Stay out of it

He was right, but she still worried. They would have to find the shelter quickly. She felt betrayed and so worried. The cat was something that had meant a lot to her. Keeping a structure; come home to feed the cat. He was good at grounding her and she looked at him as he cupped her face. “Okay..” she agreed but then she thought of Dave. That asshole! She pulled from Rhys’ grip and went to her front door to go confront the weasel! She didnt quite know how to go about it, but she would just have to improvise. She knocked on his door hard, even if the hardwood would bruise her knuckles.

Dave had to be home! She couldnt imagine that he had gone out. He didnt quite seem like the type. And surely enough when Rhys spoke, shuffling was heard behind the door. “It’s latched, the door. I’m not opening. Just go away, or I’ll call the cops.” He warned them but that just made Emily even angrier. “You had no right!” She yelled, her voice upset. “It was doing just fine out there!” - “Emily dont be delusional. The shelter people said it needs one eye removed and gods knows what else diseases it could be carrying. This was for the best.” Dave said through the door.

Rhys’ threat made the poor guy whine as he seemed to think about it. But Emily was too upset to care what scared Dave now. He was an ass! He had had her cat taken away! Knowing that Rhys was on her side was a comfort to her but she felt a hurt in her chest knowing that there was no cat to feed anymore. Rhys was demanding and Dave just whimpered behind the door. “No way! No fucking way! I’m calling the cops on you two.” He said in a shaky voice, unsure if the latch would even help if Rhys was going to break the door down by banging on it. “I’m sorry Emily that your cat got taken away. But keeping it around would just be cruel. It didnt look well, maybe it’s better off if they euthanize it.” Dave said, his tone shaky and weak as he was quite clearly terrified by whatever aura Rhys was emitting. What was with this guy and wanting dead looking thing killed? She felt her eyes well up because she was projecting. It was probably how people would see her when they realized what she was. Why she had cared so much for the poor cat.
She pulled away and just went to her apartment without saying anything else, though it was obvious that he had said something that really seemed to hurt her. And the night had been so great up until now!

She just sat on her bed, tears rolling down her cheeks as Rhys came back. He apologized and she just frowned at him. He thought he had made her cry. “No, I’m not sad because you were banging on the door.” She said with a shake of her head. She dried her eyes with the back of her hand. “He just.. he said some really mean things about the cat. Like things that hurt me because I care about it.” Half a truth, but not the whole. Frankly she hated comments that related to death or anything in the likes. As if it was the worst. Because that meant that she was the worst right? She sniffled and looked down. “I guess I’m dumb for caring so much about a cat.” She said, her voice choked up from all the emotions.

She didnt look at him as he sat down in front of her to begin with but as he spoke and cupped her face, she looked at him. He looked so caring and soft at her that she was almost soothed by that if the loss of the cat hadnt just torn a hole in her usual schedule. Who was she supposed to feed tuna to now? “What if they find something bad?” She asked, trying not to sob and start crying. She let him pull her in and just hid away against his chest, holding onto him. “We gotta find it.” She mumbled, hiccuping from how sad she felt.

Death wasnt the worst thing? She didnt notice it at first but it was words that stuck with her and helped her calm down. She just nodded at the reminder. She would need some sleep and she did feel very tired after today. The surprise here when they returned had knocked her out, so she was ready to just lie down and get some rest. “Alright.” She muttered before she got up. She wanted to keep her shirt on but did open her pants as she got up. She let them fall to the ground before crossing her arms a little. Was she weird for keeping her shirt on? He had to notice. Think something; that it was noteable, weird. She sat down on the bed again, running a hand through her hair to push it back.

“Uhh… yeah.” She muttered as he touched her shirt. She had seen his chest before but it was like he still caught her by surprise. He looked good, she could see that quite alright. He pulled her and she followed, lying down in his arms, head on his chest. “Yeah.” She told him, feeling his warm hands run up her skin. It was a good feeling. She looked at him and his promise got a smile on her lips. “I get you to warm me up, so am I really at a loss here?” She asked, before adjusting herself to lie more comfortably before sighing. She really did feel the exhaustion now, blinking slower and slower. “Thank you… for a good date. And being here with me now.”

It didnt take her long to fall asleep and she slept soundly. But it was like his presence calmed her down completely. She relaxed and didnt move as he got up in the morning, except a slight annoyed grunt and wrapping her arms around his pillow. The shelter answered, an older woman answering. “Goodmorning. How can I help you? Lost pet?”

She listened to him speak and clearly began tapping on a keyboard to look up the information he was asking for. “A cat last night? Can you tell me when?” She asked, tapping a few more times before she hummed and read. “I dont see anything about a cat like you describe. The address is also out of our normal area. You might be needing to contact another shelter. I could ask around?” She suggested. If he agreed then she would ask for some information to contact him by. If he did that then she’d hum and scribble it down. “Now, I dont want to worry you too much. But some of these shelters want to avoid a costly cat. Which means that they sometimes deal with it themselves rather than call a vet. So depending on the state of your cat, which doesnt sound too good by what you tell me. Maybe dont keep your highest hopes for the little fella.” She warned him though she didnt like the notion either. “You have a good day, alright? I’ll see what I can do.”

“I will.” The old lady promised before he hung up. Emily was still sleeping in bed, holding his pillow hostage as he seemed to be gone. When he returned, she let it go to let him pull her in. The mutter made a tired smile spread on her lips and she groaned as if she was saying something that made perfect sense. Moving up she kissed his cheek as a sleepy greeting before cuddling up to him again, breathing out in a deep sigh. She didnt quite want to wake up yet.

She could hear his heart, mostly because her head was right on his chest. She opened her eyes a bit, mumbling something incoherent before she looked up at him, lifting a hand to place on his cheek. Needing a moment before she was a bit more awake and aware. “Did you call the shelter?” She asked, closing her eyes again, though she tried to keep awake now.

She hummed happily at his words and nudged her head onto his collarbone, his muscles being quite a nice pillow. “It’s fine.. maybe it’s time to wake up.” She mumbled, though an hour or more would be alright. If only he wasnt fully awake which she had the impression that he was. She would be rude for sleeping, wouldnt she? “Are you going to leave me before I wake up again?”

She was happy to hear that he would stay. Spending time with him just seemed to make her so much happier. He mentioned a kiss and she frowned a little before she seemed to recall something like it. “Oh.. I thought that was in my dream.” She admitted, before she chuckled. “I guess I meant it. Unless that was over the line for you..?” She asked, opening her eyes to look at him. She did want to take him seriously.