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“I would love to see your new cat. Is he nice? How old is he?” Abby asks, reminding me about seeing Hope.
I smile at the change of subject. “I’ll bring him out, but if he gets anxious, I’ll take him back up.”
“I can’t wait.”
Five minutes later, Abby is on the wood floor sitting cross-legged in front of me and petting Hope as he lays between my legs for a stomach rub. He begins to purr from all the attention.
Conner gets up, and so does the other friends of Tyler’s. Ky stands behind me, and I can’t think. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up under my hoodie.
“I have never been so jealous of a cat before,” Conner teases. I guess Ky gives him a look because his eyes widen, and he glances at me. “I’m playing around. The little guy is lucky, is all.”
I can feel Ky leaning close behind me, and Abby looks up with a smirk. I don’t know why she is smirking at Ky behind me. It’s then that I see his strong hand reaching around me, his face inches from the side of my neck, scratching the cat on his stomach. I’m tense. My heart is pounding and I’m aware of the heat of his body behind me. I’m even more aware of his strong forearm by my thigh. The cat peeks at him next to me and nudges his head for him to rub his neck.
“He likes you,” Abby says, looking at Ky with a smile. “He is purring so loud.”
Conner reaches out and tries to pet him, but Hope swipes his paw and scratches for him to stop.
“Ow! Stupid cat. He scratched me,” Conner barks, snatching his hand back.
I pick up the cat and clutch him to my chest in case Conner tries to retaliate. “I’m sorry. I guess it was too much for him, and he’s just not used to all the attention.”
Conner gives me a hard stare, but I glare at him. Cats have to defend themselves when they feel threatened. It’s not like he stabbed him and drew blood. It’s the only way they know how to communicate. He was in a shelter and was found hungry and covered with fleas. I read the adoption papers that had his medical report attached to it, and I feel this connection to him even more because of the life he’s endured.
“It’s a stupid cat and he should know better.”
“Stop being a pussy, Conner. He probably doesn’t like you for whatever reason,” Ky says.
“I should scratch his punk ass and see how he likes it.”
I clench my jaw and realize I should have never brought him down. It was a mistake. Petting and rubbing my nose against his fur to soothe him, I want to make sure he feels safe.
“Touch her cat and I’ll break your face. It’s your only warning,” Ky warns in a hard tone.
Woah, where did that come from?
Conner’s expression turns to pure fear, and I wonder why. Conner is not a small guy. He is a douche, and I would never give him the time of day, but he also seems a bit immature. Ky towers over him by about two inches. Trish raises her brow and stands, jutting her hip out and shaking her head as she gives me a knowing look. She looks behind me and I want to turn my head to see Ky’s expression, but doing so would make it obvious that I care about what he thinks. I’m also relieved he stood up for the innocent little fur baby in my arms. He is only eight months old and loves to cuddle, and I’m positive he will keep me warm at night. He is a sweetheart and doesn’t deserve Conner’s wrath.
“He’s a cool cat. I like him,” Ky says, surprising me at how soft his tone is when talking about Hope.
“Thank you.” I look up at Conner. “I’m sorry Hope scratched you. I don’t think he was ready for all of the attention, but touch my cat and I’ll make sure it’s more than a scratch you get.”
Abby raises her brow and looks between me and Conner. I’m sure she is surprised by my threat. I’m not eleven years old anymore. I will protect Hope. I have to make sure Conner and his friends don’t think I can’t protect myself—or protect what is mine.
“What are you gonna do?”
I spit the same words Ky did earlier. “Fuck around and find out, Conner.”
Ky chuckles behind me. Connor looks up, and I’m not sure what look Ky is giving him, but he quickly looks away.
Rubi
THE FOLLOWING MONDAYat school, I close the locker and spin the lock with a frustrated sigh. It’s the second time in a row that I’ve found a block of cheese that smells like someone threw up inside my locker. It makes all my school supplies smell, and whoever did it attached a picture of a street rat onto it. They also decided to decorate my locker with the word FREAK. Dickfaces. I hate these people.
The slams of lockers can be heard all around me as the bell signals a warning that students need to park their asses inside class. I make my way to algebra class, dreading seeing Ky and his group of skanks, and the way they give him knowing glances.
I make my way down the aisle and stiffen when a girl from the dance team snickers at the girl seated in front of her. “Did you hear last weekend at Conner’s party that Ky fucked Roxy, and she complained his dick was so big he could hardly fit. It’s not the first time I have heard that.”
“I know. I keep hearing that his fine ass has this huge cock. I wonder how big it really is?”
