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The few days it took for us to get back to Barton, Nyx was really quiet which was unlike her. Every time I asked her if anything was wrong, she just said that everything that had happened to Meili was still just weighing on her. I knew she had seen the worst part of it, especially since she had to stitch him up. Still, I wasn’t entirely sure if she was telling me the truth. Qiao seemed to follow her around a lot more than normal too. It was really odd, but I let it be.
Once we were back in Barton, she seemed to cheer up a bit. At least for that I was grateful. I didn’t like seeing her moping around anymore than she liked the same from me. We had arrived so late at night that we practically wanted to fall asleep on the rug in the living room instead of making it to our rooms. I had no clue how we actually managed it to our beds but we did. We had already decided to push off the shopping another day since there was no way either of us would really be up to doing anything to next day.

We ended up spending most of that day unpacking and making sure everything as in order. The only shopping we did was for groceries since we had forgotten that we clear out the pantry and fridge before we leave since know it will be a while before we return. After one time where we forget, we well learned the importance of not leaving anything that could expire in the pantry or fridge. We had to hire someone in order to clean that mess. After unpacking things we ended up heading to bed early because we still felt a bit too tired.

When we actually began to head into the main part of Barton, I was starting to get a little nervous. Nyx knew that I had a bit of a thing for Louie and it was his day for working at H & R Wesley. Word had been spreading that Edmund had actually been out of town for a while and left Louie to look after the shop. It made me a little more nervous than normal. It was the last store we were going to since it was the part that neither “You know, why don’t you just head in by yourself? I mean, you really don’t need me here,” I said, hoping for once that she might actually let me not go in with me. The look Nyx gave me dashed my hopes. “You know I don’t like formal clothing much, so often I don’t know what I actually look good in. Besides, I know exactly what I need to get. It will be quick.”

I sighed and agreed, though some part inside told me there was more to why she needed me with her. It was probably a better idea to go in. When we walked into the store, I looked immediately at the cash register to find thankfully that Louie wasn’t behind it. Instead, I actually almost managed to bump into him. “I’m sorry,” I muttered softly as I moved to quickly catch up with Nyx. She had turned to see it, and for the first time since we got back, I felt like I had actually seen a genuine smile on her face, though I would rather it not have been for the reasons it was, but it was still good to see.

She turned around and began to gather the things she had obviously known she could find here. Then again, H & R Wesley was the best place to go for any kind of formal clothing. “Why do you need these clothes again?” I asked as I began to browse though I knew I had everything that I needed as far as formal clothes went. “I am going to meet with a publisher or two to see if they want to publish my book. Plus, I have a few people I need that might want to hire me to write for them. Even for a writer, they don’t like seeing my tattoos. At least, not on the first impression,” Nyx replied as she pulled a few more things.

It seemed she got most of what she needed as she headed to the dressing room. I followed after her. I was glad that I didn’t have to grab something to try in to go in with her because sometimes it got annoying. I sat on a stool and waited for her to come out to show me what she was in. Surprisingly, not many people were actually in the store at the moment, and even fewer in the dressing room. After seeing a few things and helping her get exactly what she was looking for, which was basically anything that covered her tattoo sleeve and her paw print tattoo, she put back what she didn’t want and headed to the cashier.

This time, Louie was there and I had to try to keep my eyes adverted from him. I went into my own bit of a happy place to keep myself from blushing or staring at Louie. Once we were outside the store, Nyx burst out laughing. I gave her a weird look, until she finally began to explain. “You know, we have been in that store countless times and you always act the same. I mean, I know you have a crush on Louie and all, but I would think after you being around him enough it might fade, just a little.” I rolled my eyes. “Well, that might work, if I actually talked to him,” I muttered. “Good, then next time, you’re the one talking to him instead of me.”
I should have seen that coming, but I was a little too flustered and distracted to really catch it. I was looking through the windows of the store as we passed by, watching Louie since I felt it was the best way to avoid awkward eye contact. “Well, we better hurry back. It’s best to get that bell collar we got for Qiao on her soon. We don’t want her managing to escape again, somehow,” Nyx said as a small silence had fallen. The walk back wasn’t that long and it was nice since the two of us managed to maintain a conversation the entire time. It seemed Nyx was getting back to being herself a bit more, which I was glad to see.

Walking into the house, I was surprised not to hear Qiao scratching at the bottom of my bedroom door like she always did when she was in there too long. Nyx followed in after me and left the door open since we both believed that Qiao was safely stuck somewhere that she couldn’t get out. After setting my bags down, I walked carefully to my room, fully prepared to pick Qiao if she tried to dart out of the room and to the open door. I slowly eased the door open and looked immediately at my feet… and no Qiao. I looked around my room and couldn’t see her either. “Nyx, Qiao isn’t in my room…” I said hesitantly. “I’ll close the door then.” I went to the bag and grabbed the collar for Qiao and just as Nyx began was closing the door, I heard her.

I turned and saw her in the hallway, running towards the door. “No! Qiao!” Nyx must have noticed too because I saw her head to grab. “No, close the door!” I ran after her and Nyx didn’t make it out in time to close the door. “Crap,” I muttered as I ran straight out the door and towards Qiao. Nyx followed after, though she closed the door to the house first. It was starting to get dark and if I did not keep my eyes on Qiao she was going to get lost fast. It was the last thing I wanted for the little kitten. I ran after her and could hear Nyx behind me, which was bad enough for her. I could hear her staggering a little as she was still recovering from some of the injuries she had sustained when she had been jumped. “Wait at the house, in case she circles back,” I yelled towards Nyx, while I continued after the cat. The immediate slow in her footsteps told me she had listened.

It was a good thing Nyx and I had decided it was good thing to keep in shape otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep up with Qiao. “How does something so small, have so much energy?” I sighed as I ended up getting closer and closer to the richer district in Barton. Soon I was running on the streets where most of the better off and better known of Gaia lived. “Where is this cat heading?” I thought out loud when Qiao suddenly made turn into the lawn of one of the houses. “Qiao! No!” I yelled and was glad that the big gate for the house was open, which I had not expected. As I ran up the driveway, I saw Qiao ahead of me, and jump into the house through an open window. “Why?” I muttered exasperated with the actions of my cat.

I slowed down with the hope that Qiao would be so interested in the house that she would not decide to leave it. As I walked up to the door, I caught my breath. I hoped that whoever owned the house would not mind all too much about me asking them to come in. I was just glad I managed to hold onto the collar for Qiao. I knocked on the door as I began to look at the house a bit more. Something about it seemed a bit too familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere. I was happy when I heard the footsteps follow. I waited a little patiently when suddenly the door opened.
I looked up to see who I was going to open the door, opening my mouth to speak, only find myself suddenly frozen. The reason that I had recognized the house was because I had seen it in the papers; it was Edmund’s and the person currently residing with him… Louie, who was now standing right in front of me. He gave me a strange look and I just shyly laughed my frozen look off. “Sorry, I really don’t mean to disturb you, but it seems my cat just jumped through your open window,” I said a little bit more awkwardly than I had intended. As if on cue, I could hear Qiao purring somewhere from inside. “Do you mind if I come in and get her?” I asked as Qiao continued.

“Not at all,” Louie said with a soft smile and opened the door to let me come in. I walked in and was stunned just at being inside of the mansion. Edmund must have had good taste, but I reasoned that Louie must have had some say about what had been put up in there as well. “Qiao,” I cooed softly as I moved towards where I had heard her meow. I tried not to pay attention to the fact that Louie was probably following behind me. “Would you like some help?” he asked as I continued to look. “Please. She’s a small Siamese kitten.”

He nodded and left towards somewhere that I wasn’t quite sure of, but I left him to go as I continued to look for her. I was glad that Nyx and I couldn’t afford a place this big because losing Qiao would be so much easier. I would have to close off certain areas and pray that she didn’t somehow manage to get in there any way. “I think I found her,” I heard Louie call. I moved towards his voice and managed to get into the kitchen where Qiao was lapping up some milk from a small pan. I smiled and was glad that he had thought of it when I hadn’t.

“The day she gets as far from home as she can is the same day I finally get the bell with the collar so it will be easier to keep track of her,” I said as I bent down and managed to put the bell collar around her neck. “How long have you had her?” Louie asked as he watched her lap up the milk happily. “I’ve had her a little more than a couple of weeks.” The fact that I was actually managing to talk to him surprised me and I would have loved to see Nyx’s reaction if she saw me actually talking to me. “You always come in with another girl to the store, don’t you?” he asked. I nodded, “Yeah. We live together. She’s my best friend.” Louie nodded and seemed to take that into account a little.

As Qiao finished the last of the milk, I just smiled and bent down to pick her up. “I should probably get back to her before she worries that something happened to me,” I said as I begin to pet Qiao. “That would be a good idea. It is getting darker, you should stay out too long,” he said as he began to lead me out from the kitchen and back to the front door. When we finally stood there, I looked back at him. “Well, thanks for helping my find my cat, Louie.” “It was nothing. I never caught your name by the way,” he said with a smile. I laughed a little nervously, “It’s Annabelle.” He nodded and looked down at Qiao. He pet her head softly for a second. “Well, Annabelle, it was nice to meet you and Qiao. I hope the collar helps,” he added. “I can only hope,” I said as I prayed that my nervousness didn’t show.

“Well, have a good night Louie,” I said as I began to turn away. “Good night, Annabelle.” I walked down and began to breathe easier. I couldn’t believe everything that had just happened. Once I made it past the gate and out of his sight, hopefully, I began to move a bit faster since it was so dark that I couldn’t help but notice how fast it was getting darker. I thought about how I was going to convince Nyx of all that had just happened. I figured I could worry about it more later. As I walked, I lifted Qiao and looked at her. “You know, if I didn’t know any better, I would say that you had planned this or something,” I said as I gave a tiny bit of an intense look at my little kitten. Qiao just licked my nose and had what seemed like a smile on her lips. It was really kind of suspicious. I walked the rest of the way and began to try and figure how to tell this all to Nyx as I unlocked the door to the house and walked in.