Charlie’s POV
“Charlie! Wake up!” Nora demanded as she sat on the edge of my bed.
My eyes fluttered awake as I groaned.
“Can I get five more minutes? Jeez!” I mumbled as I rolled over and planted my face into my pillow.
“No!” She shoved me. “Mom’s making breakfast and she said to get your ass up!”
There was nothing more annoying then getting woken up when you’d rather remain asleep.
I rolled back over and sighed. “Fine!”
Nora stood from my bed and headed back downstairs, leaving me to my thoughts.
Last night came rushing back to me.
It wasn’t a dream. Ace Caldwell actually kissed me, for real.
Our lips collided, and the sensation of his cold hands clasping my face had sent chills through my body.
The hairs on my arm stood up just thinking about it.
A smile forced it’s way onto my face as I dragged my legs over the edge of my bed and planted them on the carpeted floor.
The smell of crispy bacon wafted into my bedroom from downstairs. God I loved bacon in the morning.
I stood from my bed and followed the scent of bacon downstairs.
“Good morning, son.” Mom greeted me as I slid into my regular seat at the table.
She was finishing cooking the bacon whilst Dad was seated at the head of the table with his laptop in front of him. Probably playing solitaire.
“Is there any coffee?” I asked.
“No, your father drank the last of it.” Mom explained. “Didn’t even bother saving me a sip.”
Nora and I both let out a chuckle.
“Did you see that it was snowing?” Mom asked me.
“Yeah, i saw.” I stated, still thinking about last night.
“Don’t be dragging snow inside this time.” Dad warned Nora and I with a low growl.
Mom placed a plate of freshly cooked rashers of bacon and scrambled eggs in front of me. “Thanks mom.” I said before digging in.
“You’re welcome. Now, hurry up and eat, we’ve got a lot of shopping to do for Christmas dinner and what-not.”
I bit into a piece of bacon. “This is so good.” I complimented.
I tore of a piece of my bacon and turned in my chair. Cinnamon usually lingers around the kitchen in the mornings, especially one days when bacon is being served.
“Cinnamon?” I called.
I pushed myself out of my chair and checked to see if he was hiding beneath the table.
“Where’s cinnamon?” I asked everyone.
Nora just shrugged.
“Did you check your room?” Mom asked.
I quickly rushed upstairs to find him.
His bed in the corner of my bedroom was empty. “Cinnamon?” I called out.
I hunched down to check beneath my bed, hoping that maybe he was sleeping under there again.
I was starting to panic.
“Cinnamon?” I called out again.
I turned around and began searching the other bedrooms. I should have brought a sliver of bacon to lure him out.
After searching the other bedrooms and the upstairs bathroom, I rushed back downstairs in a panic.
“Have any of you seen Cinnamon?!” I full on shouted.
“Calm down, Charlie. He’s got to be around here somewhere.” Dad said.
“Did anyone let him outside?” I asked.
They all just shrugged.
I was mildly panicking.
“When did you see him last?” Mom asked me.
“Uh… yesterday?” I couldn’t honestly remember.
What if he was trapped outside in the snow all day?
“Maybe he went hunting?” Nora guessed.
“Cinnamon is a house cat, not some mangy feral who patrols the streets!” I shouted.
“Charlie, please calm down. I’ll give the neighbours a call and see if any of them have seen him. Okay?”
I sighed. “Okay.”
~
That night, Cinnamon still hadn’t been found.
My mother called everyone in the neighbourhood, and there was no sign of him anywhere.
If Mrs Duncan’s stupid dog managed to get out of it’s leash and ate him, I’m going to be furious.
“Hey, Charlie.” Mom entered my bedroom.
“Was he in any of the shelters?” I asked.
She shook her head as a response, walking over to take a seat next to me on my bed.
“Tomorrow we’ll make posters and put them around town?” She suggested, resting her hand on my shoulder.
I was assuming the worst.
Cinnamon had never left the house for longer than a few hours. But lately, he seemed withdrawn and more lazier than usual.
“What if he’s… what if he’s d-“
“Charlie! I found him!” Nora’s shrill voice called out from downstairs.
I rushed out of my room and down the stairs. “Where?” I asked, panicky.
“He’s in the garage.” Nora said.
I sighed a relief as I made my way to the garage.
The garage door was opened, and Cinnamon was resting on an old blanket that was on the shelf.
Thank god he was okay.
I made my way toward him. “Cinnamon?”
He was unmoving, almost lifeless.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked.
“I don’t know, I found him there and he won’t move.” Nora stated.
“He’s old.” Mom said gently. “I think it’s time.”
“Old?” I scoffed. “We’ve only had him for ten years. The average lifespan of a cat is twelve to eighteen years.”
“It varies.” Nora added.
I gently pet Cinnamon behind the ear. “Can we take him to the vet?” I asked.
Cinnamon wasn’t just a cat, or a common house pet. He was my best friend. I’ve had him since I was seven. I spent years training him and feeding him. At this point, I thought that he would eventually outlive me.
“I don’t think we’ll make it in time.” Mom stated.
I felt my heart drop as my eyes welled with tears.
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Sorry for the sad chapter, I literally almost cried writing it.
I also apologise for the short chapter.
Please leave a vote and a comment.
Also, @hairypieusy if you’re reading this, I don’t appreciate being called a shit author because my story does not involve smut. If you wanted smut, why don’t you go buy some cheap erotica!
Anyways, thank y’all for reading 🙂
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