trouble | i.g

twenty six - "hypothetical questions"

Bella's POV

"Ian." I said into the receiver, balancing the phone against my shoulder. "Can I ask you a hypothetical question?"

There was some muted movement from his end, followed by a drawn out yawn. "Oh, sweetheart. Please tell me this is a good hypothetical question that you decided to wake me up for."

I glanced at the clock on the stove. "It's one in the afternoon."

"Your point? I always sleep with my phone on, just in case you call."

I ignored the warmth curling around my stomach as I imagined him still lying in bed, red copper hair mussed and eyes crinkled. Bare chested, clad in only boxers and ready to hear from me. I suddenly realized that I had stayed silent too long. "Okay, well, let's say that hypothetically, I saw a hypothetical stray cat on the street. Should I bring it inside? Hypothetically."

"No." He deadpanned instantly.

I was taken aback by the bluntness of his answer. "But why no-"

"Don't bring in any stray animals, Bella. They bite and have all sorts of diseases. I don't want you to come at me with a foaming mouth when I try to kiss you."

"Kinky, eh?" I tried to joke, but didn't even receive a pity laugh.

I sucked in my bottom lip, glancing over my shoulder at the massive cat curled up in the middle of the sofa. I had just finished up running when I noticed him meandering along the sidewalk in front of my house this morning. He may of been the fattest cat ever created in the animal kingdom, basically just a circle of orange and white fur on stump legs. I had led him inside using old bread crust and he now sat licking his paws and staring at me.

"Okay." I said with overly forced enthusiasm. "You're right. What was I thinking, bye."

"Don't hang up the phone." Ian demanded, clearly not buying it. I had let the issue go too quickly, not putting up a fight. "Oh god, please tell me you did not bring a stray animal into the house."

"Would you look at that." I mused, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. "The newspaper says that it might rain later today. That'll be good for the grass."

"Bella."

"Because we've had quite a drought lately. Real rough on my mom's tulips."

"I'm coming over." He said, before hanging up the phone. I listened to the empty dial tone for a moment and looking back at the cat. Panic ensued as I tried to formulate a plan to hide it before he came over. Given the fact that Ian took speed limits as more of a suggestion than an actual law, I didn't doubt that he'd be over rather quickly.

Ian had been in a- to put it kindly- hostile mood lately. After our sort of sleepover at my house (the night where he took my virginity forever), Ian found a men's watch at my bedside. I didn't recognize nor understand why it was there, but anyone can understand why it seemed weird. Did somebody break into my room and leave it there? Or did a friend of my mom accidentally drop it off? The conspiracy theories were purely endless.

*FLASHBACK*

"A guy who leaves a nice watch is going to want to come back to get the nice watch." Ian had grumbled, watching me turn the timepiece over in my hands. "And geeze, they'll find a cute little girl asleep in her bed. And what'll they do? Something they shouldn't."

"Little girl?" I said, sliding the watch on and turning my wrist to model it, watching as moonlight glinted off the shiny surface.

Ian tried to slip it off my hand. "Take that off."