To Love a Stray

Chapter 15

Micah’s story:

I lay on my side propped up on my elbow as I watch Rosy sleeping. She dozed off several times only to wake with a start as she reached out blindly or cried out in fear. Doc gave her an injection to prevent nausea and after she managed to drink nearly an entire litre bottle of sports drink, to help re-hydrate her, she allowed him to give her two tablets to help her sleep. It is nearly 3am and I have woken and have to watch Rosy to reassure myself she is really here.

"I bet it feels good to be holding your woman again," Steven says from just behind me.

"I almost can’t believe she really is here," I admit quietly.

"I couldn’t believe it when she walked into the room after her shower and she was still pregnant. Those strays must have known," Malcolm says whisper soft.

"Do you think she really told Donovan she’s going to kill the baby?" Justin asks softly sounding distressed.

"Don’t worry, I’ll be working on that first," Doc says from the lounge. He had declined a mattress on the floor saying his scent close to Rosy may unsettle her.

"Maybe Donovan was confused?" Sam says hopefully.

"Well he was hardly coherent when he started talking about what happened while they were held captive other than repeating it was horrible and they kept trying to get him away from Rosy so they could kill him," Doc says quietly.

"You can be sure that tom Terry had more on his mind than just killing Donovan. We’ve had to put a few young strays out of their misery after he’d got hold of them." Steven says.

"What do you mean?" Justin asks uneasily.

"Rape, mauling, even started eating them while he was in cat form and they were still alive," Dwayne says his voice thick with disgust.

"I said Rosy would look after him," Jazzy mutters. "But no one listened to me,"

"Shhh," I breathe quietly as Rosy stirs slightly and begins to whimper in her sleep. I rub her upper arm gently for a few minutes and the worried frown I can see on her face in the glow from the kitchen light eases as the soft sounds stop. Her eyelashes flutter for a few moments before she opens her eyes. She inhales deeply and slowly turns her head to look over her shoulder at me.

"You okay? Do you need anything?" I ask quietly.

"I need to go to the toilet," Rosy murmurs pushing herself up into a sitting position.

I get to my feet and reach down to help her stand, she hesitates a moment before taking my hands and getting to her feet. I take hold of her uninjured arm and guide her towards the door as she wobbles unsteadily on her feet. When we reach the far end of the sunroom she slips through the door of the toilet and shuts it behind her. I move away several steps to give her some semblance of privacy and wait for her to emerge. When she heads into the bathroom she shuts that door behind herself as well and I watch it for several minutes as only silence comes from the room.

"You okay? Do you want to go back now?" I ask softly.

"I’ll be out in a few minutes," Rosy answers.

"That’s fine, just take your time." I call back. I hesitate for a moment; I know Rosy wants some privacy so I head back to the lounge room alone.

　

Rosy’s story:

I look at the dim reflexion of myself in the mirror and grimace before I wash my face with cold water. I hate that they know what type of stray touched me. I hate they will know if they don’t already know exactly what happened as soon as they have a proper chance to talk to Donovan. I hate that Donovan saw what happened to me. I hate that the chances for Micah to experience watching my stomach grow was stolen. I hate he missed feeling the first butterfly like kicks of the baby. Most of all I hate that I am being treated like I am so delicate that I might break at the wrong word or the slightest touch.