Page 12 of Making Haven
Back inside, I duck my head into the fireplace, making sure it’s all cleaned out and that there’s nothing stuck up in it. I’ve heard of birds making nests in chimneys or bats finding a place to hide inside. I’d rather not harm anything if I can help it.
As I get my head thoroughly ducked into the fireplace, the hair on the back of my neck rises. I’m suddenly on guard, preparing for anything. And by anything, I don’t mean something falling on my head.
“What the fuck?”
I scramble back as quickly as I can, tossing the thing away from my head. As I’m moving back, I trip over the cleaning supplies and I go sprawling onto the ground on my ass. All of the cleaning supplies scatter across the room, the sound of it loud in the otherwise still house. The thing that was living in the fireplace hisses at me before running away towards the back of the house.
A black cat. How the fuck was a black cat living in here without me realizing?
“Jesus fucking Christ,” I hiss out, trying to get my nerves to calm down.
Devin comes hobbling into the room, his eyes wide. His walking cane is in his hands, prepared to wield it like that pretty sword he keeps on himself. “Are you okay? What was that? A zombie breaking through?”
I shake my head. “No, no. I’m okay.”
“Then what the fuck was that?”
I nod towards the cat, watching as the damned thing sits in the doorway, watching me with wide, yellow eyes. “That guy right there was sitting in the fireplace! Scared the shit out of me!”
Devin looks at me and then the cat and then back towards me. “That’s what all the noise was about? A cat? I thought you were a goner and I’d have to fight off a zombie all on my own. Fuck, dude,” he says, touching the center of his chest like he’s willing his heart to stop racing.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looksrelieved.
But that can’t be right. Could it?
Devin steps closer to the cat, carefully squatting down so he doesn’t hurt his ankle. “Hey there, sweetheart,” he says softly, cooing in the cat’s direction. The cat blinks, watching. “You’re a survivor, aren’t you? Yes, you are. Come here, I promise I won’t hurt you.”
The cat comes closer, sniffing at Devin’s fingers. Just as I think he’s somehow won this cat’s trust, the cat’s ears twitch. The thing is bounding towards the fireplace once more, leaping up and climbing up the walls. There’s a bit of commotion before it’s climbing back down, a prize in its mouth.
“So that’s what you were doing up there,” I say softly, watching as the cat saunters through the living room, leaping up onto the coffee table and beginning to eat the prize it’s just found. As it eats the bat, I look over at Devin.
“Maybe not a domestic cat then,” he says, wincing as he watches. “Doesn’t seem to have the virus or rabies so we can share the place.”
“Did you want to move into one of the rooms here?”
Devin shakes his head. “Would you mind pulling a bed into this room for me? I’d like to sleep near the fire.”
“Yeah, of course. One second.”
Thankful for my vampire strength, I quickly move one of the beds into the living room, letting Devin direct me as he sees fit. After the bed is where he’d like it, I quickly build a fire and start it up for him.
I bring him his bag and anything else I think he might want from my place. Once he’s all settled, I stand near the door, shifting from foot to foot. I haven’t felt this off-center since I first became a vampire. Am I even welcome here? Should I just go back to my place? Should I leave him on his own?
Why does being around this man make me feel so fucking awkward yet I can’t find it in myself to leave him alone?
“You can trust me on my own,” Devin says, his voice hard. “I’m not gonna fuck up your friend’s house or anything.”
“That’s not… I didn’t think you would.”
“Then why are you hovering like that?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I just didn’t know if you needed anything else? I’ll just head back over to my place. You know where to find me.”
Devin snorts. “Yeah, I’ll do my best not to get lost.”
As I leave, the cat meows. “Aww, are you sad our neighbor is leaving? Don’t worry, I’m here to keep you company. I’m much better company anyway, beautiful. I don’t have fangs or the desire to eat you.”
Why is hesuchan asshole? And what’s wrong with me that I’m starting to find it endearing?
