Burdens [Furry BxB]

Chapter 114 - Seeking Help

Roger had been hiding his face, hoping no one could see his reaction. Luckily for him, most of the other customers were paying more attention to their own group of friends than to him, and those that did turn over to look were much more interested in his friend.

Hunter wanted to do something, anything, to help ease the fox's pain. He did not want to embarrass him, though, so he kept it to non-physical means. He gave him gentle eyes and warm smiles, though his tail betrayed his real feelings: it stayed still and low. He was truly worried for what would happen.

Greg had taken to texting a colleague of his. He could not talk over the phone since he could not hear the other end, so texting had to suffice, and his coworkers knew that. He had gotten very proficient at it, as his thumb was nearly a blur as it moved back and forth across the screen of his phone. It buzzed in response every so often, to which he responded very quickly.

"What are you doing?" the fox asked in a weak voice. His voice did not really need to travel very far, since it would not really be picked up by the lion.

It took a moment, but the lion set his phone down and said, "Trying to see if I can get you some help. My company has some connections; we might be able to find a good doctor that will see you at an affordable price. You should be under your parents' insurance, so hopefully, it'll cover most of it. It will still be expensive, though. These kinds of things are very delicate."

The fox stared at the table. He had not considered the price of the operation, having learned that he even needed one just moments before. Somewhere, deep down, he still hoped that it was just a flu, but he knew it was not. He knew, and did not want to believe it, but he knew.

"Let's stop the texting back and forth, okay? I'm not as fast as you are," said a stranger. "You sent me a million text messages in the time it took me to send one."

The three stared at a black cat that had been standing next to their table. Roger had not seen him there before. Had he always been there? It was impossible. Maybe he had been nearby and through the stress he simply did not notice him. Maybe the lion really had brought friends. Suddenly, the situation seemed very fishy.

The black cat was wearing a formal business suit, very sleek and dark to match his fur. His eyes were a vibrant purple, and they looked exceedingly bored with the situation. He looked at the fox and wolf, then at the lion. "This is them?"

Greg nodded. "The one with his head on the table is Roger. The situation is pretty bad. If you could-"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. You owe me for this." The black cat pulled out his phone and began to flip through his contacts. He picked one and dialed it.

The fox and wolf had been staring at him the entire time until Greg drew their attention. "He's going to go find someone. He shouldn't be long."

Roger looked back at the cat, but he was no longer there. Confused, he looked around the room, but there was no sign of him. He simply vanished. He asked, "Hunter, did you see where that guy went?"

The wolf shook his head, just as confused. They looked at the lion for answers, but before he could give any, a voice spoke up.

"Alright. I got someone. Dr. Cyril. He owed me a favor anyway, and now you owe me that favor, Greg. This is a non-work related expense, so it's coming out of your paycheck," the cat said. He had been standing behind the fox.

The wolf nearly fell out of his chair when he heard and saw him. Roger was paralyzed from the surprise.

"What, never seen a cat before?" the cat said with a smirk. He was clearly amused.

"You guys pay me enough anyway," the lion said. "Thanks, Max. I really appreciate this."

"It's fine. I'll get that favor sooner or later. Just stop texting me, my phone feels like it's going to blow up," he said. He looked at the fox and wolf who were staring at him. He then gave a mischievous smile, and he was gone.

Roger rubbed his eyes and then looked around. It was like a dream or an illusion. Had they just imagined it? Or maybe just him. It was so brief, and there was no way someone could just disappear like that.

"Max has most of it taken care of. I'll take care of transportation. Just need to send a few messages out. You should tell your parents. They need to know," the lion said, confirming that the cat has really been there. He then took his phone and started rapidly sending out messages.

"Wait, no. First of all, who was that guy, and how does he keep popping up and disappearing?" Roger asked.

Greg moved his phone to one paw and was typing with only that paw, the other on the table. He looked at the fox and explained, "That's Max. I guess you could say he's my supervisor, but we don't really have those in the company. Just a boss, but Max has been around as long as the boss has."

"Okay, fine, but how does he keep disappearing and stuff?" Roger urged.

"Oh. I'm not really sure, actually," the lion said, his paw still moving rapidly across the phone's screen. "He's just always done that, so I never really thought about it being abnormal. I guess it is kind of strange."

Roger did not accept that answer, but he knew he would not get anything different. He pulled out his phone and hesitated. He could try to call his parents, but he knew they were busy and would not answer. Instead, he could just text them. What would he even say?

He wrote out a few words, and then erased them. Too casual. He wrote down a few more, but it was too serious. It was a serious situation, but it was not a business transaction. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to him.

The pounding in his head slowly returned, and with it, his new fear of it. It meant a lot more now that he knew what it might be. Each pulse was like the tick of a clock. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, and he held his head in one paw, staring at this phone in the other.

Hunter gave a soft whine that only the other two at the table could hear. Roger gave him a sad look. The wolf returned with an extremely concerned, almost pleading gaze.

Greg grabbed Roger's phone from his paw. There was a cry of protest, but the lion said, "It's fine if you can't think of anything. I'll write it out for you."

He returned the phone to the fox after barely a few seconds. Roger looked at the screen, the message had already been sent. It was a wall of text. How did he even do that? "If you can type that fast, how come it takes you so long to respond to me?" he asked the lion.

"Sometimes I'm in a meeting, so I have to wait for a dry moment to look at my phone," he explained. He set his phone down and gave a soft smile.

Roger read the message to himself. "To Roger's parents: My name is Dr. Gregory Hardy. I have taken the liberty of using your son's phone to contact you as this is an emergency situation. Your son was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and is being admitted to the St. Felicity hospital. The address will follow this message. He will be seen by my colleague, Dr. Cyril. You have my word that he will have the best care. Please contact the hospital at your earliest convenience. Consultation fees have been waived in lieu of the severity of the situation."

That was quite a bit of text in such a short time. Below that message was the hospital's address and number. He looked up at the lion and said, "I didn't know you were a doctor."

The lion chuckled. "I'm not. It just seems a bit more authentic than just some random guy sending it, though, right? Anyway, the ambulance should be here any moment. I texted for it a few minutes ago."

Roger slumped down in his seat. He could hear sirens far down the road. It would be not even a minute before they arrived.

This was the worst Saturday he had ever encountered.