"What is that?" My mother's eyes followed the black cat as it sauntered through the kitchen and brushed up against her leg. She looked between me and him, eyebrows furrowed together.
"A cat," I stated the obvious, going to a cabinet and pulling out a can of tuna. I cracked it open and put it down on the floor.
"Whose?" She dragged out slowly.
The cat—Hypnos—looked up at her, his ears twitching forward. He meowed, rubbed against her leg again, and then sat at her feet, ignoring the food I put out for him.
"He was outside my window."
"Valerie!" She jumped away from the cat, startling him, and he darted away from her across the room. He stopped just outside the doorway, turned back, hissed, and then darted somewhere into the house. "Great. The thing could be anywhere."
"You scared him," I scowled. "He's a he. Not a thing. A cat."
"You don't bring strays into the house, Valerie. Come on. You know this; you're not seven."
"Was I bringing in strays at seven?" I asked.
She paused and looked at me before sighing. "Just find it."
"Him," I corrected her. "And he's not a stray. He has a collar. His name's Hypnos. He's just lost."
"Yeah. In our house. Find it—him. Return him to his owner."
Rolling my eyes, I turned away and left the kitchen in search of the cat.
"Hypnos! Here boy." I made kissing sounds. Does that only work with dogs? I didn't know. "Where are you?"
Nothing. I sighed. I looked all downstairs with no luck, then moved upstairs. I searched the bathroom, the laundry room, the office, my art room—nothing. But when I looked in my bedroom, there he was. Perched up on my pillow at the head of my bed like some kind of king. He sat straight up, head high. His eyes followed me as I moved towards him. Meow. I sat down on the bed and gathered him in my arms. He meowed again and turned, but allowed me to set him down in my lap.
"Hypnos," I sigh. "It's time to go home."
He blinked. I smiled.
"You're a handsome cat, you know."
It was strangely true. His ears perked up and he turned his head to the side. I watched him for a moment. He appeared to be listening very intently to something. After a minute, he turns his head back to me and meows.
"Sorry, bud. Can't understand you." I stood up with him in my arms. "Mom says you can't stay but it's late and there's no way for me to find your human tonight. You can sleep..."
I look around. Then, remembering the furry throw blanket I had in my closet, I gently placed him down and walked over. I pulled it out with ease and placed it right next to my bed.
"You can sleep here."
He walked over, head high. He placed a paw on the throw before moving back. Instead of laying down on it like I'd expected, he turned and hopped back up on my bed. I sighed as he curled up right beside my pillow and blinked up at me expectantly. He was obviously used to getting his way. Shaking my head, I turned and pulled some pajamas out my drawers. I changed quickly, somehow a little uncomfortable knowing the cat was there and was watching me.
I mean, it's a cat for God's sake.
After throwing my hair up in a sloppy bun, I grab my phone and crawl into bed next to Hypnos. He relaxes once I'm settled down and curls up, his tail brushing my arm lightly. Bored and not yet tired, I decide to call Karol.
"Hey," she answered on the fourth ring, sounding annoyed.
I raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
"Oh." She sighed. "Jake was just here."
I sucked in a sharp breath. Oh. "Did you guys talk?"
I didn't ever really know what to say in regards to their relationship. I mean, at this point what are the chances of them actually being over? They always find their way back to each other. Once Karol was ready to be committed to a relationship with him, I knew they'd probably be together forever. If Karol is ever ready.
"He came over to return some things I'd given him." She sounded dejected. "And he asked for his stuff back."
My face fell. "You want to come over?"
"No, I just...he just stood there and looked at me and asked me if I cared about him at all. Like how could he think I don't? I love him, I just like having fun and doing my own thing. And, okay, maybe I don't want to risk getting hurt—"
"Jake would never intentionally hurt you."
"He went on a date with someone else. He cheated on me. It was an argument, it wasn't a breakup."
"With the amount of times you do break up, he probably couldn't tell the difference," I joked, before realizing now wasn't the time. "Come on, Karol just call him and tell him you don't want to be done."
"He asked me. He asked me if this was what I wanted. I told him no. But then he asked me to prove it and...I couldn't say it, Val."
She loved him. She's just never told him that.
"I didn't say it and he left."
So that was that. She was afraid because she loved him, and he was hurt because he believed she didn't.
"I'm just going to go to sleep," she sighed. "I'll call you in the morning."
"Sure." I murmured. After hanging up, I rolled over and stared at Hypnos. He blinked slowly at me.
"Go to sleep, Hypnos." I whisper, running a hand over his soft head and down his even softer back. He purred and lowered his head, allowing me to pet him until he fell asleep.
Hypnos was no longer here when I woke up. I sat up in my bed, blinking the sleep away and rubbing the crust from my eyes. It wasn't until I lowered my hands and glanced at the space beside me that I realized the cat wasn't in here.
"Hypnos?" I called. Of course, I didn't get a response. I glanced at my door and let out a quiet curse when I saw it cracked open. Mom's gonna freak if he's roaming around.
I hopped out my bed and jogged downstairs. I could hear my mom rummaging around in the kitchen, probably preparing breakfast. I peeked in.
"Hey, mom."
She looks over her shoulder at me and shoots me a smile. "Breakfast is ready. Wake your dad up for me."
"Okay. Um...about Hypnos..."
"Who?" Her brows furrowed. She turned away from me and picked up a place, forking some eggs onto it.
"The cat?"
She put down the plate and looked at me. "What cat?"
I blinked. "What? The—the cat, mom. The black cat that was in here?"
"Valerie!" She crossed her arms over her chest. "You let a cat in here?"
"What? Mom, you saw it!"
"A cat? In here? No, I did not. If I did, I would have told you it shouldn't be in here. Where's this cat?"
I stared at her in confusion. Was it a dream? No. I definitely remember petting it until I fell asleep. But then...why the he'll couldn't my mother remember him?
"Nevermind," I murmur, shaking my head and turning away. "I'm going to go wake dad."
"I better not see a cat in here, Val!"
I ignore her and go to my parents' room to wake up my dad. After that, I go to my art room and pull out an unfinished painting from underneath a tarp. I turn to put it on the canvas and stop short, shrieking in surprise when I see Hypnos sitting outside in the window, exactly where he was when I first saw him. My eyebrows furrowed. How the hell did he get outside?
He meowed, put a paw on the window for a brief second, and winked, before turning away and jumping down off the sill.
I rush forward, unsure if I'd just imagined him, but when I opened my window and peered out, he was gone.