"Andy! Chloe! Dinner's ready!" I heard Ashley yell from downstairs.

Chloe and I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"Hey kittens" Ashley says.

"Hi Ash! What's for dinner??" Chloe asks as she grabs my hand and drags me to the table to sit down.

"I made pasta. That sound good?" Ashley says.

"YAASSS" Chloe yells. Damn this girl gets excited a lot. I'm gonna go deaf here I swear to god.

Ashley gave Chloe and I each a plate of pasta as well as a glass of milk. We all sat at the table and ate our food while Chloe and Ashley talked. I wish I could talk to them, but I don't know if I can trust them fully yet. I'm starting to trust Chloe more and I might talk to her soon, but I don't know about Ashley yet. Only because I haven't spent much time with him yet. I've mostly been in my room with Chloe. She seems really sweet so far and we actually have a lot in common besides the fact that we're both nekos.

After dinner, I picked up my plate and glass from the table and went to go put them in the sink. While I was walking to the sink, I accidentally dropped my plate and the glass and they both shattered on the floor. I meowed nervously and looked up at Chloe and Ashley.

"Be careful Andy! I don't want you to get hurt on the glass!" Chloe said while walking over to me.

Ashley pushes Chloe back and told her not to go by the glass in a strict tone. I got scared and thought he would be mad and hit me for breaking two things, so I jumped over the shattered glass and ran up the stairs to my room. I shut my door and flopped down  and curled up on my bed. I pulled a blanket over me and hid my face in my pillow and started screaming and sobbing hysterically. I felt like I couldn't breathe and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. Fuck. Another goddamn panic attack. A bad one too. Part of me wants Chloe to come hold me, but the other part of me doesn't want her to see me like this- weak and broken. My thoughts are interrupted by my door opening.

"Andy? Are you okay sweetie?" A soft voice asked me.

It was Chloe, but her voice sounded soft. Not as loud and overly excited as it usually is. I didn't answer her; one because I don't have my notebook with me and two because I still don't know if I can trust her with my voice and even if I could talk, I'm crying way too hard to be able to speak. I felt the bed sink down next to me and someone start rubbing my back soothingly. I knew it was Chloe because of how gentle she is with me.

"Andy, honey, no one here is going to hurt you. Ever. I know you're scared that Ash is gonna hurt you, but I promise he won't. I've done so many dumb things here and he hasn't hurt me once, even though I kinda deserved it a few times. He is too kind and loving to ever hurt you. I promise you you're safe here. You have nothing to be afraid of. Ash and I will always protect you. Never hurt you." She said softly while still rubbing my back.

I came out from under my blanket and threw my arms around her, burying my face in her shoulder and crying into her. She hugged me back tightly and whispered things to try to calm me down. She ran her fingers through my hair and petted me between my ears with one hand and continued rubbing my back with her other. After a while I started to calm down. A few minutes after I had calmed down, Ashley came in my room. Chloe and I pulled away from each other and she wiped the tears off my face with her sleeve.

"Andy? You okay?" He asked softly as he kneeled down in front of Chloe and I. I shook my head and sniffled.

Chloe put her arm around and started rubbing my back again and whispered "it's okay" quietly to me. She also handed me my notebook and pen. I gave her a confused look since I forgot where I left it and she said that I left it downstairs and she grabbed it before she came in. I opened the notebook and wrote "I'm sorry" in it before showing it to Ashley.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong."   He said, looking confused. I wrote my response in the notebook and showed it to Ashley.

"But I broke a plate and a glass. My old owner would hit me and curse at me if I broke anything."

I felt tears form in my eyes again, and turned to hide my face in Chloe's side. I started crying quietly and she wrapped her arms around me, holding me close to her.

"Aw Andy, don't  cry. I would never even think about hurting you. It was an accident. You didn't mean to break anything. And even if you would have broke it on purpose, I would never hit you or hurt you. I love you too much to ever hurt you. I know I've only had you for a day, but I already love you more than you'll ever know." He said.

I moved away from Chloe and wiped my eyes and sniffled a few times. Chloe still kept her arm around me as a way of keeping me calm.

"You love me?" I wrote back.

"Yes! God Andy, I love you so so so much. Just the thought of anyone ever hurting someone as sweet, kind, and adorable as you rips my heart out. I love you so much and I'll do whatever I can to make you feel loved." He said as he looked me directly in my eyes.

His eyes were filled with kindness, worry, and love. He must actually love me. I can see it in his eyes.

"No one's ever told me that before." I wrote.

"I mean it Andy. How could anyone not love you? God you deserve all the love in the world, and I'm gonna make sure I give it to you." He said as tears filled his eyes.

Wow. He does mean it. If he's actually crying because he loves me, that means he means it, right? I think so. If he really loves me as much as he says he does, maybe I can trust him enough to talk to him. Chloe too. She's sat here holding me and comforting me the whole time Ashley was talking to me. That means she loves me too, right? I think. I decided I'm going to try and talk to them now. I took a deep breath and spoke for the first time in 4 years.

"I love you too Ashy."

My voice sounded really raspy and quite. I can't tell if it's from how much I cried today or because I haven't used it in so long. Probably both.

I looked up at Ashley and he had the biggest smile on his face. I looked over at Chloe and she also was smiling and looked like she was trying not to cry.

"Ya? You love me too?" Ashley asked. His voice sounded quiet and like he was also trying not to cry.

"Yes. I love you Ashy. And I love you Chloe." I said.

My throat hurts now, probably because I haven't talked in so long, but it's worth it. Ashley and Chloe look so happy that I talked to them. Ashley was full on crying now and smiling even bigger than he was earlier. Chloe was crying too and pulled me into another hug.

"I love you too Andy. So so much. I'm never gonna let anyone hurt you ever again."  She said as she hugged me tighter.

"Can I give you a hug too, Andy?" Ashley asked after Chloe and I pulled away.

I nodded and threw my arms around him. He hugged me back and petted me between my ears, making me purr.

"You're so adorable, you know that?" He said as he kissed the tip of my nose, making me smile and blush.

"And I like that nickname you gave me. Ashy. It sounds so sweet and innocent. Like you." He said as he petted my ears again, causing me to purr.

"I'm glad you like it Ashy." I said. My voice sounded a little better, but my throat still hurts.

"Come on, how about some water for your voice?" He said as he stood up and held his hand out to me. I nodded and grabbed his hand. I held my other hand out to Chloe and she grabbed it. The three of us made our way downstairs and Ashy filled a plastic cup with water and handed it to me.

"Thank you." I whispered as I drank my water. After I finished drinking, I put my cup in the sink.

"Feel better now?" Chloe asked.

"Ya. A lot actually." I said. My voice sounded almost normal now and my throat doesn't hurt anymore.

"Good. How about we go watch something?" Ashy says.

"Okay! Andy? What do you want to watch?" Chloe says excitedly. I love her, but she's gonna make me go deaf."

"Chloe, I love you, but I'm gonna go deaf from all your screaming." I said as I laughed. Chloe fake pouted.

"Okay okay I'll lover my voice." She said as she rolled her eyes. "But you still didn't answer me. What do you want to watch?"

"Batman!" I yelled.

"Whose the one yelling now?" Chloe said as she stuck her tongue out.

"Oh shut up" I said as I pet her ears, making her purr and meow.

"Okay enough you two! Let's go watch Batman." Ashley says as he starts walking into the living room.

Chloe and I followed him and the three of us sat on the couch. I sat between Ashy and Chloe. Ashley put a Batman movie on and the three of us cuddled up in the couch. For the first time in my entire life, I feel safe and loved. I'm happy. I've never known what happiness felt like, but now I do. This is happiness. I'm so happy that I finally have a family who loves me and I love them. I know I'm gonna be really happy here.