Page 14 of Rowdy & Kat

Rowdy turned off my light and returned to bed. I adjusted onto my side and pretended I looked great despite my huge belly, swollen ankles, and exhausted face.

As if sensing I needed help feeling beautiful, Rowdy gave me a kiss and sent me to sleep with a smile.

ROWDY

Kat and Maria lived in a comfy townhouse with plenty of colorful furniture and rugs. Their walls were covered in funky artwork. The greenish-blue couch in the family room was a soft cloth design. I settled onto it and piled up the many colorful accent pillows.

Maria appeared in her gray-and-red flannel pajamas and rested a plush blanket nearby.

“Are you sure you’ll be comfortable here?” she asked.

“I’m not going to a hotel.”

“I thought you might prefer to sleep upstairs in our crafts room. The cats might not bother you as much.”

I glanced at the nearby chair where four yellow eyes watched me from the darkness. The cats had been hiding since my arrival.

“What are their names?” I asked Maria, just to make conversation.

“Witchy and Wicked. One of them won’t warm up to you. You’ll know the other one has bonded with you when she starts driving you to madness when you’re sleeping.”

“I look forward to losing my mind.”

Maria gave me a tight smile. “Don’t hurt my sister.”

“I lost her twice. I don’t want to lose her again.”

“Twice?”

“I liked her in high school, but then you two moved away. You know how she blew me off months ago. Now, I’m planning to make things stick.”

“I want to believe you.”

“You’ll believe me soon enough. What time do you think Kat will wake up?”

“She’s been exhausted for the last few weeks. She might sleep most of the day. Getting her to eat is more difficult every day.”

“It won’t be much longer.”

“Our mother,” Maria said before correcting herself, “Our real mother never recovered from giving birth to us. She had a lot of physical and mental issues after we were born.”

“Did your father take good care of her?”

“No. He basically bought her as a mail-order bride from Estonia. She wanted a better life. He wanted a bang maid. I don’t think she had many friends. She barely spoke English. She was an unhappy woman, but she loved Kat and me.”

“Well, that won’t be Kat’s fate. She has us both. Plus, my family will swarm her like loving locusts. We’ll make sure she gets everything she needs.”

Maria studied me. She looked exactly like the woman I loved. That was who Kat was for me. No other woman would own me in the way Katarina Darville did.

After Maria went to bed, I texted my family to see where they ended up staying. Vanessa asked if they should visit Kat’s place tomorrow.

Though unsure how to respond, I finally texted, “Let me work my magic and get back to you.”

Soon, I was in the mostly dark room with only a light on somewhere down the hallway. My mind was oddly relaxed despite being in a strange place under odd circumstances. Knowing where Kat was put me at ease.

Over the last few months, I had become convinced she was married to an asshole and needed me to save her. Now, I knew she was safely down the hall, covered in her soft blankets, and sleeping with my boys inside her.

Though sleep came easily, I dreamed of crazy shit like zombie cats, screaming babies, and my mom crying in the corner. I woke up once to find a black cat sitting on my chest, staring at me.