A Selfie to Die For

7)Intruder

"Do you think maybe Jake left it?" Emily asked, frowning as she thought it through. The more she thought about it, the more she remembered she hadn't mentioned the kitten to anyone besides those four people.





"Maybe" Vinessa yawned. "Girl, that French vocab sheet kicked my butt. We'll talk tomorrow - nighty night!"






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Two hours later, Emily found herself being woken up by the smallest of sounds. It had woken her up from a deep slumber. The noise was the new jingly cat ball rolling across her wood floor. The kitten had been playing with it for a long time and must have re-found it.
It was annoying enough of a sound that it had Emily opening her eyes wearily.
She sighed, tucking her head under her pillow. Rusty was not only gaining weight to improve himself from his previously scrawny figure, he was also getting more adventurous with each passing day.
He didn't always enjoy playing with annoying objects or plastic bags, but when he did, it was now around three in the morning that he started acting up.





Emily slowly drifted back to sleep, random thoughts firing off in her head reminding her of the flashcards she needed to bring for Jake in the morning regarding the upcoming Chemistry test. She took the liberty of helping him out with studying by making flashcards - Emily didn't understand how Jake thought he would get into UCLA without passing organic chemistry, so she took it upon herself to be his tutor.
She was almost completely asleep until the sound of the squeaky ball being stepped on caused her to groan.
"C'mon Rusty...not tonight, buddy."






Surprisingly, the little kitten didn't make another sound after that. No more noise was made. It allowed Emily to fall back into a light sleep.
Her thoughts soon remembered the spicy garlic topping she had over her spaghetti. It suddenly parched her to remember, so Emily sat up reaching for the lamp before finding herself too tired to exert too much effort into reaching it. She could navigate in the dark.
Emily slowly crawled out of the large bed, her bare feet hitting the cold floor as she made her way towards her bedroom door. She swiped the stray strands of hair from eyes so she could see better.



Emily flipped on lights as she went down the stairs through the multiple hallways of the large farm house. It was out of habit. It wasn't darkness that scared her - it was what could possibly be hidden in the dark. In Emily's case, this would be random coffee tables or shelves that her mother often rearranged around the house. Madison could never decide how she best liked her decorative tables, so she often transitioned them to different areas around the house on a frequent basis.
 If Emily didn't flip lights on, the odds were likely that she would wind up with a bruised knee or something such from accidently walking into a shelf or table.

Behind her, Emily could hear the faint sound of the squeaky toy once again being stepped on in her bedroom. She sighed tiredly, realizing she'll have to pick up the toys to stop the little kitten from playing.
Once in the kitchen, she made her way over to the fridge to  pull out a bottle of water.
It was as she closed it that she heard breathing.
She recognized the noise as belonging to the kitten. He purred at he slept.  Rusty had taken on the habit of curling up on the kitchen breakfast bar chairs given each seat had a comfy warm cushion on top of it.
He was a strange little cat that actually preferred the cushions over his cat bed.

Emily glanced down at the nearest breakfast chair, sure enough finding Rusty curled up and sleeping. His little body moved up and down as he took in small breaths. He was fast asleep. Emily never heard him run after her down the stairs.
Setting down her water bottle she plucked from the fridge, Emily's eyes suddenly flew open in surprise.
The thought rattled her. The kitten didn't follow her down.
She reached down and scooped up the little cat, feeling the cushion beneath him. It was warm - incredibly warm to show he's been sleeping for awhile. The kitten gently stirred in Emily's hands, before she sat him back on top of the stool. He stepped around the chair seat a few times before settling himself back down.





Small shots of panic soon shot through Emily as she realized something rather terrifying. If the kitten was fast asleep on the chair for awhile now, who was stepping on the toys upstairs in Emily's room?