Page 88 of For All It's Worth
I moved Lucifer higher into my arms and stood slowly. I paused at the recliner and tried to give the cat to Pete, but he howled and jumped down running away.
“Obviously not a fan,” Pete drawled. He looked between me and Charlie. “Not the only one, either.”
Charlie and I exchanged a look but didn’t contradict him. Taking my hand, he pulled me into the bedroom we’d been sleeping in, shooting Pete a dirty look over his shoulder that he likely missed. Pete was fully reclined in the chair, his head back.
“I called Henry too since I don’t want either of us to stay here with Pete. He reeks of booze and I just don’t like the guy.”
“Me neither. Lucifer loves everyone and is scared of Pete. What do we do about him?”
“Andy and Will are cutting short their trip. They’ll be home this afternoon. I’ll text them and say how Lucifer is; maybe they will leave earlier.”
“Good plan. I feel bad about tonight, but I don’t want to stay here with Pete.” I twisted my hands together, feeling anxious about the welfare of the poor cat. He’d been at a shelter for months and this was his home. It wasn’t fair for him to be scared.
“No, me neither.” Charlie gave me a commiserating look. “We can ask Henry to stay and keep an eye on the cat if you want?”
“Unless we send Pete to Henry’s?”
“Do you really want Pete in my room? Or Henry for that matter?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Fair point.”
Charlie’s phone buzzed with a call.
“It’s Henry,” he said, answering the call. “Hey, are you here? I’ll go buzz you up. Listen, would you mind staying here for Lucifer? He’s terrified of Pete.”
I could hear Henry’s rumbling laugh. “Cats just hate Pete. I can stay.”
“Great,” Charlie pulled his phone from his ear and asked, “Would you mind changing the sheets for Henry, I’ll come help in a sec.”
“Sure, no problem. Where?” Charlie understood my question easily.
“Hall closet. Back soon.” Charlie lifted the phone again as he headed toward the door.
I was just pulling the sheets off the bed when I heard Pete’s angry voice. “What’s he doing here?” Moving into the hall, I saw Charlie standing between the two former friends talking quietly to them both.
“Andy said he was worried about you and Henry was able to come stay with you and keep an eye on Lucifer, since you’re clearly not a cat person. Max and I are going to head out.”
“No, I’ll go,” Pete insisted and he went to pick up his bag.
“Not trying to be funny, but where are you going to go? Andy said you didn’t have anywhere else until you get an apartment,” Charlie fired back.
Henry froze at that. “I thought you were with that guy, what’s his name?”
“Derek. But that’s over since I caught him fucking someone else.” Pete bit out.
A tiny tendril of sympathy wove through me and then I remembered how he’d treated Henry and I dismissed it. Then I felt guilty because no one deserved to be cheated on. God, I was a mess.
The trio moved to the kitchen and I went back into the spare room we’d been sharing to finish changing the bedding. Lucifer was lying in a puddle of the sheets looking very smug. So I joined him on the bed, allowing him to rub against my face and purr in my ear. I was going to have to get myself a cat. Maybe one day, if things with Charlie went well, we could do that together.
