Someone Who Loved Me
#4 of Human Enough
Author's Note: Wow! Over 1k views of everything. You guys are great. Hope you enjoy Part 4. Comments are always appreciated and Thanks for reading- AK
The next week was hell for me. I wanted so much to explain everything that happened to Michelle. I wanted to tell her about the microchip and how Marie practically attacked my face despite my protests. But she wouldn't talk to me, not even calling me by my hated title "master." It was painful. I understand that it had been less than a week since we shared our first kiss, but the build up to that was just under two decades. Two decades of having someone I could always talk to; someone who could always make me laugh; someone who loved me.
I wanted nothing more than to talk to someone, but I had no one to go to. I wasn't close with anyone at that God-awful college yet and I didn't have many friends in the neighborhood either. There was no way I was going to go to my parents and I was pretty sure that if Lisa knew, she hated me too; and if she didn't, she'd probably flip out to Michelle and I'd be in even more hot water. I sat on my bed and threw my cell phone up in the air. Now that I think of it, it was really a $600 app player. After all it wasn't like there was anyone I could call... wait a second.
I did have someone I could call. I looked down into my contacts and found the number belonging to Riley Taylor. My finger's hesitated to press the call button for a moment. What was I going to tell him? Was I going to just let him know everything? That I was in love with an anthro who just happened to be my "pet?" I didn't know what to do, only that I had to do something. I pressed the call button.
"Hello?" answered Riley.
"Hey Riley." I responded.
"Hey Andy. What's going on man?"
"Nothing. Hey, you busy? I need a little advice. I thought we could meet up at Greenstein's deli for lunch."
"Sure. Sounds good. I can meet you there in about 15."
"Awesome, thanks. See you then."
I ended the call and got off of my bed, threw on my sneakers and a coat, and walked out of my room. I was so deep in thought about what I was going to say to Riley, that I almost collided into Lisa, who was dusting an old picture frame.
"I'm sorry, Master Andrew." She said.
"No, it was my fault. I wasn't looking. Can you tell mom that I went out for lunch?"
"Of course. Is everything alright, Master Andrew? You haven't been yourself recently."
"Yeah, I'm fine it's just...I got a lot on my mind at the moment. But I'll be alright."
Lisa nodded and I smiled and walked towards the door. I decided that I would tell Riley the bare minimum: I was dating a girl who saw the lipstick on my neck and wouldn't let me explain what had happened. Riley knew me well enough to know I wouldn't lie. I walked living room; Michelle was there cleaning off the coffee table. She was wearing some old, loose fitting clothes, yet she looked as beautiful as ever. I wanted nothing more than to turn her around and kiss her lips for an hour or two. I sighed quietly. If I tried, something tells me I'd be greeted with a slap across my face, or worse.
"Michelle." I said softly. "I'm going to Greenstein's. Do you want anything?"
"No." She said quickly.
"Are you s...?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Michelle turned and walked out of the room. I let out a sigh. Hopefully, this meeting with Riley would help me figure out what to say to her. The walk to Greenstein's Deli wasn't a long one. It was a little past the tailor's shop. As per usual, the town square was gathered with people. As I looked around, I noticed there were a large number of anthros in the town square. It wasn't unusual to see them in town; but I don't think I've ever seen this many in one place before.
I went into Greenstein's and ordered a pastrami sandwich. Greenstein always had the best sandwiches in the world. I remember a time when my dad and I would go to Greenstein's for lunch. He would leave his job early and take me here in the summer or occasionally when the tutor was done with me for a while. My dad was my hero back then. Boy how times change.
The door of Greenstein's swung open and Riley walked in. We shook hands and he ordered his sandwich and sat down at the small table I was at. The two of us ate and chatted about this and that.
"I heard what you did at Harding's party." He said as we talked.
"Marie told you, huh?"
"It's the talk of the town. Apparently you figured out a flaw in whatever it was Harding showed. A lot of people in Harding's circle are hailing you and your dad as a genius."
I involuntarily let out a small moan. That was the last thing I wanted; hailed as a champion to a bunch of rich snobs looking to oppress a hell of a lot of people, one of which just happened to be my girlfriend. Yeah, sounds perfect.
"You don't look like you're too happy about that." Riley said.
"You didn't see what they did to him."
I explained on everything I saw; the torture the poor fox anthro was subjected to, how I tried to condemn the act as barbaric, and how my dad spun my message as one of simple property damage. I think I almost cried as I relayed everything to him. Riley looked horrified as I described how the fox anthro convulsed and begged for mercy.
"It was disgusting. And now people are saying that I'm a genius because I tried to stand up for the poor guy?" I said as I hung my head. "No wonder Michelle want's nothing to do with me."
"Wait, who's Michelle?" Riley asked.
I kicked myself the moment he asked. I had said much more than I wanted. There was little I could do now. The genie was out of the bottle.
"She's this girl I'm seeing. And she's pissed at me already because Marie attacked my face last night."
"What!?"
I told Riley about what Marie did in her drunken state and how Michelle found out when she saw my neck.
"Wow that sucks." Riley said. "But how do the bigwigs in town calling you a genius have anything to do with it. Is Michelle a member of the freefur movement?"
"Something like that, yeah. Sufficient to say she wouldn't be happy with me if she found out."
"Have you tried talking to her? At all?"
"Yeah, but she's ignored me every time I've tried."
"So make her listen to you. Keep being persistent. I know it sounds mean, but don't let her talk until you're finished. But then, let her say what she wants."
"I just hope she'll give me the chance."
"She will. Trust me."
I have to admit talking to Riley helped me gain a lot of hope about talking to Michelle. I never lied to her since we were kids. I thought that if I could get her to listen to what really happened, everything would be ok. I just had to get her to listen. Easier said than done, but I was more determined to do it than ever.
Riley and I spent the rest of our time talking about "normal" things; sports, school, and the like. Riley turned out to be a pretty cool guy. I think it was, in part at least, because his family just had enough money to be in the upper circle. The Harding's were the wealthy elite of the wealthy elite, my family was the middle class, and Riley's was lower class. He wasn't poor, far from it. But he didn't have servants like we did.
After a while we both decided to leave Greenstein's. We stepped outside. The square was crowded with Anthros; many more than usual.
"Lot of anthros gathered here. I wonder what's going on."
I looked around more and the gathered people. A bunch of them had cameras. Free Furs. These were the small percentage of anthros who weren't in slavery. But why were they here? I noticed the signs. I couldn't see what was on them, but now I thought I could guess. Suddenly the crowd gathered began to cheer. Riley and I turned to see what they we're so excited about.
He was about 6'4 and looked like he could bench press a car. In short, he was a bear of a man. Literally. He was a bear anthro. He was dressed in a sharp suit and was carrying a megaphone. People around us were going crazy. Some were cheering; others were crying. I caught one of the signs as it was raised up. The words read "Welcome Joshua Black!" I hung my head. If there was ever a bad time for him to come here, it was now.
"Hello my fellow anthros!" he said through the megaphone as the anthros gathered screamed louder. "It is great to see so many of you here and ready to fight for our freedom!"
This was not a good place for Riley or me to be at the moment. Black chose this area on purpose; it was an area of wealthy people, most of whom owned 'pets.' Knowing the little I did about Black speeches, I could tell this would turn ugly for the two of us, and fast.
"We have been oppressed for too long and it is time for us to rise up and fight back!"
Another loud cheer erupted.
"C'mon. We should get out of here."
Riley nodded and the two of us tried to sneak out of the square without being noticed. Black began talking. Something about how all anthros needed to unite and overthrow their human...
I didn't notice until it was too late. Black had stopped speaking mid-sentence. I caught it a moment before I heard him yell : "You two there, stop!"
My brain was practically screaming "Go faster!" but my muscles froze. To my surprise, Riley was still next to me. I thought the quarterback would be used to this and would have ran, but he was still there.
"Well what do we have here?" Black said in a rather sinister tone. "A couple of slave masters? We're not at easy to control when there's so many of us, huh?"
The other anthros around us all turned and glared at us. A few snarled. Some showed their claws. In a few moments, this was going to become anything but a peaceful demonstration.
"Stop!" a voice shouted.
I knew the voice instantly. I turned away from the mob to see Michelle bundled up and walking towards me and Riley. The snarl's turned into looks of confusion and claws were lowered.
"Excuse me, miss." Black said. "Do you know these men? "
"I know him." She said pointing to me. "I know him all too well."
The crowd began to get that sinister look in their eyes again. Just when everything started to look ok and I was feeling a little bit better, this had to happen. I'd be lucky if my death was painless when they found out that my family owned Michelle. And if she told them I played her for a fool, it might even be worse. A human taking advantage of an anthro; this couldn't end well. I looked at Michelle pleadingly.
"He happens to be one of my best friends."
The only reason my gasp wasn't heard was because all the other anthros gasped with me.
"But...but, he's a human!" Black's voice roared.
"So?" Michelle answered. "Not all humans are complete monsters, you know. I'm sure that several of you know humans who aren't."
"These men were spying on us."
"They were getting lunch. He asked me if I wanted anything from the deli. Wrong place, wrong time."
"You shouldn't be associating with him. He represents the oppression of the humans."
"I'll associate with whomever I damn well please. Who do you think you are, my master?"
Joshua Black looked like he had just been slapped in the face. I think the comment hurt more than that though. In one simple phrase, Michelle had thrown his entire method back in his face. If I wasn't so shocked, I think I would have burst out laughing. The crowd gathered had mixed reactions. Some were shocked. Others stood with their eyes opened wide. Still others looked like they were five seconds away from turning Michelle into a sacrifice.
"Now, if you'll excuse us. " Michelle said.
Riley and I didn't need to be told twice. We moved to Michelle's side and the three of us walked quickly away.
"I owe you for that." I said once we were all far enough away.
"No kidding." Riley added. "You saved our skins."
"I should have told you sooner." Michelle said to me. "Word had been going around that Black was having a rally today. I should have made the connection once you said you were going to Greenstein's."
"I don't believe we met. I'm Riley. Riley Taylor."
He extended his hand.
"I'm Michelle." She said as she took Riley's hand.
Riley smiled.
"I see. You know, Andy, you could have just come out and said it."
"Said what?" I asked.
"That Michelle was a fur. It doesn't bother me."
"You told him?" Michelle asked me.
"That we were dating, yeah." I answered.
"I'm guessing he left out the part how his family happens to own me."
"Yeah." Riley said. "I'm guessing you didn't want me to know that either."
"Riley," I said, "I'm begging you..."
Riley put up his hand to silence me.
"I'm not telling anyone anything. You'd be disowned and I don't want to imagine what they'd do to you Michelle."
"I can't thank you enough." Michelle said.
Michelle let out a sigh of relief. She had far more to lose than me if we were found out. I didn't want to think of what my dad would do to her.
"If you want to thank me," Riley said, "let Andy explain what happened at Harding's house party. Now, this has been a lot of fun, but I think I've had enough excitement for one day."
I shook Riley's hand and pulled him in close for what I believe is called a brohug. To quote one of my favorite movies and be completely cliché, I thought at the time, that this was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Riley went up the path to the west side of the town where he lived. Michelle and I walked back to my house.
"Alright." Michelle said. "Start explaining."
"I literally ran into Marie at the party. She spilled wine on my shirt and let me change in her bathroom. She gave my shirt to a servant to wash, so I waited in her room. Before I know it, she kissed me and my neck. I pulled away from her and left once I got my shirt back."
I looked at Michelle the whole time I was talking. There was no sign of emotion either way on her face. She was good at hiding her emotions; she had to be as to not get in trouble with my parents.
"I know it's hard to believe but I swear it's..."
She didn't let me finish. Instead she wrapped her arms around me and kissed me hard.
"You believe me?" I asked when she broke the kiss.
She nodded.
"I could smell the bleach on your shirt when you came home. And there was still some wine on your jacket. I just saw the lipstick and I was heartbroken. I mean, I know only told you recently, but I've loved you for so long. I couldn't stand losing you."
I grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"You never have to worry about that." I said. "I love you. These past few days have been agonizing without you around me and I never want to experience that again."
I held her close to me as we walked back to my house. I figured I would tell her the rest of the unpleasantness later. Right now I just wanted to enjoy being with Michelle and having her close to me. We walked at a snail's pace so that we had more time together. When we got closer to the house, we resumed the façade of a master and his pet.
When I opened the front door, I saw my mother. It looked like she was crying her eyes out. My dad was there, too. He examined me up and down for a moment. My mother rushed to me and threw me in her arms.
"Oh God Andrew!" she said, he voice shaky with tears. "We were so worried!"
"Worried?" I asked. "About what? Did I miss something?"
"That horrible rally! The second Lisa told me where you were I panicked. I tried to call you but you didn't answer."
Truth be told, my phone was probably off or on silent. As I said, no one really called me often.
My father didn't look very happy. He was glaring, but not at me. At Michelle.
"And where have you been!" He yelled at her.
"I...I heard..."
"You heard what!" My dad screamed. "About the rally! You went to support them!"
"I didn't..."
"Silence! My son could have been killed! Is that what you want! It is, isn't it?"
"No!"
I saw my dad start to raise his hand. I was not about to let that happen. I quickly broke away from my mother and got in front of Michelle just in time. My dad kept his hand raised, but didn't move it.
"Dad, Michelle saved me." I said calmly. "If it wasn't for her, they would have probably killed me. I tried to sneak out of the square when I saw what was going on, and they caught me. Michelle saw what was going on and told them all we were friends. In fact I think she came because she knew how dangerous it would be."
"Yes." Michelle said. "I heard some servants talking about the rally. When my mom told me where Andrew was going, I rushed to help him."
"Besides," I added, "I'm fine. Not a scratch on me."
My dad lowered his hand, peacefully.
"You do not understand how worried your mother and I were. Why didn't you answer our calls?"
"My phone died while I was having lunch. I forgot to charge it last night. I know I should be more careful."
My dad looked at Michelle.
"Go tell your mother you've returned. I'm sure she's worried sick too."
Michelle practically ran away. I silently breathed a sigh of relief. She was going to be ok.
"Diane, go clean yourself up." My dad told my mom.
She said nothing as she went to the bathroom.
"I think, Andrew, it's time we had a talk. Do you have plans this evening?"
"No." I answered.
"Good. We'll go to dinner when I get back from work. Just you and I. Until then, look after your mother and please stay out of trouble."
I nodded and my dad left. I went upstairs, threw off my coat and sneakers and threw myself on my bed. Soon after I did there was a knock at the door. Michelle walked in and closed the door. I gestured next to me and she sat down. I sat up and put her arms around her. She cried a bit.
"I was afraid I was going to get beat." She said. "Thank you."
I brushed a few tears away and kissed her cheek.
"As long as I'm here, I promise I won't let anyone hurt you."
She rested her head on my chest and let out a few more tears. I'd be disgusted with my dad later. Right now, I just wanted to make sure Michelle was ok and that she knew that she had somebody who loved her more than anything in the entire world.