Perfect Impurrfections

Chapter 17

Free at Last

                Crystal was finally free from her house and she had plans to make the most of it.  She would be back at work in a couple days and she wanted to test her newly healed ankle out before class.  The doctor had given her a clean bill of health the day before, but she needed to test her limits out.  It wouldn’t do her any good injuring herself again right at the start.  She was excited to finally be getting some exercise after two weeks of cautious movement.  She would make sure that she didn’t overdo it and just to be safe Anna was going to meet her at the gym.  It was her friend’s day off, so she was going to help Crystal test the waters, literally.  The first thing on the agenda was swimming.  Anna thought that would be the best way to start off slow, but Crystal had a suspicion it was more because of Jude then anything.  When Anna had told her the plan the night before Crystal told her she needed to chill herself out around the young swim coach.  Anna already had a boyfriend after all.  And while Lewis was a bit cold and standoffish to most people, he treated Anna like gold.  Anna had waved her concern away saying she would never cheat on Lewis in a million years.  Just because she was taken didn’t mean she couldn’t look, she wasn’t blind.  Crystal had to give her that one as she too had checked Jude out a time or two in the past.  She also knew Anna was head over heels for her man as well.  She just didn’t want to see any misunderstandings come between the two of them.  While they were complete opposites in personality the two of them just clicked.  Crystal couldn’t imagine anyone being a better fit for the two of them then each other.  She wouldn’t be surprised if she heard news of their engagement before the year was over.

                While she was happy for her friends Crystal couldn’t help feeling like a failure in the love department.  She had a promising date set up for tomorrow night and was hoping this one turned into something more.   She was tired of watching everyone else get what she wanted.  Even Casey had been seeing that woman more frequently.  It was another reason she was itching to get out of the house.  The townhouses were soundproof after all, but it only worked if the windows were closed.  It wasn’t like they were rabbits or anything, but it was also the giggling and flirting that were driving her nuts.  It was even beginning to annoy her grandfather who had taken to leaving the house to get away from it.  Crystal decided he was a traitor running away and leaving her to listen to it all by herself.  Between that and B.B.’s newfound hormones Crystal was climbing the walls.  Escape was imperative at this point.  She would end up going truly insane if she had to spend one more day in her house.

                Speaking of crazy that was another reason she was more than ready to venture out into the world.  Crystal desperately needed to speak with her neighbor Dr. Miller.  Ever since the day she overheard her grandfather and Casey outside she’s been having vivid dreams.  Some were very inappropriate for her to be having for her best friend while others were laughing babies calling her mommy.  They had been happening every time she fell asleep.  It didn’t matter if it was at night or a mid afternoon nap, she was having them.  Crystal was sure she had lost her grip on reality this time.  There was no way Dr. Miller would think otherwise.  He may have been able to deter her with logic in the past, but she was sure she had some kind of illness this time.  She couldn’t think of any other reason she would be having them.

                Looking at the clock on the wall Crystal picked up her pace as she got ready for the day.  Her mother was due that afternoon to pick up her grandfather finally.  He had talked them into extending his stay when she had first gotten hurt under the guise of helping her out.  While he did help her do things around the house Crystal was no fool.  She knew he only wanted to stay so that he could cat around all he wanted.  His party was coming to and end today.  Once he was safely back home with her parents Crystal would breath a sigh of relief.  She was sure Casey would too as he was the one who usually chased after him as she waited back at home.  Now he would be able to spend even more time with his new girlfriend.  The thought tasted bitter as it ran through her head.  She didn’t like thinking about the two of them at all.  Crystal had convinced herself it was because the woman was a grade A menace.  If she wasn’t parading around in front of him in clothes that barely covered anything, she was making snide remarks and little digs at his friends.  The woman was careful never to do it where Casey could hear.  Crystal had stopped hanging out with him all together and from what Anna told her, she and Lewis had had it with her as well.  Crystal had been worried about losing him if they ever became involved, but she needn’t have bothered.  The thing that was driving them apart was his choice in partners.  She wouldn’t begrudge him love.  If the woman was what he was looking for she would wish him well, but she wasn’t sticking around.  Going to prison for murder one had never been on her bucket list.  Besides, she looked horrible in orange.

                Stepping out her front door Crystal took a deep breath of fresh air.  The outside world had never looked so good to her before.  Things were starting to look up and she refused to let anything rain on her parade today.  As she skipped lightly down her front steps Casey’s front door opened.  She had made it almost to the bottom when the sound of sucking face came from behind her.  Her concentration broken Crystal stumbled the last couple of steps catching herself on the banister before she fell face first on the sidewalk.

                “Oh my gosh are you okay?”  Crystal glared at the pavement before fixing her face into a bored expression and meeting the eyes of Casey’s girlfriend.

                “Just peachy.”  She bit out unable to control the tone of her voice as she spoke to the woman.  Casey raised his eyebrow in question, but Crystal decided to ignore it.

                “I’m heading down to the gym for a bit.  Can you keep an eye out for grandpa?  Mom’s picking him up this afternoon and I would hate to lose him before she gets here.”  Casey smiled thinking about the old man making a break for it before his daughter could come drag him back home.

                “Will do.”

                “Thanks.”

                “It’s no problem Chris I’m just glad he’s finally going home, and Casey won’t have to chase him all over anymore.”  The woman tittered out like they were sharing some kind of inside joke.  Crystal’s earlier smile at Casey fell from her face as she stared at the woman with a look devoid of emotion.

                “That’s Crystal to you only my friend’s get to call me Chris.” The woman gasped as her words shot at her.

                “Chris.”  Casey growled in annoyance.

                “Like that.”  Crystal pointed out before turning and walking away down the sidewalk.  It had been the perfect note to leave the conversation on.  It wasn’t often she got in the most appropriate dig ever and she was riding the high of it all the way to the gym.  She supposed she should feel bad for being an ass to his girlfriend, but she just couldn’t muster up enough oomph for care at the moment.  Besides whom was that woman anyway that she could treat Crystal’s grandfather like some kind of inconvenient burden.  Whistling happily to herself Crystal walked down to the gym deciding the insult had been well earned indeed.