I bit my lip to keep from bursting with sad laughter. I was ridiculous. I wasn’t drunk enough to excuse the nonsense coming out of my mouth. A relationship was out of the question. I had a little boy to protect. I was on the run from alien assassins. I didn’t have room in my life for a man… any man, human, alien or otherwise.
Not that there was an otherwise. Right? What else could there be?
Yeeeeeow.
Right. The furry kind, like the one yowling at me as if I was physically torturing him instead of just ignoring his repeated requests for more food.
“No. I already told you, there’s no more chicken.” I tucked my free hand into the oversized pocket of my dress so I wouldn’t give in to temptation and pet the damn thing for the tenth time in the last hour. Or feed him the steak I had in the refrigerator. That was for Brody and me to eat for dinner tomorrow.
But the cat was relentless. “No. I’m not giving in. Go hunt for a rabbit or something.” Not. Giving. In. Like I had last night. And the night before. Aaaaand the night before that. He preferred chicken to beef and had turned his nose up at the dry kibble I’d left out for him. “Go on!”
Brody named him Alexander the Great. One of his tutors on Everis claimed the human conqueror was actually descended from Elite Hunter bloodlines. Same tutor gifted Brody the cat right before his parents died. When I showed up, he’d been clinging to that cat like the furball was his only friend in the universe. Couldn’t very well leave the cat behind.
I had no idea if his tutor was right about Alexander the Great or not. Didn’t matter as I tried to shoo the fluffy cat away, but he just jumped up onto the fence and watched me. I wasn’t sure if Alexander from Everis could understand me. I didn’t know much about Brody’s pet. What I did know was that when we left Everis a few months ago, the cat—guess he was a kitten then—was no larger than the average housecat. No problem, right? But now?
If I had to guess, I’d say he was easily the size of a full grown Maine Coon. Which was too big, no matter how stinking cute he was with his black face, bright blue eyes, and fluffy grayish-white body. He looked like a gigantic Himalayan and I had no idea how much bigger he was going to get. I didn’t ask because the answer didn’t matter. Brody loved that cat and the cat loved him. I didn’t know much about cats. The only pet our father ever let us have when we were growing up was a hamster named Snugglebutt, name chosen because he was soft, and because Kimberly and I found it hilarious to say ‘butt’ in front of our father and not get in trouble.
“Shoo! Go do your job.” I waved my hand at the cat and hoped he would go lay down in bed with Brody, as he did most nights. He adored Brody and was very protective of him. I had to admit, I slept better at night knowing we had Alexander in the house.
The enormous, alien cat ignored my command, chose instead to perch on top of the unused barbeque grill’s closed lid while simultaneously watching me and licking his paw. “Shoo, Alexander; shoo, Fluffybutt! I don’t have any more food. I didn’t go to the store today.”
The cat tilted his head and stared me down like a detective. Next thing I knew, the rain was pouring down and the cat sat patiently at the back door as if going inside was his idea, not mine.
“Fine.” I walked over and pushed the sliding glass door open wide enough for him to go inside. Left it open because I knew he’d just be demanding to prowl the perimeter a few minutes from now, after he’d checked on Brody.
I walked back outside to relax in one of the padded chairs with what was left of my drink. As expected, Alexander the Great appeared not long after and curled up in my lap. The purring as I stroked his soft fur was a ten out of ten, highly recommend. Although, if he got any bigger, he wasn’t going to fit on my lap.
Viking Iven could hold him, though. Probably carry him around like a kitten. Pet him with those big hands.
I ran my fingers through Alexander’s soft fur. “Never thought I’d be jealous of a stupid cat. Maybe, if I grew some fur, he’d pet me, too.” I giggled. “I do have some fur, down there.” My giggling took over. I didn’t wax, just trimmed the forest, so to speak. So, technically, I did have some fur.
Boy, that Rumchatta was making me feel warm, all right. Everything was funny—or horribly depressing—when one was hiding from aliens who were trying to kill the only person in the world you had left to love. So what was I doing about it?
Getting tipsy and talking to an alien guard cat.
His purring reached rib rattling levels. I approved and made sure to scratch his other ear to keep the party going as I whispered to him. “Maybe, Alexander the Great, my sister knew we would be hiding from super scary aliens and she was trying to protect her son when she let him keep you. Maybe you’re safer here, with us, than back on Everis.”
The cat chose that moment to stretch out and start making biscuits on my thighs. Which hurt a little, but I didn’t have the heart to stop him. He was alone, on a strange planet, separated from his family and everything he’d ever known. His mom, and dad, and little cat sister were probably all dead. Just like mine. “You couldn’t protect your little sister, could you? You probably begged her not to run off with that handsome tabby cat, but I bet she did it anyway.”
Gee, Krystal. Projecting much?
“Shut-up.” I gulped the rest of the rum-laced, vanilla goodness in my glass and wiped a tear from my cheek, thankful that Brody was asleep and didn’t have to witness my mental breakdown. “Poor kitty. I bet your little sister fucking volunteered.”
I held that alien cat –despite the fact that my legs were going numb under his weight—and cried.
When the shadows moved on the roof next door, I convinced myself the rum was making me paranoid.
5
Krystal
* * *
I didn’t stop sobbing until I didn’t have any tears left. The cat really was great. He kept me company. Kept me warm. Didn’t judge me, try to boss me around, order me to live on another planet, or try to take Brody away from me. “You’re the perfect man for me, Alexander. But maybe you should grow a bit bigger.” Big as a bear? So he could kill anything that came at us with a swipe of his giant paws.
Or big like a certain kindergarten teacher. I’d like to see what he could do with his massive paws.
A shiver—not all from the cold—raced over my skin and I set my cup down on the edge of the table.
