Chapter 176 – Relished Memories – Holly Hayfield

My return to school was heralded like that of a monarch. Seeing crowds of people happy to see me was amusing. It was as if one of our athletic teams just won some major event, like the time I got my track medals and was loved by everyone.

Only this time, no medals were required. This was the result of all my hard work at school paying off. People appreciated me here, just like they used to at Cherry Vale Public High School. This time I knew better than to let it go to my head.

People asked me questions about my absent days and what I was sick with. They asked me if I was feeling better, or if I needed anything from them. Most of all, they asked me about my thoughts concerning the new vice principal. I assured them that I was up to date with the situation and planning to talk to her.

I only had a rough idea of what I wanted to say to her. I was thinking about it during class when I randomly received a summons to her office. She must’ve caught wind about the rumors going around about me. She must’ve known that I was a logical figure for the other students to rally behind.

My suspicions were entirely confirmed when I went into the vice principal’s office to speak to her. She gave me a long, dogmatic lecture about her role here as vice principal and reiterated the authority placed upon her by the district school board.

Reading between the lines, she wanted me to know that she was the boss now and wouldn’t be swayed by the likes of a mere student counselor. This speech of hers opened my eyes to all the insecurities she had. A mix of her body language and choice of words helped cue me in to her deeper issues here.

She was nervous.

It couldn’t have been because of me. She was nervous because great results were expected of her in a short time frame, if some of what she said was to be believed. Using this knowledge, I framed my response to her lecture not as a rebuttal, but as an offer, like how I did with Ms. Sampson before.

I offered to help her learn more about this school and its students. I offered to teach her how to interact with the students to achieve the goals that she was here for. I offered to show her some of the notes that I made detailing the common concerns that many students had, including the notes that I made specifically for Ms. Sampson.

She was visibly surprised at first, then overwhelmed as I came at her with more offers to help the school. She didn’t realize it yet, but I wasn’t doing this for her. I was doing solely this to help the school. This school’s future was my passion project. Not only that, but I’d be returning here to work here on a permanent basis.

Rather than give me a conclusive answer, she sent me away and promised to meet me again on Monday. That was the ideal outcome. From what Val told me, Mrs. Patton had a habit of shutting people down without serious consideration and shooing them away. A promise of another meeting meant that I had my foot in the door.

Everyone that questioned me about my meeting with Mrs. Patton suspended their celebration when I told them about how it went. The results weren’t as impressive as they hoped for, but these types of things took time. The important thing was that I was on my feet and here to help.

Speaking of which, a few girls asked me if there was something wrong with my foot. I didn’t think that my limping was obvious, but it was clear enough to some that they felt the need to ask about it. That wasn’t a good sign. It wasn’t a big deal at school, but I was planning to meet up with Ellie at Val’s workshop soon.

I didn’t want her worrying about me.

My celebrated return to school did a lot to clear my head before my meeting with Ellie. I was still nervous, but I felt better about myself for the time being. I often tore myself down when reflecting on my work as the Killing Cat, feeling guilty that I didn’t change in the way that I originally intended too.

It was shortsighted of me to think that way. My work as a school counselor couldn’t be understated when I saw just how many people were waiting for me and ready to rely on me. There was more complexity to my soul than bloody murder.

That’s why I didn’t hesitate when I arrived at Val’s workshop. I went inside and started looking around the moment I arrived. Ellie wasn’t there yet, but Val was. Val introduced me to her brother, Petro. They looked surprisingly similar, both having dark hair and slim, muscular builds. Petro was much more muscular than his sister, but the resemblance was strong.

“She talks about you all the time.” Petro told me.

“No I don’t. Why are you trying to embarrass me in front of our guest?” Val asked.

“Because it’s true.” Petro said. “It’s always ‘Holly and I did this’, ‘Me and my friends did that’. I never took you for a socially inclined person. I thought you were more like me, but I guess I was wrong.”

Val folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

“That’s not me being socially inclined. That’s just you being a greasy old machine.” Val said. “You spend too much time in here. You’re becoming just as mechanical as the cars we work on. I still say you should’ve gone out with that girl that was giving you the looks the other day. You could use a human touch to soften you up.”

Petro tried to hit his sister for that, but Val slapped his hand away.

“Bah! She was just trying to reduce the price of her repairs.” Petro said. “I’d never fall for a stupid trick like that. I charge the full amount, every time.”

I laughed. Val just shook her head in disbelief.

“You’re never going to get a girlfriend at this rate…”

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“Just for that, you’re coming to help me unload the rest of the boxes in the back.”

“What?!”

“Say goodbye to your friend here.” Petro said. “Sorry, Holly. Val has a lesson to learn about getting on the boss’s nerve.”

I smiled.

“It’s no problem. I’m happy to wander around for a bit. I always wondered what the workshop looked like.”

“And…?” Val asked expectantly.

“It’s bigger than I thought it’d be. I thought this was going to be like one of the small mom and pop repair garages, but this looks like it could be part of a major chain.”

“Thank you!” Petro said. “Look, Val! Someone who appreciates me and my workshop! Can you believe it?”

Val shook her head again.

“You shouldn’t have said anything, Holly. Now he’s going to be insufferable.”

“The boxes are calling us!” Petro said, pulling Val along with him. “Off we go!”

Val waved at me.

“I’ll be back soon!”

“I’ll be here, checking out your motorcycle!” I said as she was dragged away.

I didn’t hide my amusement as they left. It was nice to see that they were clearly fond of one another. Val must’ve had a hard time here with her family being split across continents. Being close with her brother must’ve helped her reconcile with that fact.

They left me alone in one of the workshop’s smaller ‘side’ garages. This was in the back of the main shop and off-limits to regular guests. Val only brought me here to show me the motorcycle that she was working on. She was planning to replace her current motorcycle with this one.

I walked around the motorcycle and ran my hand across its surface. This was fancier than her current motorcycle, and likely more dangerous. Alyssa was still giving me riding lessons from time to time, and I was considering saving up for a motorcycle or scooter of my own. I was leaning towards a scooter after recalling my handful of rides with Val.

“Holly…?” A young woman’s voice softly called out from behind me.

I was so focused on the motorcycle that I didn’t hear her come in. I turned slowly, pivoting my whole body in her direction to fully face her.

There she was.

Ellie was standing in the doorway only a few feet away from me. The look in her eyes was a look of wide-eyed wonder and apprehension. I probably looked the same way from her perspective. We slowly inched towards each other, as if we were afraid of moving too suddenly in the other’s presence.

I put my hands out towards her and she gradually met them with her own. Our fingers interlocked and I stared her in the eyes, feeling an emotional rush of such intensity that I felt like I might puke from the anxiety. I could feel her hands shaking in my own. I wondered if she was feeling the same sensation I was.

Her hair was a bit longer, her facial features a little sharper. She was wearing darker clothes than I remembered, unlike the vibrant pastel colors she used to favor. She looked to be lacking sleep, although that could’ve just been the lighting of this garage playing tricks on me.

So much about her looked different from how I remembered, but it was her. Ellie was standing here right in front of me. The rational part of me wanted to take this reunion slowly and carefully, but I was only human. Against all my cautious intentions, I suddenly pulled her in and embraced her tightly.

I was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t pull away. She embraced me back just as tightly. She cried into my chest before saying anything.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you!” Ellie said. “Everything that happened between us before... All the things that split us apart… Forget about them! I just want to be able to reach you again!”

“I feel the same way.” I said sympathetically. “I wish you would’ve reached out to me sooner…”

“I was afraid that I’d lose Opal and Suzy too.” Ellie admitted. “Can you forgive me?”

I brushed her hair with my hands.

“I don’t blame you for that.” I said. “I’m just glad we got this chance to be together again. There’s so much I need to say to you.”

Ellie nodded and pulled away from me.

“This is all thanks to Valentina… She helped me!” Ellie said.

I laughed hard at that. She gave me a confused look like I had suddenly lost it.

“What…? What’s so funny about that?” Ellie asked. “She really helped me out a lot.”

I covered my face with my hand to stifle my laughter.

“It’s just… She’s helped me out too… More than once, and in ways you probably wouldn’t imagine…”

“She says that you helped her too.” Ellie said. “Is it something you’re willing to share with me?”

“You’d have to ask Val herself if you want any details. The short version is that she was in a dark place when I first met her, but then again, so was I. We lifted each other up, and in the process, lifted up the entire school. She’s the student council president now.”

“I heard from Zara.” Ellie said. “I still can’t believe we’re talking like this. This is something I’ve literally dreamed about for months now.”

“You aren’t the only one…” I said, moving my hands to caress her face. “I’ve been planning what I’d say in this moment, but all my plans have left me now that I’m looking at you…”

She smiled at me and nodded.

All my earlier worries were melting away without a trace of lingering doubts. My mother was right. We had so many memories together that it was hard to hold onto past conflicts. I thought she’d see me as a killer, but instead, she saw me as Holly Hayfield.

As relieved as I felt, some guilt remained inside of me. I was the Killing Cat, regardless of how Ellie felt about me. It was nice that she wouldn’t hold my past behavior against me, but I wasn’t being wholly honest here. She lacked a bigger picture of who I was.

“There’s just one thing I have to say about that day that everything went wrong…” I started to say.

“You don’t have to.” Ellie said quickly. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“We don’t have to.” I agreed. “But there’s something that I need to say.”

She stared at me contemplatively before nodding reluctantly.

“I hate to admit it, but there is some truth in the things that Opal believes about me.” I said. “There’s a dark side to me that I never knew about until that day. That day awakened something in me, something I’d rather keep buried beneath everything... I spent so much time trying to suppress that part of myself instead of accepting it that the inner turmoil was tearing me apart.”

“Seeing as your ‘dark side’ saved my life, I can’t hate you for it.” She said. “Push came to shove and you jumped into action. I, on the other hand… I just ran and hid…”

“That’s for the best.” I assured her. “If one of us must have blood on our hands, then I’d rather it be me. You’re perfectly fine the way you are.”

She embraced me again and I hugged her back longingly. A year’s worth of angst and animosity evaporated away from me in an instant, allowing me to forgive myself for the choices I made back then. This was everything I needed.

Val knocked on the doorframe behind us as she walked in.

“Ellie! You snuck in while I was working in the back?!” Val asked playfully. “And you didn’t bother to come and say hi? This is my shop! Not hers!”

Ellie spun around in confusion.

“No… I… I didn’t know that you were… Well…”

Valentina ran over to pull Ellie into a hug. She picked Ellie up and spun her around excitedly.

“Oh shut up, I’m just messing with you!” Val said before setting her down.

“You jerk…” Ellie said weakly.

Val and I laughed.

“Did Holly tell you about the surprise party we have planned for you?” Val asked.

“Surprise party…?” Ellie asked.

I slapped my own forehead.

“It isn’t a surprise if you tell her, Val!” I said in frustration.

“Well, it was hardly a surprise party before!” Val said defensively. “She’s supposed to be meeting people for the first time! That shouldn’t be something handled as a surprise!”

“Meeting who?” Ellie asked.

“Ugh…” I groaned. “I just wanted to see her surprised expression when she saw everyone waiting for us.”

“What are you two talking about?!” Ellie asked loudly, looking between us.

Val gave me an amused look. I rolled my eyes at her in response.

“I was hoping that you’d come over to my place to meet some of my friends.” I said, reaching out for Ellie’s hand. “My mom is in the process of picking everyone up and bringing them over to our new house. Want to come?”