Præy!?

1

Man, I thought, these are some pretty flowers.

A bit biased, considering my own name is Lily. I was trying to decide what flower I could get for Liam. I felt my heart swell at the thought of him. The soft black-tipped ears, the sleek red fur, and a well-groomed trail.

Liam and I had a good relationship, sometimes sexual. We joked around often, mainly about a McDonald's happy meal he owed me during our supposed "first date."

We hooked up at a bar that we haven't been to since that day.

"Come with me and bend over," he whispered maliciously into my ear. A shiver ran down my spine. Not only was he a considerably large fox flirting with a small deer, but he was also seven years older than me. I was 21, and he was 28. Even though we were both adults, it was still taboo, especially since it was a relationship between predator and prey.

On our way to the hotel, I said, "At least buy me dinner first." He snickered as he tightened his hand around mine.

"Just imagine you had the best McDonalds in your life."

We snarked back and forth in the room, ultimately never actually doing anything because, according to him, I 'made him laugh too hard.' In the end, we exchanged numbers and had been good friends since.

Well, I wouldn't say 'friends' as we still have a very suggestive nature of our relationship, but we never dated.

Today, I decided that it was time to end the friendship chapter and begin a new romance.

The flower shop had a spring sale. Create-A-Bouquet. I created a simple and inexpensive combination of aloe, columbines, daisies, forget-me-nots, and of course, yellow lilies for the simple reason that they smelled happy.

After I paid, I carefully maneuvered out of the small shop, ensuring my antlers didn't catch on any pipes or hanging plants. As I stepped down the stairs, I felt a giddiness in my chest. A feeling that everything is going to be alright. Liam and I could move in together into a cute apartment, and I could spend my days writing my books, and he could do whatever a lawyer does.

The smile on my face was unmistakably genuine and caused passersby to smile as well. I felt like sunshine after a rainy day.

I arrived at the park where I told Liam to meet me. I breathed in the air of the greenery around me, relaxing the excitement to be calm and clear happiness. Petals drifted around me. The trees opened up their blossoms which welcomed beautifully scented breezes-- and bees, but my good mood didn't allow my fear to take over for now.

The sun on my fur seeped into my skin, warming my already fiery heart with passion. I wish I could live like this forever.

I stood by a bench with a black metal back and arms that would burn to the touch, accompanied by a splintery wooden seat. I was reluctant to sit on it as I was wearing a short brown skirt, and the bits would find their way into my thighs, but after waiting for an uncountable amount of minutes, my heels started to hurt my feet.

In the end, I succumbed to my weak feet and sat down. My leg bounced in anxiety. Why is he taking so long? I coughed into my elbow to try to relieve the mucus in the back of my throat.

More minutes passed. I impatiently check my phone every second I'm not looking at the main park entrance. I checked my messages to check that I actually confirmed my plans to go out with Liam.

Lily🦌: Hey... You wanna go to the park tmr?

Liam🦊: ye sure. what time

Lily🦌: about 12

Liam🦊: 👍

That was the conversation. It was 1:28. Thoughts started to swirl around my head. Was I too clingy? Did I do something wrong? Did he find someone else? He probably thinks I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough. I'm not good enough. I'm not--

I caught a glimpse of red fur in the corner of my eye. I quickly wiped the tears coming from my eyes and got up to run and hug him until I saw her.

A white cat.

She had a beautiful white coat that shimmered in the sun, and her brilliant dark eyes lit with amusement as Liam talked to her. I could definitely tell that she liked him. She touched his arm subtly; she laughed at every little thing she said. I looked at Liam's body language. He showed the same feelings. His body was turned towards hers, I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was making excessive eye contact. I've seen it all before in my other guy friends and even in myself.

Maybe she's just a friend, I hoped.

Deep inside of me, I knew that it wasn't that simple.

I picked up my flowers to go confront him, but I was hit by sudden strangulation. I couldn't breathe, and all I could do was just cough and gasp for air. Liam turned around and gasped.

I collapsed as my coughing worsened. Panic flew through my veins as my body desperately tried to catch some air. Liam was yelling something, but I couldn't make it out from my blood drowning my ears. I put my arms around my neck as my coughs quieted into chokes.

When my eyesight started fading, the white cat picked me up and started pushing in my stomach.

Not only was I slowly choking to death, but I was also getting punched in the stomach by the very women who won Liam over.

She let me go when I vomited.

I looked into it and saw the blood-stained petals.

I must've inhaled a flower or something.

But it couldn't be. There were more than five petals, and they were purple, unlike the yellow ones coming from the trees.

I looked around and saw a crowd had gathered around, their anxious murmurs echoing all around me. My eyes trailed all the way to Liam, who had fear in his eyes.

It wasn't the same fear of a friends wellbeing

It was the fear of being caught.

The white cat's sweet purr invaded my ears.

"Hey sweetie, are you okay?"

When I looked into her eyes, thorns gripped my throat once more. Saliva leaked out of my mouth as I prepared to throw up again before my sight faded to black.