Page 28 of Pack Scratch Fever
“Are you good to drive?” I ask, and Blair gives me a polite nod.
“I am. This one, though—” she motions to Piper, “won’t be allowed behind a wheel until she’s gotten at least six hours of sleep.”
Well, at least my girl is in good hands.
“I want those cats out as soon as possible,” Poe snaps, and Piper turns to him, her face incredulous.
“It depends on how quickly they take the bait in the traps,” she explains slowly. “I can’t just wave a magic wand and take them with me.”
“Especially since you stink like catnip, Poe,” Avery adds, and I chuckle.
“That’s our cue,” Blair says, and Piper stands with her. “Avery, Maddox, and now Poe, thanks for having us. Text us when you trap the cats, and we can come and pick them up.”
“They’re gone forever, right? They’re not coming back?” Poe asks, and I want to smack him for how much of an asshole he’s being.
Piper apparently does, too.
“What is your issue?” she growls. “What do you have against cats?”
Blair tugs at her arm. “Come on, Pipe. Let’s get you home.”
“They’re pests,” Poe says, his voice clipped.
The room suddenly explodes with the scent of sour lemon and strong, earthy mint. Piper’s face turns red, and she glares murderously at Poe.
“You’re apest,” she hisses, pointing at him. “I’ve got a newsflash for you. You naturally attract cats. It’s always going to happen for you, so you should just accept it.”
“Wow,” Avery murmurs under his breath. “Tell him, Piper.”
“Okay, I really don’t think we need to be fighting about this at four in the morning,” Blair says, draggingPiper to the front door. “The traps are set, the cats will be taken care of, everyone wins.”
I stand. “I’ll get the front door for you.”
Piper seethes, still glaring at Poe as he stares her down. He walks past her, swings open the door, and Blair all but shoves Piper outside.
“Bye, everyone!” Blair says. “We’ll be in touch after everyone gets some sleep.”
The door slams shut behind them, and Poe turns to us, his expression furious.
“What the hell was that?” he demands, and I scoff.
“What the hell waswhat?” I say. “Could you have been any more of an asshole? What is your problem? They came over to help us!”
“Yeah, Poe, what was that?” Avery asks. “Why don’t you like Piper? Why would you act like that?”
The question stops Poe, and he frowns. “I don’tnotlike her,” he says quietly, almost to himself. “There’s too much going on right now.”
“For you, maybe,” Avery snaps. “But even so, you don’t treat other people like that just because you’re in a hard place. Especially someone who’s offering to help you. Andespeciallyher. What the hell are you doing?”
“She told me I smell like catnip!”
“Youdo!” I yell. “It’s not a bad thing! You’re made of fucking herbs! So what?”
“I don’t want to smell like a fucking salad!”
“Salads are delicious,” Avery adds.
Poe looks like he’s about to have a breakdown, though. The dark circles under his eyes are horrific, and I could swear he’s aged ten years in the past few months.
