Page 10 of Inflict

The hushed, yet high, whisper of his name made Connor stand up straight and peer over his shoulder into the woods where the call had come from. He recognized her voice without even needing to see her face, and out of habit alone, he checked around the corner of the shed to make sure the blinds were still closed on the windows of his house, and his father was nowhere in sight.

“What’cha doing?” Evelyn asked.

Her voice was closer the second time she spoke, and it made Connor nervous. In the year that they had become friends and started playing together in her backyard, but mostly on the trails, he had been very careful about keeping her away from his house. She knew where he lived and how to get there, he just didn’t allow her to be seen by his father.

Sean didn’t like him having friends.

He’d started kindergarten that year, later than other kids, his teacher had said, but even then, his father didn’t allow him to play with other children, or to have them come to his house. He didn’t know why, and he no longer asked, because the last time he did, Sean gave him a whooping he didn’t soon forget.

“Checking something,” Connor said, wiping his hands on his pants.

Just beyond the line of trees, he could see Evelyn waiting for him to come and play, like she always did when she came looking for him first.

Today, she was wearing a yellow dress with a matching hat and mittens, and a pink coat that wasn’t zippered all the way up.

She always had something new and pretty on.

He liked that about her.

“Can I see?” she asked.

Connor didn’t want to say no, but he thought if he did, Evelyn might be sad. He’d seen her cry once, after she’d tripped over a fallen log in the woods, and skinned her knee up pretty bad. He hated when she cried; he didn’t want to be the reason she did, ever.

Maybe he could bring Kitty to her?

That way, she didn’t have to come out of the woods where his father might see, even if they were hidden behind the shed.

Quickly, Connor bent down and scooped Kitty from the den, pulling him away from the other kittens. Not that they seemed to notice, as they simply snuggled into an even tighter ball together. Kitty blinked up at Connor as he darted into the woods, keeping his kitten close to his chest, just in case the animal got scared and tried to jump from his hands.

He’d learned that kitten scratches hurt, even if they were tiny.

Evelyn gasped at the sight of the kitten when she could finally see what Connor was holding. The closer he came, the bigger her smile grew.

He thought—knew—she was prettiest when she smiled. None of the girls in his kindergarten class were as interesting as Evelyn. He didn’t like them nearly as much as he liked her.

“Can I hold her?”

Connor’s gaze narrowed. “It’s a male.”

Evelyn’s hands went straight to her hips in balled fists. “How do you know that?”

“Well, I think he’s a male.”

Her pretty green eyes rolled high to the sky. “Whatever, can I see?”

Connor passed the squirming kitten over, and watched as Evelyn petted Kitty from the very top of his head, to the very tip of his tail over and over again. Kitty’s purrs became louder the longer she stroked him.

“It’s very soft,” she whispered.

“He likes it when you rub his ears.”

She did that, too, happiness radiating around her. Connor was just excited that he had found something to make Evelyn happy, as he didn’t have much to give her except his time to play, which sometimes, wasn’t a whole lot. She always had nice things—cool toys, brand new pencils and papers to draw with, and colorful clothes that were never dirty or ripped like his always were. To give her something from him, even if it was just enough to make her smile for a while, made him feel … good.

Connor explained how he had found the cat and the kittens while Evelyn kept petting Kitty, but he never mentioned his father’s dislike of animals, or why he couldn’t bring them inside his own house.

“Does it have a name?”

Connor felt almost silly when he replied, “Kitty.”