Plans to Make & Hearts to Break
What do I do with him?
"What is going on?" William opened his front door after I'd been knocking almost frantically for a minute. "It's so early..."
"This is important." I stated, eyes wide. Slightly heavy rain was pushing my hair onto my face, but I couldn't fix it.
William cocked an eyebrow at me. "Why are you cradling a towel?" He asked, looking at the bundled towel I held in my arms.
I shook my head. "This isn't just a towel," I spoke quickly. "I walked outside because I was gonna run to the store but little guy was sitting just under the edge of my car and I don't know what to do!" As I spoke, I adjusted the towel to reveal that I was in fact holding a soaking wet, tiny, kitten.
I heard William gasp slightly. "Why did you bring him to me?" He laughed.
"Because I don't know what to do!" I said, eyes wide enough to express just how crazy I was feeling. "I've never seen stray cats around here. He just showed up out of nowhere under my car and he's so tiny and bright orange and just... what do I do with him?"
William furrowed his brows together, and before he spoke the kitten let out one scratchy "Mrooow."
"You keep him?" William suggested, shrugging.
"But... but what if he's someone's pet? I can't just... steal him!" I pouted, looking down at the kitten again. His eyes were still fixed on William, and he meowed again.
"Well, we'll..." He pursed his lips, thinking. "We can take him to a vet? Make sure he isn't sick, and you can take him back home. If we see anything in the next few weeks about a missing cat, we'll make sure it isn't him?"
I grinned. "That sounds perfect. Can we take your car? My truck isn't a fan of the rain," I grimaced. That was an understatement.
He nodded before disappearing down the hall for a moment, emerging a moment later with a black hoodie covering his red shirt, hood pulled over his hair.
---
So I didn't have to let of the kitten, William was forced kindly offered to fill out the paperwork necessary for a first visit to the vet. "It's asking for the pet's name," He mumbled, looking towards me.
"I don't know," I grumbled, furrowing my eyebrows. I was worried if I gave him a name, I'd get to attached and if his owner came looking for him it would be hard to let him go.
William looked thoughtful for a moment before saying the stupidest thing I've ever heard that boy say. "We can call him Carrot. 'Cause he's orange."
For a moment, I could only blink at him. "We are not naming this cat Carrot." I seethed. I looked down at the kitten, rubbing the top of his head with my index finger. "He's bright orange, like the sun. He's Apollo." I grinned.
"Apollo." William repeated. "Apollo. I like it!" He grinned and scrawled the name onto the paper. After he answered a few more questions, he returned the papers to the secretary. Luckily it wasn't busy, and we only waited a while longer before being beckoned into an exam room.
I spread the towel onto the high metal table and set Apollo into the middle of it, where he instantly curled into a shivering ball of wet fur. "Who do we have here?" The doctor spoke, leaning down to look at the kitten. "This is just a little guy, huh?" The doctor was an older man, with thin white hair and a slightly round body. More importantly, he had a warm smile and kind eyes; only a few words in and I already felt trusting of him.
I explained everything from finding the kitten to bringing him into the office. "We're just worried about our son, doc!" William laughed. I glared at him from the corner of my eye and nudged him with my elbow, which only made him grin more widely.
The doctor poked and prodded and examined the kitten for a while, asking us simple questions. The entire time, Apollo didn't react much - he let out a few big yawns, but otherwise stayed calm.
"He's very young," The doctor spoke, "and definitely has fleas. I'm going to suggest keeping him here overnight so we can give him a bath and get the fleas off without using chemicals, so we don't hurt him. If you were just planning on dropping him off, we can leave the costs to his owner, if he or she comes forward; otherwise, you can make sure your home is prepared to foster and potentially adopt this little one."
I looked towards William. "Who will he stay with?" I whispered.
"Well," William grinned, "I'd hate to split custody but my landlord doesn't allow any pets. At all. Not even fish."
I glared again for a moment at the idea of Apollo being our child. "I'll call and talk to Max. I never even asked about pets, I totally didn't expect this."
I stepped out of the room and left William to talk to the doctor, dialing Max's number onto my phone. "Nicole!" He answered cheerily. "Locked out again?"
I let out an exaggarated "ha, ha, ha," of laughter. "I am not. I actually have a really serious question about the house."
"What's going on?" I could hear the concern in his voice.
"Can I have pets? Like, specifically, a kitten." Quickly, I explained the entire situation to him.
He was silent for a minute. Oh no. "My only concern is that basically all of the not-carpeted rooms were just put down really recently. If you can keep the damage to a minimum, it should be fine; if not, it might come out of your pocket."
"That's fine," I grinned. "If I need to I'll invest in some cute rugs. It won't be an issue."
Quickly, he explained he'd have to send me an amendment to our rental contract that I'd have to sign, so I didn't go back on my word later, if the floors did get damaged. After a few small pleasantries we ended the call.
I rushed back into the exam room. "He'll stay at my house!" I shouted, instantly pursing my lips, embarrassed by my sudden lack of volume control.
William grinned at me, as did the doctor. "We'll give you a call tomorrow to update on Apollo's condition, alright?" In response, I nodded. "We'll get the fleas off of him, and I'm sure he'll be back to 100 percent. When he's here we'll watch for signs of anything else. Worms, for example."
"Thank you so much," I grinned. I leaned down to look at my sleeping baby kitten. "Bye-bye, Apollo. I'll see you tomorrow," I whispered to him. He opened his eyes and blinked at me for a moment before letting out another creaky meow.
---
"Thank you so much for driving me everywhere," I grinned at William as he finally parked his car in front of his house. Together, we carried in everything I considered essential for the new addition to my home - one rug for every room with a wood floor, a bag of kitten food, a few cans of soft cat food, litter box and litter, toys, and a large, carpeted cat tower that had to be assembled.
"I just can't believe we already have a kid!" William teased. "This is a big step so early in our relationship."
I cringed at the word. Relationship. Ugh. That's not what we have. Right?
"He's my cat, Beckett," I teased. I stuck my tongue out at him. Because, ya know, I'm five.
William gasped. "I chauffeur you all over the city and you refuse me parental rights?"
"I found the kitten. He's staying at my house. I am responsible for him. Mine."
William pursed his lips. "Fine," He finally spoke, "under one condition."
I held back a sigh. "What?"
He didn't speak for a moment, but draped his arms over my shoulders. Why can I not resist this boy? "Come to a show with me tomorrow." He smirked. "One extra date. That's my condition."
I bit my lip, but couldn't hold back a small smile. "Alright. But this is the last one. You're building a house on a fault line. There's gonna be an earthquake, and I'll let you down."
"This is important." I stated, eyes wide. Slightly heavy rain was pushing my hair onto my face, but I couldn't fix it.
William cocked an eyebrow at me. "Why are you cradling a towel?" He asked, looking at the bundled towel I held in my arms.
I shook my head. "This isn't just a towel," I spoke quickly. "I walked outside because I was gonna run to the store but little guy was sitting just under the edge of my car and I don't know what to do!" As I spoke, I adjusted the towel to reveal that I was in fact holding a soaking wet, tiny, kitten.
I heard William gasp slightly. "Why did you bring him to me?" He laughed.
"Because I don't know what to do!" I said, eyes wide enough to express just how crazy I was feeling. "I've never seen stray cats around here. He just showed up out of nowhere under my car and he's so tiny and bright orange and just... what do I do with him?"
William furrowed his brows together, and before he spoke the kitten let out one scratchy "Mrooow."
"You keep him?" William suggested, shrugging.
"But... but what if he's someone's pet? I can't just... steal him!" I pouted, looking down at the kitten again. His eyes were still fixed on William, and he meowed again.
"Well, we'll..." He pursed his lips, thinking. "We can take him to a vet? Make sure he isn't sick, and you can take him back home. If we see anything in the next few weeks about a missing cat, we'll make sure it isn't him?"
I grinned. "That sounds perfect. Can we take your car? My truck isn't a fan of the rain," I grimaced. That was an understatement.
He nodded before disappearing down the hall for a moment, emerging a moment later with a black hoodie covering his red shirt, hood pulled over his hair.
---
So I didn't have to let of the kitten, William was forced kindly offered to fill out the paperwork necessary for a first visit to the vet. "It's asking for the pet's name," He mumbled, looking towards me.
"I don't know," I grumbled, furrowing my eyebrows. I was worried if I gave him a name, I'd get to attached and if his owner came looking for him it would be hard to let him go.
William looked thoughtful for a moment before saying the stupidest thing I've ever heard that boy say. "We can call him Carrot. 'Cause he's orange."
For a moment, I could only blink at him. "We are not naming this cat Carrot." I seethed. I looked down at the kitten, rubbing the top of his head with my index finger. "He's bright orange, like the sun. He's Apollo." I grinned.
"Apollo." William repeated. "Apollo. I like it!" He grinned and scrawled the name onto the paper. After he answered a few more questions, he returned the papers to the secretary. Luckily it wasn't busy, and we only waited a while longer before being beckoned into an exam room.
I spread the towel onto the high metal table and set Apollo into the middle of it, where he instantly curled into a shivering ball of wet fur. "Who do we have here?" The doctor spoke, leaning down to look at the kitten. "This is just a little guy, huh?" The doctor was an older man, with thin white hair and a slightly round body. More importantly, he had a warm smile and kind eyes; only a few words in and I already felt trusting of him.
I explained everything from finding the kitten to bringing him into the office. "We're just worried about our son, doc!" William laughed. I glared at him from the corner of my eye and nudged him with my elbow, which only made him grin more widely.
The doctor poked and prodded and examined the kitten for a while, asking us simple questions. The entire time, Apollo didn't react much - he let out a few big yawns, but otherwise stayed calm.
"He's very young," The doctor spoke, "and definitely has fleas. I'm going to suggest keeping him here overnight so we can give him a bath and get the fleas off without using chemicals, so we don't hurt him. If you were just planning on dropping him off, we can leave the costs to his owner, if he or she comes forward; otherwise, you can make sure your home is prepared to foster and potentially adopt this little one."
I looked towards William. "Who will he stay with?" I whispered.
"Well," William grinned, "I'd hate to split custody but my landlord doesn't allow any pets. At all. Not even fish."
I glared again for a moment at the idea of Apollo being our child. "I'll call and talk to Max. I never even asked about pets, I totally didn't expect this."
I stepped out of the room and left William to talk to the doctor, dialing Max's number onto my phone. "Nicole!" He answered cheerily. "Locked out again?"
I let out an exaggarated "ha, ha, ha," of laughter. "I am not. I actually have a really serious question about the house."
"What's going on?" I could hear the concern in his voice.
"Can I have pets? Like, specifically, a kitten." Quickly, I explained the entire situation to him.
He was silent for a minute. Oh no. "My only concern is that basically all of the not-carpeted rooms were just put down really recently. If you can keep the damage to a minimum, it should be fine; if not, it might come out of your pocket."
"That's fine," I grinned. "If I need to I'll invest in some cute rugs. It won't be an issue."
Quickly, he explained he'd have to send me an amendment to our rental contract that I'd have to sign, so I didn't go back on my word later, if the floors did get damaged. After a few small pleasantries we ended the call.
I rushed back into the exam room. "He'll stay at my house!" I shouted, instantly pursing my lips, embarrassed by my sudden lack of volume control.
William grinned at me, as did the doctor. "We'll give you a call tomorrow to update on Apollo's condition, alright?" In response, I nodded. "We'll get the fleas off of him, and I'm sure he'll be back to 100 percent. When he's here we'll watch for signs of anything else. Worms, for example."
"Thank you so much," I grinned. I leaned down to look at my sleeping baby kitten. "Bye-bye, Apollo. I'll see you tomorrow," I whispered to him. He opened his eyes and blinked at me for a moment before letting out another creaky meow.
---
"Thank you so much for driving me everywhere," I grinned at William as he finally parked his car in front of his house. Together, we carried in everything I considered essential for the new addition to my home - one rug for every room with a wood floor, a bag of kitten food, a few cans of soft cat food, litter box and litter, toys, and a large, carpeted cat tower that had to be assembled.
"I just can't believe we already have a kid!" William teased. "This is a big step so early in our relationship."
I cringed at the word. Relationship. Ugh. That's not what we have. Right?
"He's my cat, Beckett," I teased. I stuck my tongue out at him. Because, ya know, I'm five.
William gasped. "I chauffeur you all over the city and you refuse me parental rights?"
"I found the kitten. He's staying at my house. I am responsible for him. Mine."
William pursed his lips. "Fine," He finally spoke, "under one condition."
I held back a sigh. "What?"
He didn't speak for a moment, but draped his arms over my shoulders. Why can I not resist this boy? "Come to a show with me tomorrow." He smirked. "One extra date. That's my condition."
I bit my lip, but couldn't hold back a small smile. "Alright. But this is the last one. You're building a house on a fault line. There's gonna be an earthquake, and I'll let you down."