(i'm worried) it will always be you

Chapter 19 - Epilogue

Sapnap prepared Karl's tea the way he did each morning, which ironically enough didn't actually involve making tea at all. He filled the kettle with just enough water for a cup, placed the teabag in a mug on the counter, and added an insultingly little amount of sugar to the bottom of the mug. Drinking burnt leaf-juice was already gross enough, Sapnap didn't understand how Karl could do it without at least a few spoonfuls of sugar.

Once Karl's tea was prepped, Sapnap headed outside. The wind had started to pick up and the sky was dark gray. The rain hadn't begun to fall, but a few of the chair cushions had already blown far out into the yard.

"Great." Sapnap muttered, sliding on his shoes and making his way to the far edge of the property out towards their small pond. Just when Sapnap reached down to pick up the pillow, a sudden movement in the overgrown grass ahead of him stole his focus.

"This isn't happening." Sapnap muttered under his breath, freezing at the sight before him.

He had been a little paranoid about alligators after finding out there was a pond on their property, having read one too many alligator-related Floridian disasters before their big move. Sapnap remained still as a statue, trying to recall if he was supposed to run or not move when face to face with one.

Well, face to menacing rustling in the tall grass.

"Shit, shit, shit." Sapnap cursed under his breath, his heart pounding when the trail of swaying grass seemed to be coming straight towards him.

A high pitched squeak that Sapnap was half convinced he produced caught his attention. It wasn't until he was holding his breath and he heard it again that he was able to confirm it wasn't his own embarrassing whimpers.

Stumbling out of the tall grass, flopping over on itself like it wasn't quite used to walking yet, came a kitten.

Bright orange in color and fur puffed out as far as possible to make the small creature look as big as it could.

"Hey, you little shit. Where's your mama? You damn near gave me a heart attack." Sapnap spoke softly, despite the insults. The kitten hissed at him when he approached, but Sapnap still picked it up by the scruff on the back of its neck like a mother cat would.

"Not gonna lie, I was kind of hoping you'd answer me." Sapnap said with a laugh under his breath, smiling when the tiny cat hissed at him again. Another gust of wind blew by, this time carrying a more ominous chill with it.

Sapnap pulled the cat to his chest before picking up the pillow, continuing his walk around the property line, but now with the additional mission of finding the kitten's mom. By the time Sapnap finished securing down all the patio furniture and had circled his way back to where he started, he realized that the mom must've been long gone due to the impending storm.

"Being left behind isn't always bad- nothing wrong with being a little scrappy." Sapnap shrugged, letting out a scoff under his breath when he realized he was actually trying to give a kitten a pep-talk.

"Alright, you need to fend for yourself and I need to go figure out where my husband- oh, no- no. Shit." Sapnap closed his eyes, spotting two more kittens stumbling out of the grass towards the one he had set down, which had begun meowing loudly by his feet.

One of the kittens was all white and the other was back with a small patch of white fur on its chest.

"What the hell are you all supposed to be? The fucking Aristocats?" Sapnap scoffed to himself, unable to stop his mind from associating the bunch with a movie from his childhood- their fur patterns the exact same. The two new kittens flocked over to the orange one, all of their meows synchronizing.