She tasted like the coffee she must’ve had this morning. Vanilla and so sweet. I moaned happily into the kiss, pulling her closer to me.
An alert on my phone had me groaning and breaking the kiss. “Sorry, baby. That’s my camera app. Nyx is probably awake now. I just want to check in on him.”
She pulled back. Of course. Go ahead.”
I opened the app and smiled when I saw him walking around the living room. He wasn’t running around like he normally was, but maybe he was just waking up. I groaned when I saw the mess on the coffee table I’d left from the night before. I’d been in such a rush this morning, I hadn’t had time to clean it up. I just hoped he didn’t get into anything he wasn’t supposed to.
“Hmm,” I said, still watching the camera.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I looked up to see Cara watching me.
“I don’t know. Nyx is acting weird. He’s not energetic like he usually is. Shit! He’s throwing up now. Maybe I should go home and check on him. Just to make sure he’s okay. He’s never thrown up before.”
I pocketed my phone and walked over to give Cara a kiss goodbye. She accepted it, but when I pulled back, she wasn’t smiling like she normally was. “I’ll drive. You’re worried, and I don’t want anything to happen on your way there.”
I smiled softly, caressing the side of her face. “It’s okay, princesa. You’ve got work to do. I’ll text you when I know what’s going on.”
She shook her head, taking on her corporate shark attitude. “I’m driving. Let’s go.” She turned and grabbed her purse, daring me to argue. I wasn’t an idiot. I let her drive.
The entire drive, I couldn’t sit still. I was sure he was okay, but why was he getting sick? He’d never been sick before.
I’d kept my eyes glued to the window the entire time. I kept playing the worst case scenarios in my head, then telling myself to relax and that everything was fine.
Eventually, I felt Cara’s hand in mine, and I turned to see her smiling at me. “Everything will be fine, honey.”
Honey. Why did one little word calm the storm going on inside me? She always seemed to have a way of saying or doing just the right thing. I brought her hand up to my lips and pressed a soft kiss. I needed the contact to ground me.
The car ride was only ten minutes, but it felt longer. “Excuse the mess,” I said before I unlocked the door. “I fell asleep last night and I was in a rush this morning so I didn’t have time to clean up. Also, I don’t drink this much, I swear. I had the guys over last night.”
I felt like I had to explain myself. This was the first time she was coming over and it wasn’t the vision I’d had in mind. I hoped with the situation, she’d be understanding and it wouldn’t scare her off. I wasn’t normally this messy.
“Vera, it’s okay. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. You’re an adult. As long as you don’t have roaches as roommates or anything crazy, relax. Let’s just go check on Nyx.”
I nodded and opened the door. When I didn’t spot black fur running around my legs, I started to worry more. He usually went crazy when I came home, even if I was only checking the mail.
“Nyx. Here boy,” I called out across the house and I frantically started searching for him.
“Nyx?” I heard Cara call out a few times.
We checked the kitchen, bathrooms, even my room where he liked to lay on my bed. Nothing.
“I’m starting to get worried. Where is he?” I asked, as if Cara would know. She didn’t know any more than I did, but I was freaking out. This wasn’t like him.
“I know. It’s okay, I’m sure he’s okay. We’ll find him,” she encouraged.
She gave me a soft smile and left the room to keep looking, I hoped.
“Found him!” she yelled.
I gasped and took off to where I heard her voice.
She’d found him laying by my shoes in the mudroom. My heart stopped as I ran down to check if he was breathing.
“Nyx? Are you okay, boy?” I asked.
He looked up at me and I let out a sigh of relief. “He’s awake. ¡Mierda! He’s cold.”
I didn’t pick him up right away. Instead, I took out my phone, planning on calling my vet to see what I needed to do. Cara came up to me and squatted down to look at Nyx more closely. She started rubbing his back and checking him out.
