Werecats and Werewolves chp 19

Chapter 19: Keely

I was suddenly tired after those few minutes. My eyes became harder and harder to keep open, and I couldn’t stay focused at all. Zain said something, but I barely heard what the heck he said. Then something musical rang, and for a moment I thought it was a bell, until I realized Zain was laughing.
He said something after he finished laughing that sounded like, “You can’t possibly get home in the state you’re in right now.”
At least, that’s what I hope he said. He stood up for a second, then grabbed my hands by the wrists and carefully pulled me onto my feet. I swayed, then fell against him, groaning a bit. He laughed again, and then proceeded to reached down to the back of my knees and pick me up.
I tried to struggle against it, pushing him away, unsuccessfully. “I can…walk…. I’m f-fine….yaaawn…. Don’t even…pick me up….”






Zain

Keely had fallen asleep in my arms by the time I started moving. She was lighter than I expected her to be, since her bones were more cat-like. But she was surprising enough as it was, so I should have expected it.
She moved a bit, but then settled back into her still slumber. I smiled, partly from how ironic the situation was, and from how special holding her made me feel.
Soon her house was in sight, and I walked faster, wanting to get her in her house sooner than later. But I held back a bit, not wanting to let go of her. She was the greatest thing that had ever happened to me, and I never wanted to leave her.
I walked out of the forest, and the first thing I noticed was that the car that belonged to Travis was no longer there. That sent a wonderful feeling down my spine as I walked up to her house, grinning for some unknown reason. I stepped up onto her porch, hit the doorbell with my elbow, and waited for the door to open.
It opened a few seconds later, and her mother stood there, staring at me. Her eyes darted from me to Keely, then back to me.
“Is she hurt?” Was the first question out of her mouth. She sounded extremely worried, but not frantic.
“No, Mrs. Finn, she’s just extremely tired,” I explained. “I just wanted to make sure that she got home safely. There are a lot of dangerous things in the woods.”
She eyed me carefully. “You must be Zain, the next door neighbor.”
I nodded. “She’s getting a little heavy. May I bring her in?”
Of course that was a total lie, but it worked. She opened the door wider for me to bring in Keely. I did, and she gestured towards the couch, obviously not wanting me to take her up to her room. I laid her down on the couch, and she got resituated, making a kind of mewling sound. I pretended to ignore the nervous face that her mom made.
“Thanks so much for bringing Keely home,” Her mom stated.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, smiling at her. “She was the first friend I had here, so I guess I owe her the favor.”
“Well, you’re also the first friend she’s ever had,” Her mom admitted, seeming almost ashamed to say it. “So, I should be thankful that you came around. She’s been a lot happier lately now that you’ve shown up.”
Hearing her say that made a wave of happiness and a bit of tenderness go up my spine and warmed up my entire body. “Well I’m glad to be of service.”
She laughed and gestured to the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”






Keely

I woke up on the couch, curled up in a ball and confused. I didn’t know how I got there, but then I heard laughing from the kitchen and sat up to see what was happening. But unfortunately a chair was blocking my view, so I got up and steadied myself before walking slowly over to the kitchen doorway.
Both my parents were at the table, seated across from Zain, who was smiling immensely. He caught my eye and smiled more.
“And the sleeping beauty is awake,” he said, laughing.
My parents turned around, and they smiled. “Wow, I didn’t think she’d wake up for at least another half-hour,” My mom said.
“I would have given her a whole hour,” My dad replied, laughing.
Zain scooted over on the bench and patted the spot next to him. I smiled and went to go sit down by him. “How long was I asleep?” I asked.
“An hour and a half,” My mom said. “You were pretty zonked out.”
Great, Zain got to see how I slept…. “Was I really out for that long?”
“Yeah,” Zain answered. “But you’re awake now.”
“I figured that much, smart one,” I said, laughing at him.
“So, Zain, would you like to stay for dinner with us?” My mom asked. “We’re having steak.”
“I’d love to, but I’d have to ask my parents first,” Zain replied, smiling.
After a few more exchanged words between my parents and Zain, which I zoned out during, Zain got up, shaking me out of my trance, and walked out the front door to go ask his parents if he could stay for dinner. We sat there for a few minutes in silence, waiting for him to come back with a yes or a no.
A few moments later, there was a knock at the door, and I ran over to open it. There was Zain, grinning. “I get to stay till you guys kick me out.”