₍^. .^₎⟆
2. The Visit

Over the course of a week, finding the stupid cat on my back porch every night became a part of my routine. I'd come home, curse at it a few times, and leave it outside to its own devices.

Unfortunately, as the days went on and I got used to a living, breathing creature awaiting my arrival. So on the following Friday, exactly six days after I'd even met the mangy cat, I felt a sense of disbelief when it wasn't there. I peered around the bushes, glanced across the yard, even clicked my tongue a few times to see if it would come running. It had vanished.

I wasn't disappointed per se. I didn't particularly like the cat, nor did I want it to live in my backyard rent-free. I just felt a bit . . . hollow. Like everyone else besides my mom and sister, the cat had left me, too.

Without dwelling on the disappearance, I went about my night. Took a shower, swallowed down a few beers, watched the newest episode of a show I'd taken to, and got some reading done for my Organic Chemistry course. My sister called just as I was settling down in bed and I huffed at the interruption.

"What?" I answered simply.

"You're so rude," Avani scolded, sounding more childlike than ever when she tried to take upon Mom's tone. "I hope you don't answer the phone like that when your girlfriend calls."

I rolled my eyes and waited for her to get on with whatever reason she had for calling. My sister and I were about as close as we could be with a six-year age gap. She was a pistol, had been since she was born, and rarely didn't get her way. Especially when it came to our father. Mom often joked that she was spoiled rotten so I could remain ripe for the picking, which I think meant that it was up to me to supply her grandchildren one day. God knows if Avani would ever find someone to put up with her for that long.

When she realized I wasn't going to respond, she kept talking. "Do you have plans tomorrow night?"

"Work," I replied.

"I just got to the city. I'm staying with a friend tonight, but tomorrow night I'm coming over to yours."

I pinched the bridge of the nose. The sound of her voice was literally giving me a headache. I loved my sister, but she sounded like two cats at each other's throats. Just at the thought of cats, I glanced at my bedroom window that faced the backyard for only a second before responding. "Why?"

Avani released an animalistic groan. "I don't need a reason to want to hang out with my brother, Ishaan. I'm expecting you to make me dinner, by the way," she snapped. I rolled my eyes again. "M'kay, that's it. Goodnight."

She hung up before I could return her half-ass farewell. I didn't have any groceries, which meant I'd have to stop between class and work. It truly didn't matter if Avani was an hour away or in my neighborhood; she was a thorn in my side everywhere she went. As long as she didn't know that I was actually happy to have her come over any time she wanted, we would keep our sibling rivalry exactly where it belongs.

₍^. .^₎⟆

Originally, Avani said she was going to meet me at my job and drive back to my place after. Then, change of my plans, she had something to do so she'd just go straight to my house and wait for me to get there. Sure enough, because nothing that came out of my sister's mouth was reliable information, she was not there when I got home.

I hurled my backpack over my shoulder and padded across the flat-dirt I called a driveway. The gate was ajar again and I narrowed my eyes, wondering if this meant someone was messing around in my backyard for the second time in a week. There was also the possibility that I just didn't latch it properly on my way out, but I tended to be a little meticulous about things like that.

To my surprise, the stupid cat was sitting atop the railing of my steps. "You're back," I greeted monotonously. Its eyes followed me as I neared, still taking heedful steps out of mistrust. Surprisingly, I kept going. "What were you up to last night?"

The cat—I didn't have to name it if it wasn't my cat, right?—let out a small meow when I got to the bottom of the steps. I paused, waiting to see if it was going to move before I got to my door. Just as I expected, it jumped down from the railing to greet me at the top of the stairs. However, when it landed, it stumbled a bit before catching itself from taking a fall.

"What the hell?" I said. "I thought cats always land on their feet."

I swear, the stupid cat looked at me like I had said something ridiculous. Adjusting the strap of my backpack, I clicked my tongue as it started licking its paw tediously and tenderly.

Having had enough, I began to ascend the steps and readied my foot to nudge it out of the way. "That's enough," I started, but it moved on its own accord this time. My eyes followed the skinny cat as it attempted to climb down the first stair, but again, it seemed to trip over itself. I then realized it was limping. "Are you hurt?"

I started to bend down to look closer, but then the gate to my left swung open, slamming back onto the fence with a smack. "Who are you talking to?" Avani practically yelled into the quiet of my backyard. I returned to my full height with a scowl. "Oh my gosh, a cat!"

"It thinks it lives here," I muttered. "By the way, shut up."

She stuck her tongue out at me and scampered over. I was surprised that the stupid cat didn't take off at the sound of Avani's shrieking. Instead, it lingered near my feet, almost cowering behind me. "What's his name?" my sister asked.

"Hell if I know," I shrugged. "And how do you know it's a boy cat?"

This time, she shrugged. "I don't. He just looks like a boy," Avani said, dropping to her knees in front of the cat. I couldn't believe she was brave enough to let it near her face, as obsessed with herself as she was. "C'mere, little cutie stinker baby."

I, for one, would not be referring to the stupid cat as 'little cutie stinker baby,' nor any other name. He was not and never would be my cat. Avani reached out a tepid hand, palm facing up, and the cat craned his neck to give her a sniff. He looked wary, similar to how I must have looked when he first appeared on my porch, but as soon as he deemed Avani less of a threat than he'd originally thought, he began to purr.

She swooned when he nudged his little head into her hand. Then it was over. Both of them were putty in each other's hands, one eager to accept the affection the other had plenty to go around. I fell back on the middle step, just watching them interact. The cat sauntered over when he realized I was closer to his eye level and began to rub its body along my leg.

"You're going to make it think I want it here," I glared at Avani.

She frowned, running her fingers over his back smoothly. "Look at him, Shaan. He's skin and bones. I think you should take him inside," she said with what sounded like genuine concern in her voice. I glanced at the cat, and I swear on my mother he looked back at me to say, Well? "Or at least feed him something."

"No. If I feed him, he'll keep coming back. I'm sure he gets food from someone else in the neighborhood."

I wasn't exactly sure about that. My neighbors weren't notoriously friendly from what I'd gathered. I wouldn't put it past them to be just as prickly as I was when it came to a stray animal on the loose. The guy next door once accused me of purposely leading raccoons to his garbage can and then threatened to 'shoot me after shooting those furry assholes.' I highly doubted that guy was leaving a bowl of kibble out for this stupid cat.

"You're heartless," Avani scoffed. She gave the cat one more stroke over his back before she pushed herself off the ground. "I don't know how your girlfriend puts up with you. What's her name again?"

I followed suit and stood up, dusting off the back of my pants with one hand while steadying myself on the railing with the other. "No girlfriend, no name," was all I said as I turned around and pulled out my keys.

Avani was hot on my heels. "What? You told me you were dating someone, like, two weeks ago."

This wasn't a conversation I wanted to have with anyone, especially not my little sister. I wasn't a private person, I just didn't feel the need to spill every detail of something as fickle as my dating life. It seemingly never lasted long, so to get my sister's hopes up about me meeting someone was unnecessary. I'd tell her about it when there was something worth telling.

"I'm making sabzi and chicken biryani," I said over my shoulder. Since it was her favorite meal that Mom made, she ooh'd wistfully. "Don't let the stupid cat in."

She mumbled to herself—likely cursing my name in her made-up language—before whispering a sweet goodbye to the cat and closed the door between them. I wondered if he had a home somewhere and if he was lost. Maybe someone was looking for him. He had a pretty coat, one that a rich lady might pay good money for, but he looked like he'd been unkempt for a while. Either way, it wasn't my problem. If Avani liked him so much, she could take him back to Mom's—and we both knew how that would turn out.

Avani sat at the table with her feet propped up on the chair across from her and caught me up on her college life while I cooked. I knew her friends by name and sexual history since she didn't mind spilling the tea, as she would put it, about people I'd likely never meet. I was a sucker for drama as long as it didn't involve me, so I listened attentively with my back turned. Avani knew this about me and gladly told me everyone's business but her own.

"And you?" I asked.

"What about me?"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

I glanced towards her and found her cheeks rosy. "Yeah, right. Like I'd tell you if I did," she tutted. She was lying. I chuckled to myself, but didn't push the subject. Clearly she didn't want me to know about her love life, the hypocrite she was.

Once dinner was finished, served, and then sitting at the waistline of our pants, I sat back in satisfaction. Avani seemed to enjoy it despite my cooking skills lacking considerably compared to Mom's. She scraped a little more onto her plate and just as I was about to make some offhand comment about her pigging out, she stood up from the table.

"If you're not going to feed the poor kitty, I will."

With that, she brought the plate to the back door. I couldn't see, but I could hear her pss-pss-pss-ing and calling out that ridiculous pet name. I didn't want the stupid cat to starve, but I was serious when I said I didn't want it lingering around my yard. I had enough trouble feeding myself half the time, I didn't need a feral cat giving me puppy-dog eyes—kitty-cat eyes?—every time I got home.

Avani looked disappointed, but came back empty handed. "I left it out there for him. He'll be expecting breakfast tomorrow."