Page 112 of Please Open Me
His front end lowered as his butt wiggled from side to side. After a moment of calibration, he launched forward and smacked directly into the side of the armchair.
Lucian snorted, grabbed the animal by the scruff, and forced it into his arms to be cradled like an infant.
Even the cats like him more than they like me.
More footsteps padded along behind us, and I prepared myself for Pepper, the black cat, to come bite my toes.
“Oh, there you are, my fat boy,” Sophia cooed.
Somehow, this was worse.
Sophia appeared, messy bun falling to one side, and scooped Richard out of Lucian’s arms. He greeted her with ameowand licked her nose. She smiled and cradled him just as Lucian had moments prior.
“You two were being nice to him, right?” she asked, looking at us accusatorially.
“Yes, I was nice to your stupid fucking flea-bag,” Lucian snapped.
Sophia glared at him and held the cat defensively. Richard’s eyes slowly closed as a soft purr rumbled out of him.
“Watch out, Luci, you’re one wrong move away from ending up with a collar,” she warned, brushing her nose against the feline.
I swore to God, the cat fell asleep right then and there.
“What were you two talking about?” Her twin blues bounced between the two of us, not a hint of anxiety lingering between the two of them.
Lucian pushed his lips off to the side, and for a moment, I swore he’d defy her. But Lucian had nothing without his pride, and a collar would obliterate what little he had left.
“I want to know what you two did to piss Mason off so much.”
“Oh.” Sophia sounded upset. “Well, that’s easy to answer.”
She settled onto Lucian’s lap and looked up at him, still clutching the cat.
Sophia frequently sat on Lucian, and he made it known he loved it. He liked when his partners were plush enough totoss around, but his attraction to Masonremained a mystery. But, the second Sophia settled her full weight on him, he winced.
A smug smirk pulled at her lips.
“Seb and I’ve known about your addiction for months,” she sang.
My lips parted slightly as I watched the two. I had one hundred percent missed his relapse, which shocked me. Lucian was a professional, high-functioning drug user, and when he kept himself dosed up and wasn’t actively withdrawing, it was easy to overlook.
“Really?” Lucian’s brow creased.
“Mhm!” she chirped. “It was pretty obvious.”
No, it wasn’t.
“Isn’t that right, Sebby?” She smiled.
For a moment, I considered arguing with her, then I remembered I had no desire to talk about what actually happened.
“I… yeah.” My words came out far less convincing than they should’ve.
Lucian seemed too consumed by his misery to notice.
“If you saw me spiraling, why didn’t you help?” He picked at a string on his hoodie before meeting my gaze.
Why wouldn’t he look at his girlfriend? We might have been brothers, but I couldn’t fucking stand him. He knew that; I knew that; animosity was our thing.
