3 Chapter 3-Pathetic

Callum closed the door of his apartment and sat down heavily on his couch. Pulling the orb from his pocket, he wondered what it was. Figuring that he shouldn't lose sleep over it, even if it did concern Salem's death, he got ready and went to bed.

....

The next morning, he was going on a run when he came across a beautiful black kitten laying in a ditch. He stopped running and carefully approached the small, emaciated kitten. It meowed feebly when he picked it up.

"Hey, little guy. What are you doing in such a sorry state?" He wondered why he was talking to a cat that would never reply back. 'At least it's calmed down.' He thought, changing his route to go to the local vet. The small cat got it's shots and he recieved a liscense to keep the cat. The cat was still incredibly weak, so Callum went to the store, still holding the tiny ball of fluff, and began putting things for the cat in a cart.

As he did, he heard a few snide comments from someone on his left.

"How pathetic. He's got a cat? Wonder who stabbed him enough times for him to need an emotional support animal."

Not even sparing the little s**t a glance, Callum continued shopping. Then they made a mistake.

"Awww. You're too much of a p**sy to even say anything aren't you? Hm? Why do you need the cat, huh? Did your brother die?"

That last sentence lit a fuse. The ball of fluff Callum was holding in one hand hid in his sweatshirt pocket.

Callum gestured for them to follow and went up to the store manager. "Can I toss him out?"

The store manager's name was Jack. He was a short, caucasian man and he knew Callum well enough that he would have a good time if he played along.

"But you're not on the clock." He replied, inwardly rejoicing at the opprotunity to watch someone eat pavement.

"That's fine it'll only take a minute." Callum replied.

"Well, alright. Just be sure you don't make too much of a mess. I'll go prep the blacklist papers." Jack made sure he was always within line of sight as he prepped the papers.

Callum turned to the little s**t next to him. "Are you going to leave or should I toss you out?"

"I'd like to see you try, compassionate f*g." He still managed to be defiant.

"It's not a bad thing to be compassionate." Callum said, hefting him onto his shoulder and body throwing him out into the street.

"THAT CAN'T BE LEGAL!" The little s**t screamed.

"It is. You were requested to leave, you refused, you violated store policy, so I evicted you."

Jack chose that moment to exit with a paper that needed his signature. "If you don't sign this, then Callum here is entitled to financial compensation from you." He said, happy as can be. "By signing this you agree that you caused this, Callum is not at fault, and you will pay for your own injuries. Even if you don't sign this, you have no legal grounds for a lawsuit."

Picking the black kitten from his pocket, Callum began petting the small thing like one would touch a treasured possession.

The little s**t signed the paper and left in a huff.

"Thank you for the entertainment!" Jack said enthusiastically. "And I truly am sorry about your brother."

Callum smiled for the first time in weeks. "As always, it's a pleasure, Jack."

Returning to his apartment, he fed his little fluff ball. As he watched the kitten completely demolish the food in ths bowl he began thinking about what he should name it.

"What to name you...hmmm..." Callum began thinking aloud. "Blackie Chan...Nah....Phantom...Nah."

As he thought, he saw the little cat go and lay in a patch of sunlight. When it lay down, it's fur shone like a galaxy.

"Stardust." Callum said, having a stroke of inspiration.

Stardust meowed at him and he went over to pet his beautiful new cat.