Page 26 of Your Fault

The damned cat was in a little cage, which they handed over to us to take him away.

“I hope he adapts well and that you all enjoy him,” the cashier said, eyes on Noah. “Don’t forget to take him to the vet in a couple of weeks to get him fixed and take care of his vaccines.”

Fixed… Well, now I felt bad for the poor guy.

Ten minutes later, we were on our way to my apartment. Finally, I would be able to be with her and do what I’d been thinking about for months.

I turned to look at her, and an involuntary smile crossed my face. She looked just like my little sister did when she got a new toy.

“What are you going to name him?” I asked, pulling off the freeway and heading into my neighborhood.

“Huh. I don’t know yet…” she said, carefully petting the Nameless One.

“Don’t call him something stupid like Nala or Simba, please,” I asked, parking in my spot. I got out and opened her door. Seeing Noah almost intoxicated, I glared at that animal that was trying to take my spotlight.

“I think I’ll call him N,” she said as we walked toward the elevator.

“N?” I repeated, doubtful. Had she lost her damned mind?

Offended, she replied, “Yeah, N. For you and me, for Nick and Noah.”

I laughed. “I think you had too much caffeine this morning.”

She ignored me as we walked into my apartment.

“You’re going to have to take care of him when I’m not around,” she said, letting him out in the middle of the room and watching him investigate his surroundings.

“In your dreams. Your cat, your responsibility,” I said, dropping all its accessories on the floor.

She gave me a salty look, and I pulled her close before we could start arguing again.

“You’re the one person in the world who can make me give in at times like this,” I said, leaning over to kiss her neck. Noah closed in to give me better access. Her skin was soft and smelled so good… I saw the hickey I’d left on her… I liked it; it drove me wild to see the marks my kisses had left on her, but I’d never say that aloud, knowing how much it would piss her off.

“What if I told you that I love the idea of sharing a pet with you?” she said suddenly. Seeing my confusion, she shrugged, as if she felt guilty. “It’s going to be ours. Our cat, both of ours, like we’re its parents.”

That made me take a deep breath. I knew that phrase had something much deeper hidden behind it, something that would never let her go, and that made my blood boil. I kissed her gently on the lips.

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of K,” I said, stroking her hair, hoping to make light of the situation.

She smacked me jokingly. “His name’s N!”

I laughed, picked her up, and sat her on the kitchen counter. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” I said, feeling unnerved, with no idea how she was going to react. “I want you to come live with me when you start school.”

11

Noah

“Are you serious?”

Go live with him? I’d need to think about that calmly because I could tell from looking at him that he was serious.

“Please,” he said, putting his hands on my cheeks. “Please say yes.”

That was too much. I couldn’t be in that situation just then. I got down from the counter and walked toward the bedroom.

“Nicholas, I’m eighteen years old,” I said. “Eighteen.” I repeated it in case he didn’t get it. As anxiety took hold of my insides, the thought that we weren’t at the same stage, that he needed more than I could give, scared me in a way it never had before.

“You’re way more mature than any girl my age. You don’t even seem like an eighteen-year-old. You know that, Noah. If you lived here, we could see each other every single day, every night.” He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “Do you not want to live with me? Is it that?”

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