Twisting his key into the lock, Cole let himself into the house. Nadia's car was missing, and Cole took a quick guess that she went out with Hailey.
After nabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, Cole was making his way up the staircase and down the hall to his room. Vee's own bedroom door was closed, which has become a common sight since Carter's disappearance.
Upon entering his own room, Cole noticed Tripod curled up on his pillow, rather than his own bed in the laundry basket. "Hey, buddy." Cole said to the cat, kicking off his shoes and tossing his backpack to the side, "How was your day? Get up to much?"
The cat lifted his head at Cole's voice. By now, he had grown used to the tall, lanky, black-haired boy. When Cole reached his large hand out, the crippled cat would purr and rub his forehead against Cole's fingers.
Cole checked Tripod's food and water, then cleaned his litter box. The cat had an appointment tomorrow to have the remainder of his leg amputated. A little bit of guilt came to Cole whenever he thought of it. Nothing deserves to lose a limb.
But to live with a body part that had been mauled off, and never properly healed, couldn't be pleasant either.
The total cost of the operation would cost nearly $600 Cole had learned, and make a quick decision not to tell Nadia he had set an appointment. She couldn't know how much money he was sinking into this old cat, not until after it was already done anyhow.
Collapsing in bed, Cole ran his hand over Tripod, who purred loudly under his touch. Slowly, Cole's eyes became heavy, and harder and harder to keep open. Quietly, he closed them, and eventually he fell asleep.
×××
Voices, muffled by the wall dividing Cole and Vee's room, pried the former away from his sleep.
Cole had been resting on his stomach, but he propped himself up on his elbows and strained his ears as Vee laughed in the next room. It wasn't uncommon for a commotion just down the hall to wake Cole when Carter was still around, but she wasn't now.
In her replacement, there was a male voice. Cole's heart skipped a beat and he almost fell out of bed, scrambling for his phone in the dark. Finding the device, he ignored four unopened texts to open Nadia's contact. He called her.
While the line rang, Cole peeked into the hall towards Vee's room, though the door was still closed.
"Hello?" Nadia answered.
Cole ducked back into his room and shut his door. "Hey, uh, were you aware Vee had a boy over?"
"Fu- what? A boy?" She repeated. Cole could hear Hailey repeat the very same question in the background.
"Yeah, I think so." Cole said, "I can hear them through the wall."
"Oh, God." Nadia groaned, "Mom and Dad would kill me if Vee gets pregnant on my watch. Make her open the door, I'll talk to her when I get home."
Cole scratched the back of his neck. "Do you want me to kick the guy out?" He asked.
"No." Nadia sighed loudly, "I trust her but... God it's just so sudden. Just get the door open and keep an eye on them. Hailey and I will be home in, like, forty minutes."
"Alright," Cole agreed, "I'll take care of it. See you later."
"Later." Nadia replied before hanging up.
Cole slipped his phone in his back pocket. He caught Tripod's rusty eyes, and mouthed the words, "What the fuck?" to the feline.
He blinked slowly in response.
Cole stepped into the hall and gently tapped his knuckles against Vee's door. A moment later, he was face-to-face with his younger sister. "What's up?" She smiled.
"Uh," The teenager peered over Vee and spotted a boy her age sitting in her bed with Cole's open laptop. He waved to Cole. "Who's that?" He asked.
"That's Dylan." Vee replied, "We're making a PowerPoint presentation."
"Okay, cool." Cole said, "Just, y'know, keep your door open?"
Vee paused for a moment, a confused look on her face, before she shrugged. "Sure." She said. She left the door in it's place as she returned to her bed with Dylan, who was blushing now.
"Er- maybe we should make the next slide about laws on farming." Dylan said after clearing his throat.
Cole padded back to his own room, taking a seat on the wheeley-chair by his desk. Keeping an ear on the two in the next room, Cole whipped out his phone and began responding to previously ignored messages.
Dylan. He repeated the name.
