Silken Straightjackets

Fathers and Friendships

Cat had a hellish sleep, nightmares around each turn. They revolved around Harry's death and Dandy's outbursts. Though she wasn't quite sure whys she was so scared of Dandy during those moments. She wanted to die, so why would it matter if he was mad? If he killed her, she'd be getting her way. But still, the fear of his anger feasted on her slumber.

Dandy, on the other hand, didn't go directly to sleep. Instead, he opted to watch over Catherine. Her hair glittered with the moonlight streaming through the windows. He allowed himself to get lost in thoughts of their next kill.  The blood, the excitement, and the arousal. Nothing was sexier than Catherine covered in blood.

Around midnight, he dug out her notebook. He had snuck it to his room during her crying fit after pocketing it during her shower. He wanted to know her most intimate thoughts, and what better way than reading her diary.

Disappointment hit him instead, when he discovered it was not a diary. It was a book half filled with lyrics. Sad, beautiful rhymes about lost loves and yesteryear. A song, that appeared incomplete caught his eye. This must've been what she was writing, he thought.

"Bend me, break me, flex me how you need me. Turn me. Twist me, just the way you want. Sharpen and dull me, till I am dust. Make me work until I am rust. Hurt me, harm me, if it makes you happy. Cut me, gut me, till I'm bleeding on the floor. Do what you like till I shatter into pieces. Just please don't leave me alone." It read. He felt a bit shaken. This couldn't be about me.

He had an urge to destroy it. He didn't like it. It made him feel bad and he had done nothing wrong. He flipped back and read other lyrics. Very few were happy. Maybe that's why she only sang popular songs, he told himself. He glanced back at her. She was tossing and turning. She seemed very restless. He decided to at least try to calm her. He climbed into bed, beside her. As his gaze lingered on her, his mind drifted to the title of a ballet his mother once took him too.

"My very own Sleeping Beauty." he whispered. He kissed her gently on the lips, much like the prince in the performance had, hoping desperately to break whatever spell had caused her such sorrow. Shortly thereafter, he fell asleep. He held Catherine in his arms like a fragile doll.

The next morning he woke up to the now familiar knocking of breakfast being delivered. He got his tray and sat it down, before realizing that Catherine had left. An unfamiliar sense of concern washed over Dandy. He checked the bathroom for her. A mix of emotions struck him when she wasn't there. Happiness, that she hadn't killed herself in his room but also worry that she'd done it elsewhere.

He got dressed in a rush, not bothering to style his hair. He went quickly down the hall to her room. He knocked several times before forcing the door open. He looked throughout the room and her bathroom, but there was no sign of her. Panic began setting in. What if the nurse found her when leaving breakfast, he thought anxiously.

He went through every area he could think of. The bar, library, theater, the many social rooms, and even the stairwell, but he could find no trace of her. He took several deep breaths, trying to think if there was anywhere else. When his mind returned nothing, he knew he had to ask someone. He went to the front desk.

"Do you know where Catherine is?" he asked the nurse behind the counter.

"Which one?" she asked.

"The one who sings. The one here her whole life." he struggled to keep the concern from his voice. The nurse flipped through a couple papers.

"Ah, her father showed up to speak with her." she told Dandy. Relief flooded through him.

"Can you tell me where they are?"