No More What Ifs (DreamNotFound)

5. Cloudy Skies

I woke up with George still wrapped tightly in my arms. I don't remember falling asleep, but judging by the orange light coming through my blinds, we slept for probably about an hour or two. A quiet meow sounded from my doorway, causing me to turn my head over to see Patches.

"Hey, baby," I whispered as she approached. She crouched down and tried to jump onto my bed, but failed.

I smiled softly, reaching out an arm to scoop her up. She's a little over 5 pounds, meaning she's really easy to pick up with one hand. I brought her up to me and let her wander about the bed, choosing where she wants to sit. She settled on laying next to George's resting arms.

I was ready to grab my phone and take a picture when another meow could be heard behind me. I figured that it was George's cat, who must have followed Patches upstairs. Now that I think about it, I don't remember leaving the door open. Maybe I didn't close it fully and the cats nudged it, or maybe my dad was just wondering where we were and forgot to close it. Regardless, I scooped up the tabby cat and let him also choose where to sit. He never really settled, though, stepping all over our skulls, arms, and chests a little uncomfortably.

All the movement woke up George, who stretched an arm upwards before settling it on Patches's head. George's cat must have felt left out because he stopped on my stomach and looked at me expectantly. I obliged, letting go of George to give him scritches.

"Morning, Clay," George said. "The cats wake you up too?"

"Nah, I've been awake for a little while. I had to pick them up."

"Ah. I was wondering how they got on the bed."

"Yeah."

"Won't there be cat hair though? I never really let my cat on my bed."

"Eh, Patches likes my bed. I just use one of those roller things and wash my sheets like twice a week."

"Ohhh." He changed his petting on said Patches, who purred happily.

I pulled out my phone, checking the time. "Anyway, as much as I love these guys, we should probably go down. We'll be having dinner soon."

"Mmm, 5 more minutes."

I giggled, kissing his neck softly. "I don't make the schedules, Gogy."

"Fine," he mumbled, sitting up. I did so too, picking up George's cat and gently carrying him away. Patches hopped down from the bed and followed me, hurrying George to roll out of bed and rush over to me and the cats.

We went downstairs to see my dad, who seemed a little stressed as he looked over his phone. When he saw us, though, he quickly smiled and put his phone away.

"Hey, guys," he waved. "How'd you sleep?"

I shrugged. "Pretty well. What's wrong?"

"It's..." He bit his lip hesitantly. "Nothing you need to worry about. Promise."

He's normally really open to me, so I knew what it was about just by his hesitation. "If it's about Mom, I can handle it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

He sighed. "Well, to be blunt, she's run her life into the ground. Not that I feel bad for her. But she knows that you're 18 now and is trying to get back into our house at the cost of you getting kicked out."

"The fuck!?" George shouted.

"Don't worry. I have no intentions of letting her do so."

"Why is she even trying?" I wondered aloud.