Page 29 of Weathering the Storm (Voice Out 1)
The doctor smiled warmly at me. “That was very nice of you. It seems she’d been there for some time. It’s possible she won’t be able to use that leg anymore, but at least she’s alive. Would you like to take her? If not, we can give her to the rescue shelter we partner with.”
I looked at Scott to see what he wanted. He stared at me for a few moments before turning back to smile at the doctor. “Thanks, Dr. Hannigan. We’d like to take her home.”
I smiled widely at that before reaching out for the kitten. The doctor—Dr. Hannigan—chuckled before handing her to me.
“Here’s some cat food for her. You’ll need to get a litter box and other essentials for her, but I think she’ll mostly sleep till tomorrow so you can get them later.”
I nodded as Scott took the packet of cat food the doctor offered. “You’ll need to bring her in for her shots once her leg is healed, all right?”
“Thanks, doctor,” Scott said and took care of the bill as I cooed at the kitten, who was now watching me with sleepy blue eyes. Her fur was totally black with two white patches around her eyes. The tip of her tail was also white. She was, quite simply, adorable. I was glad Scott hadn’t wanted to give her up either.
“Let’s go, Lu,” Scott said as he held the door open, my now slightly bloody jacket in his hand.
Once we were driving back home, Scott said, “So now we have a pet, huh?”
“You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not. I’d have to be heartless to not be taken by that pretty face.”
“Sheisreally pretty, isn’t she?” I asked as I rubbed her chin. She purred in my arms, and I grinned.
“Uh, I wasn’t talking about her,” Scott said with a cheeky grin, winking at me when I turned to look at him.
“Oh.Oh.”I blushed as I realized he was talking about me.
He chuckled before speaking again. “So, did you already pick a name?”
He knew me so well. “Um, I was thinking Tressa.”
“Tressa?” he asked, voice curious.
“You know, liketresin Latin.” I gave him a grin before explaining, “It means three.”
He was silent for a moment before he started laughing. “Oh my god, you’re evil. Poor Tressa.”
I chuckled as Tressa purred harder. “You’re going to have a really hard time topping this date.”
“How about we rescue a dog next time?” Scott joked, and I grinned.
“I like that idea.”
18
Scott
Insomnia was a heartless bitch, and I was trying to stop myself from thinking about everything and nothing long enough to finally sleep. My mind was whirring with everything that had happened over the weekend. A part of me wanted me to stop whatever this was before I got too invested, before I started caring for Luke too much. I didn’t want to risk losing him, but wasn’t that what always happened? Even as I tried to convince myself that I could still back off, I knew I was already in too deep. I couldn’t stop caring for Luke now. He made me want to pull him into my arms, keep him safe, and never let go.
A shuffling sound snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked up. Luke stood in my doorway, or at least he had been. He was turning away now, about to leave, so I scrambled to call out to him. “Luke?”
He stopped, and I turned on the bedside lamp to see him standing there with Tressa in his arms. I sat up in bed as he spoke. “Um, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“No worries. I wasn’t asleep yet. What’s wrong?”
Luke shook his head before turning to look at the hallway. I had an idea of what was up, but I didn’t want to make assumptions.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
Luke nodded as he chewed his lower lip, looking anywhere but at me.
