Page 177 of Pretty When She Breaks
“There’s a good boy,” she murmured. “You don’t have to hide anymore.” She stroked his back gently. “No one is goingto hurt you here,” she continued, her voice growing thicker. “You’re safe now.”
She scooped the cat into her arms, holding him close as she let out a sob. Muppet’s eyes went wide, but he tolerated the sudden hug without protest. I leaned forward, making eye contact with Kaos across the room. He’d frozen, staring at her with wide eyes.
I moved closer, slowly, so as not to alarm the cat, and knelt beside her. I rested my hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me, her eyes brimming with tears.
I pulled her onto my lap, her cradling the cat and me cradling her.
“Never again,” I said as she cried. “I swear it. You’ll have the best life now. Anything you can dream of, and we’ll make it happen.”
“He can get a cat tree?” she asked, wiping her eyes.
“I’ll build him a cat jungle if he wants.”
“And one of those window seats so he can watch the birds?”
“How about a catio?”
She burst into surprised laughter, and that, apparently, was the last straw. Muppet fled, retreating back to his hiding place in a flash of black fur.
“Acatio?” She hiccuped, sitting up and grabbing my shirt. “What on earth is that?”
I stood, pulling us both onto the couch and grabbing her favourite velvety blanket. “It’s like an enclosed outdoor area so he can get fresh air,” I explained. “Seriously. I’ll make it. That cat has suffered enough and deserves the world.”
“You’ve already given him the best gift. That he’s safe.”
“No one is living in fear in my pack,” I told her.
She snuggled into my chest, resting her head on my shoulder, tears still leaking from her eyes.
LAUREL
I gave Kaos a weak smile, and he slid in beside us, tucking his legs up underneath him. Grabbing one of the tissues he’d brought me, I mopped at my wet face.
“Sorry,” I told them.
“Don’t be sorry,” Kaos said. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I sniffed. “It’s just…a lot,” I admitted, another tear sliding down my cheek.
He nodded, looking thoughtful. “It is,” he agreed, making me feel a bit better.
“Sorry. I should be happy. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”
“Should be? Says who?” he asked.
I shrugged. “No one, really. It just makes sense.”
“Well, you shouldn't listen to no one, and you definitely shouldn’t listen to sense, especially when it tries to tell you how to feel,” he said. “Feelings are a bit too complicated to be trapped in a box like that.”
I smiled as he slipped his hand into mine.
“I guess you’re right.” I was feeling a bit better. “I’m scared of a lot of things,” I whispered. “That I’m going to let you down. That maybe you’re all hiding a dark side. That all this is too good to be true.”
Finch grumbled and shifted me closer to his chest.
Kaos tapped my head. “I know what it’s like to be stuck in here with all the what-ifs and maybes. They can cripple you and torture you. They want to keep you scared, but you know what’s true?”
I shook my head.
