Entry #12050104001305

Four And A Half Housemates

"Dinner should be ready in about an hour," Jessica informed Jay as she entered her small kitchen, beginning to gather items from the fridge. After Jay had picked her up from work, the two had stopped by Tim's house to leave a note in his car with Jessica's address and then had headed back to her house. Though it was clear Jessica had had a hard day at work, she still happily began to prepare dinner.

"Jessica, you don't have to do that," Jay insisted.

"What else would we eat?" Jessica joked as she added water to a pot and turned to set it on the stove, turning on the eye of the stove so it could heat up.

"At least let me help," Jay said. He hated feeling useless though he felt like that was all he ever was nowadays.

It took a little more persuasion, but eventually the two were helping each other prepare dinner. As Jay added the pan of garlic bread to the oven, he found himself worrying about Tim again. Beside the fact that he was injured, he should have been back by now. What could he possibly be doing? Not to mention the fact that Hoodie was missing as well, though the man seemed to come and go as he pleased, so his absence wasn't much of a surprise.

When the dinner was finally ready, Jay helped to scoop some of the pasta onto two plates before carrying the plates into the small dining room and setting them on the table, Jessica following with the silverware and napkins.

As the two took a seat, Jessica called out loudly, "Adam, dinner!"

Jay sat in surprised silence, waiting for the third member of their party. He hadn't known Jessica had a housemate, boyfriend, whatever. He had thought she lived alone and Jay wasn't sure how to feel about the new information. On the one hand, having someone else around to protect Jessica was wonderful; on the other hand, it only meant Jay was dragging yet another person into his personal hell.

From the entryway, a black cat suddenly appeared, lazily pausing in the entrance to the kitchen before stretching out and yawning.

Adam was a cat.

Well, that was good news. At least now Jay wasn't dragging someone else down on his sinking shipping. Two people were enough.

"You don't have allergies, do you?" Jessica suddenly asked, noticing the way Jay stared at Adam.

"No," Jay quickly replied, "I just didn't know you had a cat."

Jessica happily laughed as she began spearing some thick noodles with her fork. "Yeah, I've had Adam for about five years now."

"Wait, you were gone for, what, two days?" Jay asked. "Wouldn't he have been hungry during that time?"

"I keep his bowl full all the time," Jessica replied, bringing the fork to her mouth. "He eats when he's hungry."

"Huh," Jay replied as he began eating as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Adam sitting beside him, staring at him lazily with his caramel-orange eyes. After a few minutes, it was becoming annoying.

"What?" Jay asked, finally addressing the cat. "What do you want?"

"He's just sitting there," Jessica nearly laughed. "I don't think he wants anything except to annoy you."

Jay glared at the feline before trying to ignore it, focusing on his meal.

That proved to be difficult. By the time Jessica and Jay were clearing the table and washing the dishes, Jay thought he was going to have a heart attack. Jessica's cat had stared at him the entire time he ate and as they both stood at the sink washing the dishes by hand, Adam had taken it upon himself to rub against Jay's legs, a deep, rumbling purr making his entire body vibrate gently.

"Why is he so intent on annoying me?" Jay asked, glancing down from his task to the cat rubbing against his legs.

"He likes you," Jessica replied, smiling fondly at Adam who decided to sit between Jay's feet. "Wouldn't hurt to be friendly."

Jay supposed that was true. With the dishes washed and set to the side to dry, Jay decided he would give the small animal a chance.

"Can I pick him up?" Jay asked before watching Jessica bend down and scoop up the black furball, handing him over to Jay. Adam squirmed for a moment in Jay's arms before becoming comfortable and completely pliant.

"I guess I should show you where you'll be staying, huh?" Jessica suggested. Without waiting for an answer, she exited the kitchen, heading down the hall. Jay followed close behind as they passed her room and the bathroom, coming to a spare bedroom at the end of the hall. Jessica opened the door for him and allowed Jay to enter first.

The room was a decent size and a queen sized bed rested against the right wall, a desk and dresser against the opposite wall. In the far left corner of the room, a thin strip of windows ran across the top of the room, allowing light to flood in while also preventing others to look in. Jay found a certain comfort in that, though he wasn't sure why. Hoodie was on his side now, so he didn't have to fear the man peaking in through the windows. Perhaps what he feared wasn't Hoodie, but someone else. Someone with a gun...

"I like the colour," Jay complimented for lack of anything else to say. Adam shifted slightly in his arms before yawning. From behind them, Jessica chuckled.

"When I moved in, there was hideous wooden panelling everywhere. It took a while, but I remodeled most of the house."

Three of the walls in the bedroom were white, the fourth wall at the head of the bed being yellow. It was a nice change after the drab, musty hotels Jay had stayed in and the - admittedly - depressing atmosphere of Tim's house.

"Well it's nice," Jay said, taking a last look around the room before turning to Jessica. "I think I'm gonna get my stuff from the car."

"Alright," Jessica said, stepping to the side so Jay had room to leave. "You can take Adam with you. He probably needs to go outside anyway."

Jay stepped into the hall, cat in arms, and headed into the living room and out the front door. As he awkwardly maneuvered to close the door, Adam jumped to the ground, beginning to roam around the yard. Door firmly closed behind him, Jay approached his car, popping the trunk and fishing out his duffel bag of clothes and other necessities and his laptop bag. Straps over his shoulders and bags gently bumping his hips, Jay surveyed the yard; Jessica's cat was nowhere to be found, so Jay headed back inside alone.

Back in his new bedroom, Jay set his bags on the floor beside the dresser, not bothering to unpack his stuff yet. After all, this was just another temporary living arrangement; sooner or later he'd be leaving again. From past the hall, he could hear Jessica shuffling around before turning on the television in the living room. Something about it was so normal, so human, that Jay found himself relaxing just a little. It was easy to picture himself back in college, spending the weekend at a friend's house, watching TV and... And...

No, he wasn't in college and he wasn't hanging out with his friends for the weekend. He was homeless and his boyfriend - who had a broken leg, mind you - was missing.

With his small fantasy shattered, Jay let out a sigh, closing the bedroom door. He figured Jessica wouldn't mind if he took a nap. Well, it was a little late for a nap. Perhaps "going to bed early" was the correct statement.

Lights turned off, the room was still bathed in the light that flooded through the thin windows along the top of the corner of the room. Jay pondered for a moment whether or not he should close the curtains and ultimately decided to. Though he knew it was unlikely, he didn't want to take the chance; he almost always felt like he was being watched, so why not? At the very least, it wouldn't hurt anything.

Small curtains closed, Jay kicked off his shoes, undid his belt, and shimmied his pants from his hips. The piece of clothing hit the floor with a quiet noise and Jay stepped out of the article of clothing before flopping down diagonally across the mattress, his feet hanging over the edge. Dressed in his shirt, boxers, and a pair of socks, Jay closed his eyes.

It was nearly an hour before he managed to sleep and just before he drifted off, he couldn't keep himself from wondering why he was always so tired.