Finding The Write Words

Chapter Six

The labrador puppy tugged at her leash with all her strength. She didn't have much strength to her, but Patton jogged along behind her, wanting her to get as much exercise as possible. The cold air burned in his lungs, and his calves ached, but she wasn't giving up any time soon.

Patton walked her around the block a few times, singing softly to himself as he did so, walking until he was sure that she was tired out. It was his favorite part by far of working at the animal shelter: walking the dogs. Sure, there was a lot about the job that he liked, but this was by far his favorite.

When he brought the puppy back to the shelter, he nearly ran right into a man who looked about his age who stood in the lobby holding a black cat in his arms. The man wore a black hoodie and ripped black skinny jeans, his black hair overgrown and hanging in front of his face. Patton gave him a warm smile, wondering where the front-desk worker, Clara, was.

"I'll be right with you, sir. Just let me put Goldie in her kennel."

He disappeared into the back and, after putting the puppy in her kennel, he went back to the lobby area. The man jumped at the sound of the door swinging open and shut, his eyes growing wide, and Patton felt his heart clench at the sight of it. He hadn't meant to frighten the poor man.

"How can I help you?"

"I, uh..." His voice cracked as if he hadn't spoken in days, and he cleared his throat before trying again. "I found this cat on the street, and I didn't want to leave her out there in this heat."

"Oh!" Patton perked up, grinning. "I can take her off your hands, unless you want to just keep her."

"Well, I thought maybe she belonged to someone?"

"Unfortunately in this area, there's a lot of strays. The people in this neighborhood are good about keeping collars on their cats if they let them outside. Since this little lady doesn't have a collar on, I think it's safe to assume she's just another stray." He reached over the counter and pet the cat, scratching the side of her neck right below her ear. She purred and leaned her head against his hand.

He would have to take allergy pills later, but it was worth it to feel that purr. He usually had to take allergy pills before and after work anyways, considering how often he had to go into the cat room.

"I don't know if I should keep her... probably not... uh... not a good idea..." The man was hesitant in his words, and Patton soon noticed that he seemed unnerved with him being so close to him. Patton stopped touching the cat and backed up a little bit.

"You don't have to," he chimed, giving the man a smile with all the warmth he could muster. He felt partly to blame for the fact that he was so unnerved and anxious. He had made him wait, and he had invaded his personal space. But the more logical side of him knew that he was being ridiculous. Some people just had anxiety, and that wasn't his fault. He would just have to be respectful of the man's space. "I can take her from you if you want. I'll just have to get you to fill out some paperwork because you brought her in. Kind of strange, if you ask me, but the higher-ups need it." He shrugged, giving him an apologetic expression.

The man hesitated, and Patton saw his jaw move in a way that told him he was chewing the insdie of his cheek. Ro had said something about how he did that when he was nervous. For a second, Patton wondered if this was Ro - he had moved to town today, after all, and he knew where he worked. But no... Ro was allergic to cats, and this man didn't fit what Patton assumed Ro looked like.

On the other hand, Patton didn't know what Ro looked like. Ro could very well be this emo anxious boy in front of him. But he doubted it.

"How long is the paperwork gonna take?"

"Oh, not long at all." He grabbed a folder from underneath the desk and took out one of the papers from inside. "If you want to just go ahead and fill out this page here, I can take the little kit back to our vet to be checked out."

He grabbed the paper from Patton and held the kitten in his left arm, hugging her against his body, and grabbed a pen from the desk. Patton reached for the kitten and the man paused, the pen right above the paper. He handed the kitten to Patton and set to work on the paper.

"Do you mind my asking why you didn't want her?" Patton asked gently, petting the kitten with one finger under her chin. "She seems to like you."

"I'm allergic," he mumbled in response, not looking up from the page. He seemed set on finishing the paperwork and getting out of there as soon as possible.

But Patton was somewhat thankful that he didn't look up so he didn't see his smile at his words. Was this Ro? Only one way to find out.

"One of my soulmates, Ro, is the same way."

The man froze for a fraction of a second, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly. If Patton hadn't been staring right at him, watching his face for any recognition, he wouldn't have seen it. The man scribbled in his name and signature at the bottom of the page and spun around, walking out like the earth would swallow him up if he stayed in there one second longer.

Patton's brows pulled together, and he stared after him for a moment before he turned the paper around to look at the information he had written. His name was Virgil Sinclair. It fit him, somehow.

With a shrug, Patton slipped the page into the filing cabinet and turned to the kitten. "Let's get you to the doctor. I think I'm gonna call you Luna. What do you say, Luna?"

The kitten mewed and Patton smiled at her, ignoring the watering in his eyes and the scratchiness that was already arising in his nose, telling him of an incoming sneeze.

When he got off of work, Patton made his way to his apartment. He had been living on his own for only a couple days, his parents telling him that if he didn't want to move out, they were going to charge him rent. It was nice, truth be told. The other tenants in the complex were kind, and he had been able to save up enough before moving out to get some nice furniture. It was just a little empty.

Entirely too quiet.

Patton hated the silence.

It was in the silence that he was devoured by the sadness that he fought off with his entire being.

It was like being plunged into an ice bath, chilling him to the bone and numbing every part of him.

He turned on the television. An old episode of Parks and Rec that he had seen a million times was playing, but it was certainly better than nothing. It was better than the silence. Shrugging off his coat, he walked into the bathroom and grabbed the allergy pills from the cupboard.

He took two of them and stared at the medications in his cupboard. He had a plethora of pill bottles for his migraines, and as he stared at them, he couldn't help but wonder... What it would feel like.

To just down a bottle of pills and end it all.

To stop the sadness and the pain.

To stop the cold.

Patton reached for one of the bottles, feeling his heart clench in his chest, and he caught a glance at his arm. At the writing of the soulmates he had come to care about so much.

They would miss him.

His parents would miss him.

His soulmates would be ruined.

He couldn't put them through that.

He closed the medicine cabinet and as he did so, another message came in from his soulmates. Red ink. Ro.

"I'm all unpacked. Do you want to meet today, Pat, or do you want to wait until next week for Lo?"

"You two don't have to wait for me," Lo replied in his beautiful consise writing.

"Tonight, then?"

Patton nodded, and as he remembered that they couldn't see him, he smiled slightly and grabbed the blue gel pen he kept in his pocket. "Meet me at Fairy Ville in an hour."