shadow 6
#6 of shadow
Shadow 6
A week had past since the event with Boris, but Shadow still worried that he was planning something. He still played out various scenarios in his head as he stood in front of the mirror smoothing out his shirt and straightening his tie. There was a knock at the front door and Nathan yelled up that he would get it as Shadow tried to figure out whether or not to wear his mane up or down. Deciding to leave it down he made his way downstairs.
As Shadow came down the stairs his worries began to fade at the sight of his stallion. "Hello there you stud."
Vincent moved toward him reaching out his arm for an embrace. "Hello sexy."
Nathan looked puzzled as he eyed Shadow in his suit. "You must be going somewhere fancy."
Shadow looked towards Nathan as he turned and leaned against the Vincent. "Oh we're going to a restaurant and then, well I'm not sure. Vincent likes to surprise me."
Vincent rested his head on Shadow's shoulder. "So what about you and Victor you two have plans?"
Nathan crossed his arms as he frowned. "Well we thought we would have a quiet evening here since He'll be leaving tomorrow."
Shadow smiled and moved toward Nathan. "He won't be gone that long. Just to pick up his things and tie up some loose ends."
Nathan forced a grin and took Shadow's paw. "I know. I'm happy he got a job at the gym but I didn't what him to leave his home just for me."
Vincent laughed as he placed his hands on his hips. "Don't be foolish. That's the kind of things you do for someone you love, besides who would want to stay away from someone as cute as you?"
Nathan smiled as he looked towards Vincent. "Aw thanks." He gave Shadow and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "And thank you for letting him stay here."
"Don't worry about it. I wouldn't want the two of you to be separated." Shadow replied giving Nathan a quick hug.
"Hey enough of that." Vincent jokingly said as he grabbed Shadow's arms. "We need to be going anyway. Don't want to be late for our reservation."
Shadow and Vincent made their way to the restaurant where they enjoyed their meal. As usual they made each other laugh and couldn't keep their eyes off each other. After their meal they returned to the car and drove to the park for a walk.
As they walked the trail Shadow listened as Vincent spoke of his childhood and how it took a few years for his father to accept his coming out. As Vincent told his story Shadow's mind began to drift to his own childhood.
Vincent stopped his story seeing that Shadow wasn't listening anymore. "Hey you alright?" he asked giving Shadow a nudge.
"Huh, oh yeah. Guess I just..." Shadow began to reply with a frown but didn't want to ruin the evening.
Vincent studied the feline for a moment before taking his paw and pulling him towards a nearby bench. "Come on we can sit over here and you can tell me about it."
As they sat down Shadow could tell that Vincent wouldn't let him get out of talking about what was on his mind. "Well I guess I'm just jealous of your childhood. See my mother died when I was a cub."
Vincent placed his hand onto Shadows shoulder. "I'm so sorry. Look if you don't want to talk about it I understand."
"No it's alright." Shadow replied as he leaned back and began tell his story. "My grandmother moved in to help take care of me. My father's an archeologist so he traveled a lot. He used to tell me all about his adventures before mother died, but after that he just avoided me. When we did speak he would hardly look at me, and his tone always seemed harsh." Shadow paused for a moment letting out a sigh. "As I got older I began to resent him, even hate him for not being there for me. How could he just bury himself in his work and forget that I even existed?"
Vincent slid closer to Shadow placing his arm across the felines shoulders. "He was probably in a lot of emotional pain. Loosing someone you love leaves a hole in you."
Shadow leaned to rest his head of Vincent's shoulder. "I realize that now, but I was young then. All I wanted was for him to be like he was. I had Grams but it wasn't the same. She did her best to make me happy, but the stress got to her. She died when I was 12. After that I started rebelling. Doing whatever I could to get my fathers attention, but all that lead to was constant arguments." Shadow wiped his face trying to stop the tears from falling. "When I was 16 I fell in love with a guy from school. Father caught us making out one day and flew into a rage. My boyfriend was so terrified he ran out of the house. Father and I exchanged some harsh words before he hit me. I don't think he meant to, he tried to apologize but I wouldn't listen I just ran out. When I tried to talk to my boyfriend he wouldn't let me explain. He thought I was just using him to get at my father. That's when I decided to run away."
There was a long silence before Vincent moved to kneel in front of Shadow. "Did you go back at all?"
Shadow remained silent for a moment. "I went back that night to get some clothes. Father was in his study as usual, he didn't even know I was there. That was the last I saw him."
"Where did you go?" Vincent asked as he held Shadow's paws.
Shadow sat up sliding closer to Vincent. "Oh I spent a few nights in the woods; I guess I was hoping father would find me. When he didn't I just left not caring where I went. I met up with some older friends that were heading to college and hitched a ride with them. I continued to hitch rides to wherever for about a year before ending up here."
Vincent got back up to sit back onto the bench. "So what made you stay here?"
Shadow smiled as he remembered back. "Well I was rummaging through the dumpster behind the club for something to eat when James found me. He grabbed me as I began to run away. I was horrified I knew it could be a rough area and all I could imagine was getting my clothes ripped off and...well you know. James managed to calm me down and took me into the club to get me something to eat. I remember everyone being so nice, making me the center of attention. James took me back to his place to get cleaned up and insisted I stay the night. I was glad to have a warm bed out of the rain to sleep in. He pretty much took me in. I got a job at the gym and I stayed there for about six months until he asked Arron to move in. I figure once Arron moved in I would just be in the way. So I got this place. Eventually I started working at the club to help offset the added expenses. I eventually stopped working at the gym as I moved up to lead bouncer at the club."
"Well I'm glad you decided to stay." Vincent replied giving Shadow a kiss.
They sat there for a while before deciding to head home. As they made their way back to the car Shadow thought he saw someone watching them from an alley across the street. As he turned to look the figure slipped into the ally.
"What is it?" Vincent asked as he opened the door.
Shadow started to cross the street. "I'm not sure." He stood at the edge of the ally and began to feel uncomfortable as if he was being led into danger.
Vincent approached placing a hand on Shadow's shoulder as he looked down the ally as well. "No ones there...Come on let's go home."
Shadow agreed and they made their way back to the car and got in. As they began to drive home Shadow's phone rang. He didn't recognize the number but answered it anyway. "Hello... Oh hi Jess... No you're not interrupting anything just heading back to Vincent's...Alright I'll give you a call tomorrow."
Vincent glanced over at Shadow. "Who was that?"
"Nathan's sister. She wanted to know if I would help her pick up her new furniture tomorrow." Shadow replied as he put his phone back in its case.
But that wasn't the real reason that Jess had called, she called to make sure that Shadow was alright. She sat at her desk looking down at a drawing as she hung up the phone. The drawing showed Shadow lying in a pool of blood that flowed out from a gunshot wound as Vincent knelt beside him holding his face with his hands. "I'm glad he's alright." she said picking up the drawing and crumbling it into a ball before throwing it into the trash. She stood up and looked around her room. Several drawing were scattered around the walls, one section had many of Shadow at various stages of his life. "At least I know who you are now." She said to herself as she approached the drawings of him and placed her paw onto them.