Caitlin: Chapter 8
Maybe he should just send her back and be done with her.
He was not happy about having Caitlin in his house. He didn’t like the idea that she had some kind of multiple personality disorder. It explained a lot though, like why she didn’t seem to be all there, and why she did creepy stuff sometimes.
When she had initially told him about the “people” living inside her head, he thought it was just another one of her weird things that she randomly said. Then he did some research on what it could mean and started reading up on multiple personality disorder. The more he read, the more freaked out he became.
Then she started acting even weirder.
She kept going to the bathroom and staying in there, sometimes for close to half an hour. He’d ask her about it and she’d give him some vague answer, like she was really badly hiding something from him. She also kept looking at him and smiling for no reason.
However she hadn’t done anything actually threatening yet, so what could he do? He could send her back, the money he paid for her having gone to waste. There had to be something else he could do with her until her time was up. For now he was just doing what he could to avoid her. As far as he was concerned, Caitlin was a ticking time bomb, and as long as he stepped lightly around her, maybe just maybe she wouldn’t go off until after she left.
Today was Dec 24th. Rather then spending a romantic day with Caitlin, he was in the living room watching TV. She was in her room, playing with that creepy assed spider. She was weirdly happy for some reason, happier then she normally was. It was probably because she was off in her own world talking with her other personalities, and probably plotting to murder him... Nah he was just being paranoid, right?
His parents wanted him and her to come over tomorrow bright and early to be there when Linda’s kids opened their presents. Larry planned to call them tomorrow morning and say that they came down with the flu.
They ate separate lunches and dinners, Caitlin cooked for herself, while he ordered pizza. Leftover pizza wouldn’t make for much of a Christmas dinner, but it was better then Caitlin potentially poisoning him. Then again if she wanted to poison him, she could put a drop or two in his pizza and he’d never know it. He was debating in his mind on what to do about that when she approached him. She looked at him with that grin she almost always had. Her hands were behind her back.
“What do you want?”
“Merry Christmas, Master!”
She showed him the gift she had been hiding behind her back.
“What...?”
“Remember that day when I forgot to wear the maids outfit? I forgot cos I was out shopping for a Christmas present for you!”
Larry took the pair of wooden pigs from her hands and just stared at them. He pulled them apart, and they wound back up and “kissed”. It was the stupidest, ugliest gift he could imagine!!
But that didn’t matter.
She had spent her time and money to buy him a gift. Here he was thinking she was going to kill him or something, when all along she was just waiting to give him the present she had bought for him! And if that wasn’t enough to make him feel awful, she stood there and smiled at him as if everything was all right and he hadn’t been ignoring her for weeks! He couldn’t hold back, he started crying.
“Oh Caitlin! Caitlin I’m so sorry! I’ve been acting like a total dick! I—I didn’t get you anything for Christmas, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s okay Master. I’m just glad you like it. Merry Christmas!”
That made him feel even worse.
Later that evening they laid in his bed. They had spent the last several hours talking and clearing up a lot of mis-communication. A more romantic evening like he had planned months ago soon followed. The make up sex was the best he had had yet.
He realized though that it wasn’t really the sex that he was after. Above all else, he had rented her so that he could spend the holidays with somebody, even if that somebody had a few screws loose, or overtightened, or something. He started thinking of the song Silent Night for some reason, a really sappy version of it that normally he found annoying. However this time it really got to him. He had to fight off a strong urge to cry again.
“You know Caitlin, I am really glad you’re here. Just having you around for company right now has made it worth the price.”
She snuggled up next to him and started making a strange noise, like she was attempting to mimic the sound of a cat purring.
“What are you doing?”
“Mmmm, Slavelin might want more sex, but Katlin just wants to cuddle right now.”
She continued purring and started rubbing her face against his chest, much like an affectionate cat might do. While this weirded him out a bit, he just smiled and started stroking her head.
“You really are something unique.”
She meowed and snuggled closer to him, a big smile on her face. Eventually her purring became regular breathing. She sighed and shifted her weight a bit.
“I’m a muffin.”
“You’re a what?!” Larry asked.
“Oh, never mind.” she replied.
Christmas morning soon came, and Larry found himself with a renewed energy. He was up as early as Caitlin. They showered together and got ready to go to his parents house.
“So you can do what you did during Thanksgiving, right? You can slip into your artist personality, right? My sister’s kids loved you.”
“Yes Master. When we get there I will be normal.”
He smiled, fighting the urge to laugh.
Christmas was normally another dreaded holiday. However both John and Uncle Martin didn’t show up, and his sister’s kids were happy and enjoying their presents, particularly the Opto glasses that could access the internet. However the presents weren’t enough to stop them from practically begging Caitlin to draw them something, which she gladly did.
“She’s really a keeper Larry. You should hold onto her.”
“Yeah...”
There was no way he could tell his mother that she’d be leaving him in less then 3 weeks. He’d have to pretend that she was still around for awhile, before making up some story about how she had to move away.
But all that could wait. Today it was all about enjoying Christmas, the way it’s supposed to be enjoyed. Surrounded buy loved ones, the children happy with their gifts, and with John absent, the family was interacting rather then arguing.
The brightest spot was Caitlin. She told all of them about various places she had been, and what inspired her to draw. Even Larry had trouble picking out what was real and what wasn’t. She bantered with Joan and Linda, politely discussed politics with Larry’s dad, and entertained the kids like someone who was, well, normal.
They all sat down to a wonderful Christmas dinner. It grew late and started snowing, so Larry bid them goodbye and left with Caitlin.
“You did very well. I’m amazed how you just... change... like that. Makes me wonder if there’s a real you in there.”
“This is the real me. The others are just parts of me that I manage differently then you do.”
“Tell me, Caitlin, is there somebody special in your life? I mean back at the facility. Like a handler or something?”
“Yeah... Bryan’s my handler now. I’m the only person at the facility whose been through five handlers. It didn’t work out with the first two, the third had a nervous breakdown, and the 4th decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble.”
She closed her eyes and smiled.
“Then Bryan came along. He’s one of the few people who truly understands me.”
She sighed contentedly and put her hands behind her head. Larry looked at her and felt something odd... Disappointment? He couldn’t be sure.