The Garden of What Once Was

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

For the next two days, Lunette remained shut down. Though, Ember didn't mind it all that much since it allowed her to spend her time doing whatever she wanted. This normally consisted of her taking care of the gardens, searching for the feral cat, or watching the latest movies. It was quite relaxing for her since she didn't have to worry about homework or impending tests too. That calming atmosphere that seemed to settle over her once chaotic life would be ruined in about a minute though. Unaware of this, Ember stuffed her hand into her almost empty bag of chocolates. Her eyes were glued to her computer screen which was displaying an action movie. It wasn't really her normal go-to genre, but romance movies get boring after a few hours. Besides, watching an actor desperately trying to disarm a ticking time bomb on a train was much more entertaining than watching two guys fight over one girl again.

"Cut the green wire, not the red one, idiot!" She yelled at the actor on her screen, then popped a piece of chocolate in her mouth.

She was mid-way through swallowing when two loud bangs sounded at her door, causing her to choke. As she coughed through the chocolate coating her throat, she pulled off her headphones, automatically putting the movie on pause. Another bang hit her door. Whoever was on the other side of that door definitely wasn't happy which was why she made no move to get up. It wasn't like they could break down her door anyway. That little bit of reassurance prompted her to start putting her headphones back on. Before she could do so, a body practically flew through her open window. She had forgotten that there were other means of entering her dorm. Shit! Swallowing hard, she stood up, trying to prepare herself to face her unknown visitor. When she turned herself toward the person, all of the tension and worry were expelled from her. 

"He's missing!" Landon breathlessly said as he scrambled up from the floor, "I don't know where he went, Ember!"

Assuming that he was talking about Jared, she simply shrugged, "Don't worry. He's probably using his free time to go cruise around all the strip clubs in the city."

Landon's eyebrows furrowed together as he wondered, "Who? Cheddar? I don't think a cat would do something like that...but it's true that he might be wandering around in the city! All by himself, lost! What am I going to do? I'm a failure as a father!"

"Cheddar is lost?!" Ember asked him, now grabbing a hold of his shoulders as well. "When was the last time you saw him, Landon?" 

"Um..." He thought for a couple of seconds before answering, "Maybe at around eleven last night. But, but when I woke up, he wasn't anywhere to be found. I looked all over my dorm and the outside areas surrounding it, but I couldn't find any trace of him. Do you think he got tired of me and left? Ah, this is driving me crazy!"

"I don't see how he could get outside by himself," She thought out loud as her eyes wandered to her open window. "Unless...did you leave your window open last night?"

A look of realization spread across his face. "Yes...that's probably how he escaped! This is all my fault! I should've been more careful! I–..."

"Calm down, Landon, just take a deep breath. We'll find him," She reassured him, "I'll text the guys and let them know. If we're all searching for Cheddar, I'm sure one of us will be able to find him. Alright?"

Hesitantly, Landon nodded. With five people searching for Cheddar, a bit of hope was brought to the distraught blonde. Surely, they would eventually find Cheddar. Once they did, Landon planned on giving Cheddar all the hugs and kisses in the world. In return, he would probably get scratched to death. It wouldn't exactly be the sweetest reunion, but it would still put Landon's heart at ease.

Unfortunately, this reunion didn't happen any time soon. Although all five of them searched high and low for Cheddar, the little orange cat was nowhere to be found on campus. Their lack of success confirmed Landon's worst fear, Cheddar was most likely somewhere in the city. Just thinking about all the potential dangers that awaited Cheddar made Landon's stomach churn. He couldn't even drink blood or eat the bland sandwiches the school distributed. Even when hunger began to bite at his stomach during dinner in the cafeteria, he only stared blankly at the sandwich in front of him. All he could think about were the one too many cars speeding down the streets of the city. Those reckless drivers probably wouldn't give a damn if they happened to hit a cat. Now the image of Cheddar lying on the side of the road, injured and meowing, stuck to Landon's mind. He clenched his jaw, momentarily shutting his eyes in an attempt to wipe the thought from his head. A soft object poked at Landon's lips, causing him to snap open his eyes, only to find that his uneaten sandwich was being shoved into his face by Jared.