"No baby." Xiomara said. Charlie looked up at Xiomara's eyes. Her tone sounded affectionate, her words said no, her eyes reflected love but her smell... he sniffed again. Charlie could smell fear and anxiety. It was the same smell he smelt on his own mother every time they had to move homes. "You sure?" Louisa asked. "Louisa knows you're lying too." Charlie meowed.
"Very. Now why don't you go get the kitty set up in your room? I'll get everything ready here so we can go out in a bit." Xiomara said softly. "I have to leave the kitty here?" Louisa whined. "Yes Louisa. He has to stay home and learn to be by himself. Plus he might be tired and hungry so let him rest, okay?" Xiomara said before she reached out and stroked Charlie's chin. Charlie's pupils dilated. He had no idea what was gong on but he was enjoying what Xiomara was doing.
"Okay..." Louisa said as she looked up at her mother. Xiomara smiled, she moved her hand away from Charlie and placed it on Louisa's cheek. "That's my girl." Xiomara said with a big smile. Louisa backed up and turned. She walked away, trying her best to be strong but Charlie felt rain hit the top of his tiny head. "Sorry kitty, just for today... just for today I'll never leave you alone after this time." Louisa swore.
Charlie wasn't sure what the big deal was but Louisa was upset but he wasn't in the mood to ask her why. Xiomara was right, he was tired and hungry again. Louisa moved fast and set up a pile of clothes for Charlie to sleep on. "Okay kitty, you'll sleep good here." She said softly as she gently laid Charlie over top of the clothing pile.
"This is my favourite hoodie. You can use it as a blanket. You're going to be cold without your family...." Louisa said as she gingerly tucked Charlie in. "Mom says you're hungry too. I don't know what your mom gave you to get big and strong but I know what my mom would give me so I'll be right back. Don't make a sound, just get comfy and wait like a good boy." Louisa said as she petted Charlie's head.
"Sure." Charlie meowed. "Good kitty. I will be right back, just 1 minute." Louisa said as she got up and walked to her bedroom door. "1 minute kitty. Don't move." She said as she placed her hand on the door handle. She opened the door then walked out. Not 10 seconds past before she peeked back into the room. "Don't move." She instructed as she stared at Charlie.
Charlie just looked at Louisa then laid his head down. "So bossy." He meowed. "Good you understand." Louisa said before she left. Just as Charlie closed his eyes Louisa came walking back in. Charlie lazily opened his eyes and saw her scrunched up face as she carried something in. He sniffed the air and felt his mouth start to water.
"All good kids need to drink their milk." Louisa said proudly. Charlie looked at the liquid placed before him. It was a weird white colour but the smell was too tempting for him not to try. He crawled forward and sniffed the liquid some more. "Drink kitty." Louisa urged. Charlie tested the liquid with his tongue and felt a sudden rush of pleasure. He turned to the bowl and started to lap up the liquid. "Good boy." Louisa said as she stroked Charlie's back.
"I need to come up with a name for you." Louisa muttered as she stroked Charlie's back. "It's Charlie." Charlie meowed. "You have such pretty eyes too." Louisa continued to mutter. "It's Charlie." Charlie meowed again, his face covered in milk. Louisa laughed as she used her sleeve to wipe up Charlie's face. "So messy." She said with a wide grin.
"Louisa you ready yet?" Xiomara yelled. "Ya mom! I'm coming!" Louisa yelled back. "Sorry kitty. I'll give you a name when I come back." Louisa said as she dropped to her hands and leaned into Charlie's head.
Charlie heard a smacking sound and felt something on top his head. "Bye. I'll be back soon." Louisa said as she slowly backed up. Charlie just looked up from the milk bowl and stared at Louisa. "Okay bye." Louisa said again as she got up. "Be good kitty." She said before she left the room. Charlie just shook his head before he went back to his meal.
....
A loud thud sound woke Charlie up. He wasn't sure what was going on but his fur stood on end. He didn't dare look around Instead he buried himself further into the clothing pile. Once he was in the center he waited. He heard heavy footsteps approaching the room. Charlie refused to utter a sound, his eyes were shut and his ears were up and he he just waited.
The door opened with a rusted hinge sound but Charlie kept perfectly still. He remembered his mother's words. "Stay low, don't make a sound and stay calm. Survival depends on the situation so we must learn to always be quiet no matter what."
Charlie controlled his breathing as he heard rustling sounds in the room. Soon things were being flung around. Something hard landed on top of the clothing pile but Charlie held his position. "What are you hiding." He heard a familiar voice hiss. "Gerald!" Charlie thought. His instincts told him to stay away from the thing that spoke with Xiomara earlier. "I know that brat brought something back so where is it!" Gerald spat as he turned over more things.
Charlie felt that his hiding spot was about to be compromised but there was no where else to go. He then thought about the heavy object that landed on top of him. If he could find out what it was maybe he could hide in it. Charlie slowly lifted his body up and tried to see if he could climb out. There was another sound. Charlie froze. Gerald froze. "Sh*t!" Gerald cursed as he rushed towards the door.
"We're," Louisa started to shouted but was interrupted by Xiomara. "Louisa stay outside!" Xiomara shouted. Charlie laid back down and waited. He heard Gerald leave the room but felt it was too soon to move. "Xiomara!" Gerald yelled.