
Her connection with Jackie was instant, but lust usually was. It usually took her a few weeks to find her next conquest, but last year it only took her one day. When she entered Hecht's office and made eye contact with Jackie, she felt an instant 'spark' and could tell the young girl did too, with the bashful smile she flashed her. The next day, Catherine paid close attention to the faces in her classes; searching for the one she saw the previous day. The cute and innocent girl with the most adorable smile. It was her last class and Catherine saw no sign of her. She felt disappointed.
She was eager to start this new affair but then remembered that Thursday was the Psychology mixer. Any student taking a psychology course was required to come, and since the young girl was in Hecht's office, she should be there.
After her final class was over, she headed to the library to pick up some books for her research article that she was working on. It was a large heavy stack and she struggled getting them back to her office. Student's were bumping into her the entire time, causing her to become more frustrated. When she finally reached her office door, she tried balancing the books on her left thigh so she could get her key out. When she almost had it, someone bumped into her from behind, making her lose grip of it.
It was then that she heard a soft voice behind her saying
"Here, let me help you with those."
Catherine sighed a grateful "Thanks," in relief.
Both her and the student entered her office and set the books on her desk.
"It's funny how these people can afford tuition but not manners," Catherine annoyingly stated.
The girl responded saying "So I've noticed."
She must be a freshman, Catherine thought. She started checking off her list of things that needed to be completed, until she heard the girl fumbling around her shelves. Eventually asking Catherine a question that she didn't quite make out. Catherine looked up for the first time, and the moment the student turned to repeat herself, she realised it was the girl from the office. Catherine played it cool, let the game begin she thought. The girl kept making small talk about the ECT machine. They were alone in the office so Catherine knew this was her chance to test the waters.
"Does this one work?" The girl asked, referring to the machine.
Catherine smirked and made her way over to her.
"I don't know. I haven't used it in a while," she responded in a playful manner.
The look that came on the girl's face was one of both curiosity and fear. She fumbled some words around, stated that she needed to get to class and quickly making her way out of the door. Catherine laughed at her reaction and knew she needed a little more time to make her move.
The next day, Catherine was asked to sub for Professor Newberry. As he had an emergency matter that needed tending to. Annoyed that she had to give up her free period, Catherine entered the classroom already agitated. When she asked the class what they were learning last session, they all looked away. She was in no mood for this, so she looked at the first student to make eye contact. The girl nervously stuttered, not remembering what the class had learnt the previous lesson, dropped her notebook and leant down to retrieve it. At that moment, Catherine spotted her newest conquest sitting behind the girl. She didn't let this break her stride and continued on with the lesson. She did, however, notice that the girl could not keep her eye off her for the entire period.
The following day was the psychology mixer. Catherine made sure to look her best that day, knowing that her subject would be in attendance. Sure enough, she spotted her across the quad. Not only that, but she again wasn't taking her eyes off Catherine. After Catherine finished talking to Professor Hecht, she noticed the girl's friends were not longer by her side and she was still staring at her. In which she was now proceeding to make her way over to Catherine. Catherine stared back but then a staff member approached to her and talk.
Damn it she thought, but this is probably for the best. If she was going to start a relationship with a student, she didn't want anyone seeing them together, especially since she was completely convinced the girl was interested. Thankfully, the conversation didn't last long. She looked where the girl had been standing but she was now gone. Catherine quickly looked around just in time to see her duck behind the rock wall on the side of the building- so she followed. When Catherine approached to her, she was leaning against a rock; nervously playing with her cup.
"Why are you hiding back there?" She asked her and immediately put up her intimidating front.
Once she saw the despair in the girl's eyes, she remembered her agreeing with Catherine in the office that the people around here have no manners. She told her it was okay that she wasn't mingling and then decided it was the time to formally introduce herself.
The girl responded, stuttering, "Jacqueline Kirk."
"Ah, the famous one." Catherine replied.
She had not idea that the girl she sought after was the actress everyone was buzzing about on campus. She was shocked when Jackie responded saying
"So are you from what I hear."
Catherine knew she had a reputation, but didn't realise that freshmen would hear about it so quickly. Jackie began sending flirtatious queues so she knew this was her moment. She tucked some hair behind Jackie's ear and went in for the kiss ; in which Jackie didn't give her a negative response beforehand. After she slowly released her lips from Jackie's, she saw the shock on her face and asked if she was okay. When Jackie nodded, she invited her back to her place. They needed to get away from campus before they were seen. Jackie was hesitant at first, but eventually decided to go to her house. Then began the scariest journey of Catherine's life, allowing herself to fall in love for the first time.
****
Catherine saw a tear drop land on the stuffed bunny. She quickly dabbed her eyes remembering the morning after her and Jackie first slept together. She awoken to the noise of the door closing and saw an empty bed. At closer observation, she saw that it wasn't empty. There lay her stuffed bunny.
She knew from that morning that Jackie was different. She usually didn't let her conquests spend the night, but Jackie had been nervous the night before. Catherine wasn't completely heartless to kick her out after the emotional night they had spend together. Most of the other girls were nervous for the first time too, but no one compared to Jackie. Jackie being a Hollywood star and all, had just so much to lose as Catherine did if anyone found about them.
They were equals.
Catherine wished she would have been strong enough to let her walls completely crumble for Jackie. She had never opened up to anyone they way she had with her, but at the first site of trouble she built those walls back up in a hurry; protecting herself from the potential hurt.
Little did she know she was already too far in, and building those walls was the first mistake she had ever made. She let her fear and anger get the best of her and let the love of her life walk away. Catherine held the bunny close to her heart before placing it back on the bed. She had to get a move on if she was going to make her flight. Before leaving the house, she bent down to give Ethan a hug and whispered in his ear,
"Wish me luck."
A/n Thanks for reading my story. Please vote and drop a comment. Comments will help me a lot more than you might think. â¤ï¸