Page 27 of Totally Opposed

Ryan

Precious meows at mefrom the windowsill from the moment I sit up in bed.

“Well, good morning to you, too,” I say and look past her for signs of Don. He must not be up and moving yet, and by the looks of it, Precious is getting hungry. “I’m sure he’ll be up soon. Now be careful on that ledge.”

Precious meows again.

I head to the bathroom to take a piss, but when I return, Precious is still meowing on the windowsill, and I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. I throw on some sweats and a shirt and jog down the stairs of my building to head over and check on Don.

I knock three times, but there is no answer. Shit. Do I break it down? He could be hard of hearing. Fuck, what do I do?

I grab my phone and call Alan.

“Hey, so I am outside your Gramps’ place,” I blurt the second he answers. “And Precious is meowing, and he won’t come to thedoor, and it’s probably nothing. He’s probably sleeping, but the cat is being weird and—”

“There is a spare key on top of the door frame on the right,” Alan replies, and I hear him fumbling around, knocking something over, and then he calls out, “Kelly.”

I reach up and feel across the top of the door frame for the key. It’s stuck down with something that clings and comes away like gum, and I resist the urge to gag, because if it is gum, that’s just gross.

“Okay, got it,” I say and unlock the door, but the second I push it open, the chain grabs.

“Shit, the security chain is there. Mr. Beaker, are you awake? Can you hear me?” I call through the opening.

Precious arrives at the door and pushes her head through the opening.

“No, get back in there, silly cat,” I say, trying to scare her back with my foot.

“Can you break it?” Alan calls through the line, and I take a step back, then shove the door with my shoulder, hard. It sends a ripple of pain through my arm, but the door flies open, and Precious jumps like she’s been struck by lightning.

“Is he okay? Is he there?” Alan asks.

“Mr Beaker, are you in here?” I call, making my way towards the kitchen when I don’t see him in the main living space. Before I can get there, the bathroom door opens up down the hall, steam flooding the hallway, and a surprised Mr Beaker steps out wearing a towel around his waist.

“What the heck are you doing in here, boy?” he asks, and I let out the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

“He’s fine. He was in the shower,” I say to Alan, and the fucker actually starts laughing.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Beaker. Precious was meowing, and you didn’t answer and…”

“So you broke in?”

“Well…” I glance back at the door, the security chain hanging with a chunk of door frame still attached to it. “Well, yeah, but I’ll get it fixed. I swear.”

Precious struts through my legs up to him and circles him with a playful cooing noise.

“I told ya I would feed ya in a minute, you silly cat,” he says, like she can understand any of what he is saying.

“Well, I better be getting changed. While you’re here, you want to get her breakfast. That’s why she be calling you over, anyway.” And he disappears into his bedroom and I hold the phone up to my ear.

“I was manipulated by a hungry cat into breaking and entering, and now I have to fix your Gramp’s door.”

Alan laughs harder down the line. “I told you it’s a demon spawn.”

“I guess I’ll see you at warm-up in a bit.”

“Can’t wait,” he replies, and I hang up and grab Precious’s bowl.

She rubs up against me, twisting her way in between my legs as I prepare her food and then sit it down on the floor.

---