"There's my girl," Natalie cooed at DeeDee. "Oh, I missed you so much."
She opened the cage and the white fur ball stepped out gracefully, wiggling her tail slowly at her beloved owner. She stretched her limbs, using those curved claws to scratch at the cream-colored wool mat.
Natale stroked DeeDee, receiving a delightful purr from the old furry creature in return.
"Jesse." Natalie twirled her wheelchair to face her son. "Would you be a dear and put her on my lap."
"Ah." Jesse hesitated for a second, remembering the last time he tried to touch DeeDee. "I don't think she likes me, Mom."
"Nonsense, boy. She loves you!"
Jesse let out a shaky sigh.
This grumpy old cat had been unpredictable lately. Jesse didn't want to add more injuries to his still-recovering body. The cut on his arm from the accident—though slowly healing—was still tender, and the injury to his nose hurt like hell whenever he touched it. He brushed his cheek, feeling that painful scratch he got from T-Bone was a scary reminder of how weak he was.
"OK." Jesse gave a little shrug from his slim shoulder. "I'll try."
He remembered the last time DeeDee scratched him. Her claws went too deep in his skin that it made his hand swell and bleed for days.
"Here kitty kitty." Jesse gulped as he leaned forward, acting against that alarming voice in his head telling him to back away, all for his beloved mom. "Nice kitty."
Surprisingly, DeeDee stayed still, allowing her younger owner to stroke her before he carried her.
"See?" Natalie smiled.
"But she acted like I was her worst enemy the last time I saw her."
"Well." Natalie extended her arms to take DeeDee. "You know her. She's been a little moody since she turned 14." She touched DeeDee's pink nose and talked straight at her. "Here's to 14 more years, my little snowball."
A smile tugged at Jesse's lips for a split second. Despite being glad to see his mom content and happy, his brows drew together when he saw the bandage on her forehead. He gritted his teeth. Every man's job was to protect his family, but all Jesse could do was put his mom in danger.
She could have lost another limb because of my stupid driving. He looked down at his mother's none existing legs. Or worse. A low gasp escaped his lips. She could have died.
Suddenly, all his anger got replaced by a sickening feeling that left a bitter taste in his mouth. Jesse felt a shiver running down his spine. He lifted his arms near his chest, hugging himself, trying to stop his body from shaking.
Jesse was withering in front of his own mother.
His eyes itched with the urge to spill all his worries in a waterfall of tears. Tears of guilt. Tears of anger. Tears of fear. They pricked his eyes, threatening to drop past his dense lashes. He sniffled and blinked to force them to disappear.
"Jesse, honey." Natalie's motherly voice came with a hint of panic. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Jesse chuckled with twinkling blues. "I'm just glad you're all right."
"Oh, pumpkin." Her wavy blonde strands swept to her side when she tilted her head. "I'm always all right. Don't you worry about me."
Jesse nodded with a few awkward chuckles as he tried to dry his tears.
Natalie lifted her arms and said, "Come here."
Jesse leaned into his mother's healing embrace, careful not to squeeze old Dee Dee and get her all grumpy again.
"I love you."
"Love you too, Mom."
Natalie gave him a kiss on the cheek and whispered in his ear, "Don't you dare grow too old for this."
"Never." Jesse let out a genuine laugh before he let go to meet his mother's kind gaze. "Oh! I almost forgot." He picked up a white, worn-out stuffed animal from the cage. "Emma brought this."
Jesse trusted Emma that this item would cheer his mother up and not have the opposite effect. He knew his mom was a strong woman. Still, he wanted to hide the upsetting things from her. He hid the fact that he was attacked in an alley; he lied about the attack in his room; he never even mentioned that he lost his phone to a psycho stalker.
However, he couldn't hide this one little thing from her. It wasn't right to keep it away from her.
"Oh..." Natalie's voice broke when she touched the stuffed cat as if to stroke it. "I can't believe you found it."
"Dena sure loved this old thing."
When Natalie's eyes glistened, Jesse placed the stuffed toy between her hands and walked to the door. His mom's tears were too precious for him to see. He witnessed her heart breaking once and wasn't intending on witnessing it happening all over again.
The pain of losing her legs was nothing compared to the pain of losing her own child. The later pain never went away.
Life's so unfair.
"I'm gonna go hang with Gray. See you at dinner?"
"Aha."
He exited the room with the door half-open. He stood there for a few seconds, listening carefully to check on his mother. He heard a tiny laugh followed by a long inhale of a bitter breath.
Jesse knew what was coming. His heart stung. He feared hearing his mom's sobs. Before his eyes almost surrendered to the ache in his core, he left the hallway and headed downstairs, looking for Gray—whom he magically disappeared when Emma showed up at the door earlier.
He checked the kitchen and found Brad preparing dinner all alone. He slowly retreated to the living room as he wasn't in a mood to be the cook's assistant.
Brad can be such a Monica when it comes to the kitchen.
Then Jesse spotted Gray through the glass walls.
There at the pool, Gray was enjoying a summer swim.
The quiet splashes of water coupled with the beautiful silver rays of the moon made it a perfect night to release all the suffocating stress that had been building up in Jesse's system for days. He'd almost forgotten how to relax.
When Jesse crossed the threshold, his foot came to a halt. Warmth flushed his cheeks. The scene in front of him turned out to be more captivating up close. Even though he was only facing his back, Jesse couldn't tear his eyes away from Gray's strong shoulder blades moving along that defined back.
Gray reached the far edge of the pool. His dimpled face emerged out of the pool with an audible gasp. Dark strands of hair stuck to his cheeks. He drew his palms to wipe the water off of his eyelids. His biceps moved in a teasing way as if showing off their brawn after a dip. That soaked velvety skin amplified the glow of his tan.
Gray turned around and—to Jesse—that was the cherry on top of the cake.
Hot damn. Jesse's jaw dropped after mouthing a 'wow.' Is that a six-pack?
The last time he saw Gray shirtless was at that infamous pool party. He couldn't figure out if his friend had always been this shredded and he just never noticed till now, or could it be that all those muscles developed during the past year.
Was I blind or something? Jesse closed his mouth when a voice in his mind screamed at him, Stop drooling over your best friend!
Gray waved at Jesse, then started swimming in his direction.
That ain't right. Jesse jerked his head. Why the hell am I suddenly attracted to the one guy I shouldn't be attracted to?
The only person Jesse vowed not to lust over was Gray. He was too dear to him, more than a brother. Jesse couldn't risk the longest healthy relationship he ever had. Unfortunately for Gray, the only person he ever wanted to date was Jesse.
Jesse moaned when he remembered that he survived five days with no sex.
"Ugh." He lowered his head, cupping his heated cheeks as he muttered, "I wish I wasn't so damn horny all the time."
When he lifted his chin again, he found Gray slowly reaching for the handrail, flashing a strained smile; a pink tint colored his face.
I hope he didn't hear that.
"Dude," Jesse said as he sat by the pool, bringing his knees to his chest. "You kinda disappeared on me back there. What happened?"
"Oh, I just felt a little nervous." Gray joined him, dipping his legs in the water.
"But it's just Emma."
"Yeah, I know." He shrugged. "It's been so long since I've seen her. Maybe next time I'll say hi."
They stayed like that enjoying the gentle breeze; just two friends staring at the reflection of the moon on a peaceful surface.
"So." Gray made a pop sound with his mouth. "The cat is... staying?"
"Yeah." Jesse squinted his eyes at him. "Is that a problem?"
"Nooo," Gray stressed with a long draw from his lips. "Not at all." After a long pause, he turned to Jesse with puzzled glances. "It's just she doesn't really like me. And, I'm not gonna lie to ya, she kinda scares me a tiny bit."
Jesse let out the most captivating little laugh, driving Gray to avert his gape and stare at his feet.
"Seriously," Gray let out a shy chuckle. "What's wrong with her?"
"Oh, Lord." Jesse took a deep breath. "She's just really really old."
After a few playful conversations, the two let out a sigh and stared at the motionless water before their eyes. Something about this place soothed their nerves; the refreshing breeze, the fresh smell of pine trees, and the enchanting moonlit sky; a little gift from nature in a time they needed it the most.
Gray moved his legs in a circular motion, morphing the image of the moon. Jesse watched as the waves slowly subdued, and the moon's reflection was nearly clear. Only this time, the moon wasn't the only image formed on that surface.
Jesse furrowed his brows in concentration. The figure in front of the moon was dark and standing still. Jesse blinked to get a good look, but not until the water became completely calm that he clearly saw the glowing eyes.
Jesse jolted up with a gasp.
On the other end of the lengthy pool, straight under the moon, a man with a sticking grin stared directly at him.
T-Bone was back.