Never Again

Chapter 11

Cath awoke a few mornings later to the sound of the doorbell ringing, followed by loud knocking on the front door. She sat up, calling for her father to get the door. When she heard no response, she groaned; he must've already gone to station. She detangled herself from her sheets, and hopped out of bed, managing not to trip over herself and faceplant. Then she stumbled down the hall and to the front door, opening it without a second thought.

It wasn't until the door was open and she saw Cora, Kozik, and Happy that she realized what day it was. "Shit," she groaned. It was Cora's moving day.

The trio studied Cath from the entryway; Kozik and Cora's faces read of shock and confusion, while Happy looked amused, smirking at the sight of her. She looked disheveled, wearing an oversized sweater over pajama shorts with half of her hair still tied up in a bun. She certainly looked like the train wreck that she was often made out to be.

"You got pants on?" Happy wondered smugly.

"Yeah," she answered, lifting her sweater up slightly to reveal the shorts underneath. "You really think I'd answer the door without pants?"

"With you, who knows?" Cora remarked, to which Cath rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, very funny." She gestured for the three to come into the house. "Just hang out while I go change, okay?"

Cora nodded as Cath sauntered away. "Don't take too long though! We need to be on the road soon!" she called after her.

"I'll try my best!" she yelled back. Her response didn't make Cora feel very assured though; Cath was someone who loved to wear makeup. Despite being a bit of a mess and not caring much about dressing up, she never left the house without her face done-up.

Cora stood in the center of the living room, tapping her foot as Kozik leaned against the wall; meanwhile, Happy plopped down on the couch, making himself right at home. "I can't believe she forgot about today," Cora marveled, looking to Kozik. "She's spent the past few years hounding me to come back, and when I finally decide to, she acts like it's nothing."

Kozik smirked, offering a shrug. "Guess she's just not a morning person."

"Guess not."

The two looked at one another, chuckling for a moment before Happy spoke up, interrupting them. "We got a plan?" he asked gruffly.

Cora turned to him, briefly averting her gaze from Kozik. "Yeah," she began, "we'll hit the road as soon as Cath is ready; we should aim to make as few stops as possible." He nodded, to which she added, "It might be kind of late by the time we get to Tacoma, so we'll probably have to wait until morning to start moving stuff into the truck. You guys can just crash at my place if that ends up being the case."

"Works for me," he replied non-chalantly. Cora glanced back at Kozik who returned the nod, agreeing with his brother.

Just as they finished going over the plan, Cath reemerged from her room, her makeup done and hair fixed, no longer in a ratty bun. She wore a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Cora couldn't help but be a little impressed at how quickly Cath was able to clean herself up.

As soon as she appeared, Happy stood up, following after Kozik and Cora as they left the house. Cath was the last one to leave, locking the door behind her and heading to the truck with the others.

When they reached the truck, Kozik volunteered to drive, and Happy called shotgun, leaving Cath and Cora to the backseat. They all got in, buckling up, getting ready for a long drive, though Cora could already tell that it was going to be better than her trip with Happy. Even just thinking about her twelve hour motorcycle ride with him made her shudder; motorcycles just weren't her thing.