Page 24 of Pet Project

“You were going to throw away a SIGNED Mario Lemieux jersey?!”

I’m not sure why his opinion on it affects me more than everyone else who has tried to tell me that hockey isn’t at fault for what happened. But the look on Shiloh’s face at the thought of throwing away that jersey shames me into changing my mind a little bit. It couldn’t hurt at least looking through the boxes.

After grabbing the box of Walt’s terrible record keeping out of the dumpster, the only casualty of my dive seems to be my left shoe and sock. The cardboard was not as thick as I hoped and my foot went through it and into something downright foul. Instead of trying to salvage the shoe, I pulled off the left and went back inside wearing only my right sock on my feet, much to Shiloh’s amusement.

Once we get all of the boxes back upstairs, I pull off the lone sock and toss it in the hamper in the bathroom. Coming out of the bathroom, I notice Shiloh staring at the corner of my little nook off the kitchen. I think Walt intended it to be a dining nook, but I’ve never seen a point in having a designated dining area as a single person. That’s what TV trays are for.

“Whatcha looking at?” I ask him as I grab a Sprite from the fridge. “If you want to use that space for something, feel free. I was going to set up a weight bench or something there for exercise, but I would need to reinforce the floor. I won’t have the funds for that any time soon.”

I think I hear him say something like “kitty nook” under his breath but I can’t be sure. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he follows me onto the couch when Itake a seat. I flip through the local stations to see if there’s anything good on the channels I get for free with the antenna before I give up and turn on Netflix.

“What are you in the mood for?” I ask him when he just sits there quietly. “We also need to figure out food. I can cook, but I’d much rather just get something delivered at this point.”

“I’m good,” Shiloh says, barely above a whisper.

Fuck… I screwed up with him earlier.

Me:

How do I get him to talk?

Matt Barnes:

Shy’s well shy

Treat him like you’d treat a stray cat

Me:

?????

He’s a person

I can’t treat him like an animal

Matt Barnes:

Remember how I told you about pet play?

Me:

So you’re saying?

Matt Barnes:

Yes

Shiloh drops into kitten space after big things

Moving is a big thing

Me:

Me yelling at him probably didn’t help

Matt Barnes:

I’ll FUCKING GUT YOU LIKE A SARDINE YOU LIMP DICKED CUMSPOUT!

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