Page 131 of The Obsession
A smile curves my lips as soon as I ease the door open and peek inside. This is the third day in a row I’ve foundBabooshka curled into a tight ball at the foot of Peach’s big girl bed. The thought of her sneaking out in the middle of the night to coax him into her room makes my grin widen.
It’s a beautiful sight, but I know her uncle would not agree. Installing that cat flap in the laundry was already pushing it for Dominic. He made that clear. He claimed he only did it so the ‘Fat Fuck’, his words, not mine, would stop scratching on his bedroom window at night, but deep down, I know he did it for us.
He even went so far as to put a plush cat bed and a water dish in the laundry, but having the feline in his niece’s room … on her bed? It’s too much. He’d board the flap up without a second thought if he found out, banishing the poor stray back to the streets for all of eternity.
I tiptoe across the room and scoop the cat into my arms, flinching when it hisses in protest. “You and I both know you shouldn’t be in here,” I whisper, biting back a groan at the sheer weight of the damn thing. “Maybe I’ve been too generous with your food,” I murmur, shifting him in my arms as he goes limp. He’s heavier than a bag of wet cement. “I think someone needs to go on a diet.”
Babooshka meows in protest, but deep down, he knows I’m right. There’s some truth to all the horrible things Dominic says about his weight. It can’t be healthy. A vet visit needs to be scheduled in the near future. We should get him desexed as well. Dominic would lose his mind if a neighbour knocked on the door to say Babooshka is going to be a father.
I’m almost at the end of the hallway when I hear, “Going somewhere?”
The voice lands out of nowhere, and I gasp, stumbling as my heart leaps into my throat. I clutch Babooshka tighter as he lets out a sharp yowl while I spin toward the kitchen to find Dominic leaning against the breakfast island with a glass of water in his hand.
“Jesus, you scared me. You’re supposed to be in the shower.”
His gaze doesn’t even flicker to my face. It drops straight towards the cat in my arms and hardens. “Why is that cat in my hallway?”
I shift Babooshka slightly, wincing when he hisses and digs a claw into my arm. “Umm …”
“The cat, Emily.” Dominic pushes off the counter and advances toward us. “He has a door. In the laundry. A very specific door. Installed for a very specific reason.”
“I know he shouldn’t be in here,” I say quickly. “I found him wandering.”
“Wandering?” he repeats flatly.
“Yes. Apparently, he has a complete disregard for boundaries.”
“How did he get into the house?”
“Through the cat flap you installed,” I deadpan. I don’t want to lie to him, but I also don’t want to throw Peach under the bus.
“I know that much,” he growls. “But how did he get through the solid laundry door?”
My gaze moves off to the side because I can’t look him in the eye when I say, “Obviously, he opened it.”
Dominic goes very still, and even though I haven’t met his gaze, I can feel his eyes burning into the side of my head. “He opened it,” he repeats.
I nod, keeping my face straight as my eyes tentatively move back to him. “Yes.”
His gaze flickers down the hallway toward the laundry, where the door is currently closed, before returning to me. “Emily, that door has a handle.”
“I’m aware,” I say with a shrug, adjusting Babooshka in my arms again, because Jesus Christ, this cat is heavy. “He’s resourceful.”
Dominic drags a hand down his face, exhaling under hisbreath. “How did an obese cat open a door handle, and dare I say close it again behind him?”
“Determination,” I offer with a slight wince. “Core strength?”
He looks at me for a long beat, then shakes his head. “It’s too early in the fucking day for this bullshit.” He takes the cat out of my arms and storms towards the back door. “Out you go, you fat fuck,” I hear him say seconds before the door slams closed.
I’m standing in the same spot when he returns. I open my mouth to say something before closing it again. Is omitting the truth still technically a lie?
Before Dominic has a chance to continue his grilling, we hear, “Where, Fat Cat?”
Our gazes swing in that direction to find Peach standing there in her cute pink pyjamas, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
Dominic swoops her into his arms before his eyes lock on me. I can tell by the intense look that he’s figured it out. “Did you let Fat Cat inside?”
“Fat Cat sleep in my bed,” she replies with the biggest and proudest grin, and I grimace.
