“Hi! I am calling to see if there were any recent calls for a missingg cat? The reason I ask is because I have a stray who showed up at my house this morning, ” Lianne spoke through her cellphone, and the receptionist at the animal shelter quickly replied, “I'm sorry miss but no one has inquired about any missing cats, and before you ask, I'm afraid we are full at the moment...”

Oh Damn, double triple damn!

“Are you sure you don't have anywhere for him to go, a foster home maybe?” She was desperate, the little prick would probably purr at her failure to get rid of him.

“I'm truly sorry miss, I can give you a call if we free up though?”

“Yeah that sounds good, thank you anyway, ” Lianne said defeatedly, before hanging up with a heavy sigh.

A whole precious lunch break practically gone, and all because of that menace, she'd called all the shelters and their answers were all the same.

She flopped on the only armchair in the break room, and looked around as her coworker walked in and poured himself some coffee, before giving her a pout “ Come now, don't be sad ”

"I'm not sad, I'm furious" Lianne answered truthfully as the blonde-haired man took a seat on one of the couches in the corner, he was not unattractive but Lianne couldn't seem to see him in any romantic way, no matter how nice a guy he was.

"What's got you so mad Lia?" 

"Well, this stray cat invaded my home..." she said with a frown, as she slumped deeply into her chair.

Grey's lips twitched as he tried not to laugh "That sounds serious, should I go over and vanquish this mortal enemy of yours?" He said with complete seriousness, which earned him an eye-roll.

“ I get it's not a huge deal, but it's just a nuisance. ”

“Yea, I'm just teasing you is all ”

"Well, my breaks officially over so I gotta run–"

"Lia wait," Grey stood and walked over to her already standing form "You need to stop taking all these shifts, and don't tell me you're fine, you look like you haven't had a proper rest in months... I'm worried about you. "

Lianne grimaced, how do you kindly tell a dear friend to mind their own business, she needed to pay off her student loans, and besides, it's not like anyone was waiting at home. No one was missing her or waiting to offer her warm hug, or a simple “how was your day? ”.

Aloe maybe, but no one else, so why shouldn't she take all the shifts she could take? But instead of saying anything, she simply smiled "You're right Grey, I do need to stop, thank you for caring enough to notice how sleep deprived I am." she laughed at the end, trying to lighten the mood a bit, because Grey was now looking down at her with a little, sad, smile.

"Anytime Lia," Grey answered before pulling her into a hug before pushing her back to look her in the eyes "Actually sleep for eight hours this time, okay? Remember, we need to take care of ourselves in order to care for others ”

Lianne nodded—he was right, as always—before quickly, and a bit guilty, walked out of the break room, knowing full well she wasn't going to stop taking extra shifts.

____________________________________

Later that day Lianne lay sprawled on the couch covered in a fluffy blankets, watching Netflix and eating ice cream while Aloe snuggled next to her, the black cat sat on the armrest, with a look of pure contentment plastured on his arrogant cat face.

Lianne was undoubtedly sad, and she really wasn't watching the TV, and before she even knew it she was silently eating her ice cream while tears streamed down her cheeks. Her 20th birthday was tomorrow and there was no one to celebrate with her, this would be her first birthday without her mom. 

Her mother had died only a few months back and Grey was right, she was working far too much, because she didn't want to give herself time to think because every time she did, she'd end up crying like right now.

Lianne put the ice cream aside as she brought her knees to her chest, and let the sobs rock through her body.

Her mom was truly gone, her only living family now gone, and she was left alone in this world at nineteen. Lianne was a nurse but she couldn't do anything to save her mother from cancer, instead, she had watched it drain the life away from her mama, till she was no longer filled with life and vibrancy, till she had withered into a frail, broken, woman.

She was in so much pain in those last few moments, and Lianne had never felt so useless. She missed her so much, every day, like a constant emptiness that followed her everywhere. A meow broke through her thoughts as Aloe pawed at her gently, and Lianne scooped her up and cradled her as she sobbed softly now, at least she still had Aloe. The black cat only sat stiffly on the couch, watching almost sadly before leaping down and walking away, as though giving her privacy.

Lianne fell asleep shortly after, eyes red and puffy from crying. 

Lianne dreamt of strong arms cradling her, of a man's voice whispering to her softly, and brushing his thumb over her cheeks as he dried her tears, and stroked her hair. She never wanted to wake, in this dream, she felt safe. She felt cared for, and sheltered in the arms of this dream man, as he gently soothed the ache in her heart...

When Lianne woke she was in her bed, causing her to bolt upright. She hadn't gone up to the bed, she had fallen asleep on the couch...right? Maybe she was tired, maybe she was overdoing it, thankfully it was Monday, the only day she had off.

She was a mess after all, even now she wanted to cry, she supposed it came with never grieving properly, but then again, she wasn't really sure she'd accepted her mother was truly gone till last night. Sure she'd purchased this apartment with the little money they had left— after paying for all the medical bills— but it had all been like a dream to Lianne. Like any minute she would wake up and suddenly she would be back home, in the little cottage they used to own. Her mama would be swinging in the porch swing, telling her how proud she was of Lianne for graduating medical school at barely nineteen.

But no, instead she had woken up to a sun-filled room with the black cat staring at her intently, as she struggled not to cry, the cat seemed almost curious.

“Did you run little Aloe out? ” she accused, but it sounded more like a sob and the cat tilted it's head to the side, watching her as if to say “do you expect me to talk back? ”

“Now that you're officially part of this sinking ship, I should probably give you a name, ” Lianne said while slumping deeply onto the bed, she had to give him a cool name because he was incredibly smart. After having returned home yesterday she'd found him wondering the apartment...he'd somehow opened the bedroom door.

"I think I'll go with Killian, since you're liable to kill me in my sleep ” she grumbled as she closed her eyes, when she opened them she nearly yelped as she found the cat directly above her face, just staring at her curiously and almost sadly.

"You're an asshole," she glared at Killian, only to have him opened his mouth in what could only be the cat version of a smile, but with those pointy canines, it looked demonic, and instantly Lianne felt a shudder go down her spine.

The spawn of satan, that one.

She quickly slipped out of bed— thoroughly creeped out—but as she ran down the steps, she turned around in time to see Killian sprinting behind her.

And she didn't know why, but it sent her heart thundering, it was her birthday and this cat was probably going to eat her.