Page 46 of Inbetweeners
Nix stared at him in the half-light until his own eyes fluttered closed.My pain-in-the-neck guardian angel. I’m not dragging you to hell.
When Nix woke the next morning, after no more chats with Vin, he smiled. He and Emmett were still tied together, somehow their fingers had stayed entwined. Or maybe they’d found each other again. He needed to take a leak, so he carefully unfastened the tie and slipped out of bed. That didn’t say much for Emmett waking if Vin had persuaded Nix to free himself, but as Nix reached the door, Emmett asked, “Asleep or awake?”
“Awake.”
Nix turned to look at him, but Emmett’s eyes were closed.
After Nix was done in the bathroom, he walked into the main room to make a drink and stumbled to a halt. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Harry sat on the couch cuddling Cat. “You shouldn’t have left me.”
“How did you know where we lived?”
“You dropped your business card at that guy’s house. I saw the address before Emmett picked it up.”
“Shit.”
Emmett came in, dragging his fingers through his hair, and smiled. “Hi, Harry. Sorry we dumped you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Harry said. “It’s his.”
Nix ignored the look Emmett gave him.
“Emmett’s not going to give you any grief,” Nix said. “He was pissed off I left you.”
Harry jumped up and flung his arms around Emmett. “Thank you.”
Nix got some comfort in how awkward Emmett looked as he extricated himself.
“You’re happy to see me, right?” Harry smiled at Emmett.
“Yes. But you do need to go.”
Harry groaned and picked up Cat again.
Emmett sighed. “Oh, that explains that.”
“What do you mean?” Nix asked.
Emmett shrugged. “Cat’s dead too. Harry wouldn’t be able to stroke him otherwise.”
Nix chuckled. “A dead cat followed you home? Maybe Harry could take him with him.”
“Are there animals in Heaven?” Harry asked.
“Yes,” Emmett said. “With their owners. And those whose owners are still alive, are fostered out until their owners arrive.”
“Oh, that’s sweet,” Harry said.
Cat jumped onto the back of the couch and played with Harry’s hair.
“Did either of you have a pet?” Harry asked.
“No,” Emmett said and Nix shook his head.
Harry turned to Nix. “Are there animals in Hell?”
“Plenty, but not the sort you mean.”
