Page 80 of Dragonfly

She looks fairly fresh for having danced all day, but I barely clock that. Not when I’m way too worried about Orion.

When I don’t see him trotting at her feet, my worry only worsens. Even if he was sleeping, if Gen left the studio and he was in it, he’d be right behind her, thinking it was time for food.

“Where’s Orion?” I ask. “I’ve been looking for him all day, and I haven’t been able to find any sign of him that he’s around.”

Did he get out? With all the cameras Damien has surrounding this place, Frankie would’ve caught sight of my orange and white cat sneaking out. But he hadn’t, and he wants me to believe that Orion is just hiding in the house somewhere.

But where?

Genevieve doesn’t seem too concerned. “I don’t know, but did you check the shit box?”

“Yeah. I did. There was nothing in it.”

“Hm. That’s weird. I would’ve thought he’d have filled it by now. I mean, I gave him his medicine this morning.”

Record scratch?—

“Medicine? What medicine?”

“You know. The poop medicine.”

“Orion doesn’t have poop medicine. Gen, what are you talking about?”

She tucks a lock of blonde hair that escaped her bun behind her ear. “Remember? When he was constipated?”

“That was weeks ago. He’s been okay since then. And when he gets a little stopped-up, Mary lets me have some canned pumpkin for him.” Damien’s cook is a sweetheart, and she’s been stocking it up for me ever since Genevieve burst into the kitchen, shouting we had a pumpkin emergency.

Gen frowns. “Then what was in that shot?”

Panic makes my voice rise. “What shot? What are you talking about?”

“Okay. Let me explain. Last night, I tweaked my ankle again. Okay? So, this morning, Christopher came over and went with me to see Dr. Liz at the clinic. She told me to take a couple Aleves, then stay off of it if it was still bothering me. Before I left, she told me that she’d been talking to this vet tech she knows about Orion. The vet tech got some medicine from the vet she works for, then gave it to Doc Liz as a favor for us. She said… she said I should go home, scruff him, and give him the injection right away. It would help him stay regular for the next month in case he has problems agian. That…” Her brow furrows. “That was the right thing to do… wasn’t it? She told me to give him the medicine.”

I can’t imagine why. We only called her about the cat once; since then, I only saw Dr. Liz one more time, at Damien’s birthday dinner. Neither of us brought up Orion.

If there was such a thing as a shot that did everything Genevieve just said it did, why hadn’t any of the vets I brough Orion to as a kitten mentioned that?

Something… something’s not right.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I lie, trying to keep Damien’s sister calm. “Where did you give him the medicine?”

“Well, my room. He likes to hang out on my bed sometimes, but I’m sure he would’ve left by now. I left the door open while I went to my studio?—”

I’m already rushing for the open door. I’ve never been in Genevieve’s room before since I’ve never had a reason to, and I wasn’t going to just walking in there to search for Orion earlier. I’m kicking myself now because there he is?—

—and he’s not moving.

My beautiful boy is sprawled out on his side, legs kicking out in front of him. His eyes are half open, and unless I’m panicking too much to notice, his body is completely still.

No!

I run over to him, Gen right on my heels.

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Did I kill your cat? Savannah, did I fucking kill your cat?”

I… I don’t know. I lift him up, a small burst of relief rushing through me when he’s not stiff. Rigor mortis hasn’t set in, and he’s still warm. Putting his face up to mine, I can tell that he’s breathing, but barely.

I whirl on Geneveieve, trying not to freak her out any more than she is—and that I am. “He’s alive, but I’m not sure if he will be for much longer. What was in that medicine?”

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