I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 33: Repercussions

There was silence on the ride back to the city. Matteo joined Tye in the front seat, looking as intimidating as ever while Alisha calmly sat next to me, scowling.

I leaned against her after a few minutes and she immediately started petting my hair, turning to stare out the window as she did so.

I tried not to feel stressed but there was still a faster pace to my heart beat and a bit of sickness in my stomach even with all of Alisha’s soothing affection.

There was a very real possibility Sergei was about to die. I didn't know how seriously fifteen thousand dollars was handled but it was a lot of money to me. Half a year's salary at a semi-decent job. I didn't know why Sergei would have someone else steal it for him, or what he wanted it for but it didn't matter. He had stolen from Alisha and you didn't need to grow up in this life to know that was a good way to get yourself killed.

Tye pulled the car to a stop on the usual street corner and I separated myself from Alisha.

“You can wait here, Kitten,” Alisha told me.

She looked up at Matteo and some order was given through gaze alone.

It was not Matteo that got out of the car with her, but Tye.

I tried to sit still but kept feeling the need to fidget as they disappeared into the bodegas back door. Time went by so slowly. I glanced at the clock to find one minute had gone by, and then two minutes. Matteo continued resting a stoic gaze across the street, simply watching. Three minutes went by and I stretched my legs out in an attempt to get my body to stop fidgeting.

After four, Alisha returned with Tye behind her, the missing box braced against his chest as he walked.

I sighed, relieved and she opened the door to climb back in.

She was less angry than when she left, and things had been quick so Sergei must not have put up any fight. Whether he was dead or not, I didn't know. But Alisha didn’t smell of blood or gun smoke, and Tye was similarly clean, though I wasn't close enough to smell him. He usually looked unhappy when the dirty work had to be done though and there was no trace of that.

Tye put the box in the trunk and then got back in the driver's seat, setting off to our next destination.

Alisha gently urged me closer with a hand on my shoulder and I willingly leaned against her, resting my head on her as she resumed her pets from earlier.

“How are you feeling?” she asked. “Are you still sick?”

I shook my head. “I'm better.”

“I'm glad.” She pulled her phone out and opened ‘Andy’s’ message log to text him that she had his missing box and was going to drop it off in a moment.

He replied with a very simple ‘TY.’

I supposed the less context the better for legal reasons.

He was waiting outside the back door of his diner when we pulled in and Alisha once again got out. This time Matteo was the one to accompany her and carried that very valuable box with them through the back door. Andy was gushing words happily at her and she finally put a hand out to stop him, saying something rather sternly.

He went quiet and nodded as the door shut behind them. I didn't understand what Alisha had a problem with, but it could be as simple as wanting him to shut up. After the day she’d had, it wouldn't surprise me terribly. Every day she had to interact with Sergei seemed to prickle her the wrong way. It had to be worse when he was actively doing something to piss her off.

They returned very quickly after, Alisha looking even more relieved now as she got in the car and Tye turned the vehicle around.

I leaned against her, and her immediate affection felt so good.

It was unusual, but Tye dropped us off at the house, passing something he pulled from the glove compartment to Alisha, and then he and Matteo both drove off in the SUV leaving Alisha and I alone.

I looked after them, then glanced back at Alisha unlocking the door.

“It needs to go to the shop to get tuned up and cleaned,” she explained. Between her and Tye I was starting to feel like an open book. “He’ll drop Matteo off as well and get back here in a bit.”

She opened the door and held it for me.

“Next thing’s next,” she said and came in behind me. “Let's take a look at that footage.”

The thing Tye handed her was a tiny memory card, the kind used for cameras and she went into the office room in the back of the house and returned with a laptop braced against her.

I sat with her at the dining table, happy to simply exist in her space for now.

I leaned against her, wrapping an arm around hers whenever she wasn't actively using it and simply watched. The footage was surprisingly good quality. As soon as that gray car appeared, shortly after Tye made that turn off the private road, she paused and zoomed in. The image was fuzzy for a moment and then reloaded clearly revealing the driver. I felt my face pale. 

“Is that your father?” Alisha asked.

“Yes,” I said. It was also Sophia’s car, which made me more angry than I would expect.

“They're quite persistent,” Alisha said and gently shut the laptop before turning to me and pulling me closer.

“I’m so sorry,” I told her. “There was a reason I left that household. They had no concept of boundaries… among other things.”

I tried to cuddle up against her but the way the chairs and table were arranged didn't make it easy. Either my chair would slowly slide away from her or the table would keep me sitting on her lap or any number of other frustrating little things trying to keep us apart.

I sighed after a fruitless attempt to just lean my weight against her and she finally pushed her chair back and presented her lap to me.

I got up to sit on it, straddling her so I could see her face. She was very amused by this and put her hands on either side of my face, fingers sinking into my hair where they could.

“You're very sweet,” she told me.

“I just want to comfort you,” I explained. “And that's hard to do on a dining chair.”

She smoothed my hair back with a smile 

“Was today difficult?” I asked her.

“Mm, some of it,” she said. She pulled me closer and her face was suddenly buried against my neck, breathing in my scent.

I closed my eyes as her breath was warm against my bare skin.

“I didn't mean for you to have to witness that,” she said softly. “I know I said it would be simple but I didn't know at the time what had been taken. Mistakes happen sometimes and even though I have to go through and find out why, it's usually just that: a mistake.”

“It’s okay. I'm glad you spared him at least.” I let my own face rest against her neck and enjoyed the gentle smell of her.

She hesitated. “I don't know if I should have,” she said. “He said that Sergei told him to but Sergei didn't even say anything to me, simply gave me the box and let us be on our way. It doesn't make sense for him to order something stolen that he knows very well would be noticed, and then act like it was just accidentally dropped on his shipment like that. But I don't know who would want to set him up either.”

“So Sergei's alive?” I asked. It was a bittersweet thought. I didn't want anyone to have to die but his existence in this world did make me uneasy.

“Yes,” she told me. “For now. He’s been very cooperative but I'm sure he'll get over it eventually and will go back to making my life a living hell. Or worse.”

“...I'm not sure he will. I mean…”

“Fear is only a temporary emotion,” she explained.

“I see.”

She ran a hand down my back. “It was nice to let you in the car, but I should separate my work and personal life.”

“Does your work let you have time to yourself at home without interruption?” I asked.

We both knew the answer to this question. I'd learned Alisha was lucky if she went more than a couple hours without someone asking her for something. Even at night, texts came in. She just ignored them unless it was a phone call.

“It's not good for you,” she said. “It's not healthy for anyone to be exposed to it.”

I pressed my face into her a little harder. “But I don't want you to be alone anymore.”

She went still.

“I know you hide it,” I said. “But I can tell you're in pain. You're tired and there's a monotony to your days that's just broken up by violence and bloodshed, and people like Sergei being incredibly inappropriate. So I don't know if I can handle everything but I still want to be there for you. I don't know if you have any idea how far you've pulled me back up but I was very lucky you found me. I want you to have someone that can help you too. Even if I am useless when it comes to pretty much anything involving your business, I can still be there for you at the end of the day. You know you can tell me anything and I won't ever repeat it. And if that's too much, that's fine too. I'll just be here and you can decide how much you want from me but know I’ll always want to help.”

I waited as her hand very slowly reached up and rested on the back of my head before making its very familiar path down all the way to my waist.

“You're so sweet,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“Everyone needs someone,” I told her. I didn't try to pull my head away, knowing if there was emotion on her face, she'd want to keep it to herself.

“You will get hurt,” she told me.

“That's life,” I said. “I'm not running away from this.”

“There’s a very good chance I’ll hurt you.” Her finger trailed against the back of my neck briefly.

“I accept that risk, too,” I said. “The same way I know you risk a lot to keep me here. But I trust you and I think you trust me, too.”

She nodded against my skin.

“Are we partners?” I asked softly.

“Yes. We're partners. I might still send you to another room sometimes.”

“I accept that,” I agreed. “And appreciate your concern for my feelings.”

We stayed sitting like that until Alisha moved and winced. I picked my head up from her shoulder.

“I do like having you here but my legs…”

I got off her and she made a face as her thighs were released.

“Sorry,” I said. “I guess I'm heavy now.”

She reached out to me to squeeze my hand. “You look healthy,” she said. “Not heavy.”

I couldn't help but blush. It was hard to think about my body as healthy. I was so used to attaching ‘bony’ or ‘lanky’ to it. She was right that my ribs no longer protruded as much and my joints didn't feel quite so cranky about moving.

Alisha’s phone rang and she reached for it just to stop. It wasn't her usual phone that was sitting on the table. She reached for her purse and pulled out the other one. They were identical, both iPears and both caseless, the backgrounds were both the defaults and the ringtones also default. But the one she pulled out now she seemed wary of. I saw the contact information as ‘Angela Takeno.’

She swiped to answer and put the phone to her ear, urging me to sit with my chair next to her again.

“Hello, Mother,” she answered coldly.