Page 48 of Somnium

Leash by the door.

Food in the kitchen.

You’re welcome ;)

Cadi stared at the small piece of paper like she expected more instructions to magically appear if she focused hard enough. Sera did say Cuba was pretty easy; maybe this was all she needed. Stepping around the counter and into the kitchen, Cadi scanned the surrounding area for any sign of a dog food bin, but found none.

With a dog the size of Cuba, she assumed her food container would be proportional, not likely something that would be easy to miss, but she decided to search the cupboards anyway. Maybe she was on some specialty diet that only came in small bags and had to be purchased several times a week from a specific store that would, of course, be on the opposite side of town. Cadi glanced over her shoulder to where Cuba was wiggling like a fish against the couch, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she grunted in pleasure from the back rub.

On second thought, she seemed more like a store brand kind of girl.

Pulling out her phone, she typed a quick message to Sera, hoping for a tad more guidance than she had received, only for her shoulders to slump forward when the text bubble immediately turned green. Wherever Sera had gone, her phone was off.

Tossing the device onto the counter, Cadi blew out a breath and tapped a frustrated finger against her hip. She didn’t even know if she was looking for dry food or wet food, how much to give her, or how often.

Sera was amazing and quickly becoming the best friend Cadi had ever had … but she really sucked at the whole “leaving instructions” thing.

Nobody was perfect.

Resuming her search, Cadi squatted down to begin checking the lower cupboards, pulling out pots and pans just in case Sera for some reason kept the food stashed in the back. Cuba did seem to have a crafty streak; maybe she had a bad habit of getting into things she wasn’t supposed to.

A distant sound made her pause. Cadi sat back on her heels, straining to listen to what sounded like jingling. Tilting her head, she tried to get a direction on the sound when⁠—

Thud.

Cadi let out a surprised squeal at the sound of something slamming into Sera’s door. She shot to her feet just in time to see Elias stumble into the apartment, tugging on the key that was still stuck in the deadbolt.

She watched in shock as he turned to ease the door shut. Cuba gave an excited bark before she jumped down off the couch and trotted over to nuzzle her face against his leg in greeting.

“Cuba! How’s my favorite lady?” Elias crooned, bending down to scritch the dog behind her floppy ears, only for her to wiggle out of his grip, slipping away to the kitchen and around the counter where Cadi still stood.

Elias’s gaze followed her path, but froze when he saw Cadi. She quickly snapped her mouth shut, realizing belatedly that her jaw had been hanging wide open.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

Elias tossed his keys on the small table next to the door and stepped farther into the apartment. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Sera asked me to dog sit this week so I was coming by to pick up Cuba and take her back to my place.”

Cadi scoffed. “Well, she must have forgotten because she asked me to dog sit, too.”

Elias paused, staring at her for a second before he shook his head, chuckling softly. “Yeah. I guess so.”

He cast a pointed look down at the dog, who had emerged from the kitchen to find her fox toy and was now standing in front of him, her entire butt wagging with joy as she waited impatiently for him to play.

“Is that what happened, Cuba? Did Mom forget?”

Cuba only tilted her head in response. Elias laughed again, stepping forward to rest his palms against the counter. Cadi’s skin heated when she saw his gaze snag on the pots and pans littering the floor around her, his eyes lifting to hers in question.

“Do you need help with anything or … ?”

“Nope!” she answered, a little too quickly. “I have this handled.”

There was no way she was about to admit she couldn’t figure out how to feed a dog. Plus, this apartment was tiny; there were only so many places kibble could be. Elias watched her for a minute, and Cadi began preparing follow-up arguments in case he decided he didn’t believe her. But to her surprise, he just nodded.

“Okay,” he said, pushing off the counter and making his way back toward the door. Cuba whined and followed him, still carrying her fox in her mouth, which she rested against his hand before giving him the saddest set of puppy dog eyes Cadi had ever seen. They weren’t even directed at her, yet they still managed to break her heart.

Elias bent down, scritching her beneath her chin. “Don’t worry, girl, we’ll hang out next time.”

His keys chimed as he gathered them from the side table and reached for the doorknob.