Glass Houses [Closed] - Printable Version
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RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 09-19-2016
Another deep drag of the cigarette. They weren't looking at each other, both of them staring down at their hands. Akiko watched the awkward way he linked their fingers together, like he had never touched her before. But, he wasn't really, touching her. She was just another thing to fidget with. She pulled her hand away, fingers trailing across his. She tried to memorize the feel of him, smoke falling from her own mouth in a sigh. He wasn't really listening to her. She could tell. He was prone to picking bit and pieces of the conversation that he wanted to hear. She looked up once, to watch his ears, he would hate it if he caught her, but she risked it.
"Cain," she said his name softly, disagreement in her tone. She shook her head. They both knew his response wasn't the truth. She straightened her posture so she was out of reach. Not that she expected him to reach out to her. She filled the silence with pulls on the cigarette to gather her thoughts. "Just… a break," she repeated the word like it would clarify something. Were her words really that different from the way he was interpreting them?
"How could you not see where this is coming from?" she asked, flicking ash and cocking her head. Hair fell over her shoulder, and she pushed it back with her free hand. She kept her tone low and even. Curiosity, not accusations. "Ten years, Cain. We've been together for ten years, and you think I can't tell when something is wrong?" Akiko crushed the spent butt in the ashtray and pushed her fingers through her hair. Her own special fidgeting.
"We don't talk," she started by way of explanation. "We fight, or we ignore each other. You avoid me with work or the garage. You…don't touch me. You don't let me touch you." Her voice was hardly above a whisper at this point. Anything louder and the lump in her throat would have been obvious.
"I don't want you to be with me out of habit."
I want you to want me. She didn't say it. Didn't want to sound so desperate, and needy when she was exactly both of those things. She watched the way smoke fell from his lips, the last time she had kissed him she couldn’t recall. She wanted to now, but she resisted. This decision was for the best.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 09-22-2016
Cain didn’t stop her when she pulled her hand away. He followed her lead and snubbed out his cigarette after one last pull. He watched her risk a glance to his ears, he felt his face flush with embarrassment,the tip of his tail beat lightly against the mat. Audible little thuds. In an effort to stop his tail, Cain grabbed it and pulled it around his knees under his arms. There. Now, all she could stare at was the ears and they remained flattened against his head. His hiding from her only proved her points. He wasn’t comfortable around her to let her even look at him a lot of the time.He felt like he was under a microscope. Flinching as she probed the subject with each accusation, we don’t talk, we fight, we don’t touch. And it was all his fault.
“Nothing’s wrong, Akiko.” He snapped at her finally, pushed over the edge. “Isn’t being with someone out of habit part of being in a committed relationship? I'm not sure how else to do commitment.” It didn't occur to him that he should do commitment with feeling. Just like his father, Cain could twist words to make them mean what he wanted to and put them back in his conversation partner's mouth. As if he were the one committed and she wasn’t.
“We moved in together isn’t that what you wanted? I’m sorry my work schedule is inconvenient for you. I get shit swing shifts because I'm new. The more experienced vets get dibs on what times they want.” A little non sequitur to throw her off her path. As if this was about his work. Maybe if he got her off topic they could fight about his job and then get back to being unhappy together. Skip the break part.
His aggression was certain not to help him, but he didn’t know how else to respond. He felt like he needed to fight for his life. His stomach was in his throat. His face hot. Heart pounding. Struggling to keep his breath under control. It was over. It was over. He’d lost her. He’d lost the only girl he’d ever loved.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 09-22-2016
He was upset. She had been caught, and she resisted looking to his tail. It could be heard projecting his emotions until he stopped it. Looking back to his face she found him tinged pink. Embarrassed, even in front of her. Even after ten years, he couldn't just be himself around her. Akiko uncrossed her legs, pulling one to her chest and wrapping her arms around it. She rested her chin on her knee and looked at him. She was silent for what probably seemed like a long time to him. Akiko's expression were as easy to read off of her face, as they were to read off of his ears. Confused, hurt, incredulous. They played across her features near simultaneously.
He didn't understand what she was trying to say. Or else, he was deliberately ignoring it. Just this one conversation was making it glaringly obvious that they had different ideas as to what a relationship entailed. "Do you think moving in together was all I wanted? As if-as if…" she stuttered, paused; waving her hands and trying to find her words. She had been talking over him briefly, stopped altogether when she caught the rest of his counter argument.
"Swing shifts," she repeated, keeping her voice even. With her brow furrowed and her mouth set in a thin line she, briefly, looked angry for the first time. Trying to shift the focus to his work would not work in his favor. Akiko looked down to the rubber mat on the floor, pushing her index finger into the material. "Like the ones where you go to warehouse raves with Indigo?"
She sounded angry and wasn't looking at him anymore. It wasn't a blind accusation. A normal progression of events, an accident really, had led her to the discovery of what he did with most of his so called swing shifts.
"You've…been lying to me, Cain."
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 09-27-2016
Cain watched while Akiko pulled her leg up to her chest. Their postures were mirrored as if they were hugging themselves, protecting themselves from one another. He flinched when she mentioned the raves, eyes flicked to her pursed lips. She was mad. This revelation did nothing to the relentless pace of his heart. But he had nowhere to run. He had to stay and duke this one out to whatever end.“I- I-” He stopped and sighed in frustration, needing to start again. The words were strangled in his throat. His mouth worked to find the words his mind wasn’t producing. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He blurted it. The defense came out before Cain had chance to consider the grave mistake he was making. He doubled down on the lie even as she made such a specific accusation as that. She already knew the truth, that much was obvious. He couldn’t make eye contact, he stared down at his feet on the mat.
His mind began cycling rapidly through all the possible ways she could know. Was she snooping on him? Only a brief silence fell between them before he lifted his eyes. Grey eyes wide open in a defiant stare, lips thinned out, mirroring her anger. He dropped his arms away, letting his legs fall to the floor and he folded them under him to sit cross-legged. His tail was freed and began bristling, a thin line of fur raising in a ridge along the back. But Cain didn't care about his cat features anymore.
“What are you going through my phone now?” His voice was thick with indignation. She had brought up his phone habits earlier. Maybe she was going through his messages. Seeing who he called. Checking is Instagram DMs.
He levied a counter accusation. Never mind that it carried the presumption that she was telling the truth which contradicted his earlier denial. Cain wasn’t thinking anymore. He was just reacting.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 09-28-2016
He didn’t know what she was talking about? That was so typically Cain. Unaware of anything that didn’t fit into his neat idea that everything was fine. Akiko’s mostly thin-lipped neutral expression turned into a very obvious frown. Corners of her mouth falling as she narrowed brown eyes at him. He didn’t see the fall in her expression, because he wasn’t looking at her. He was never looking at her. Harder to ignore her that way.
“You think I would go through your phone?” she returned, cocking her head as her voice elevated with disgust. “God, Cain. Give me some credit.” She clawed her hand through her hair, but it immediately fell back into her face. She could see the ridge of small hairs on his tail standing on end; so angry when he had no right to be. So determined to displace the blame even when there was nowhere else for it to go.
“I don’t have to go through your phone. Check your Instagram, and see how many pictures Indigo has you tagged in.” There was no hiding the tone of mocking disgust that she couldn’t control when she mentioned Indigo. His not so subtle assistant that he was apparently spending a lot of time with. “You’ll probably notice that a lot of those beach bonfires and raves and what have you fall on all those nights you’re 'working late.'”
Akiko dropped her legs, and rifled through Cain’s cigarettes to light another before pushing herself off of the ground. Crossing the room she grabbed his phone off of the table, and returned to drop it in his hands. She puffed, agitated at the cigarette as she paced. Smoke trailing her halting steps across the length of the garage as she gave him time to check the social media in question. He was volatile and digging himself a deeper hole; too deep to climb out of and she didn’t feel like helping him out of it.
“I just don't get why you'd rather spend time with her.”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 09-29-2016
If Akiko was hurt and angry, Cain couldn’t find the line where one emotion began and the other ended. From his point of view he registered only her anger. Cain racked his brain and produced not a single helpful counterpoint.
“How else do you know about what I do and don’t do?” He demanded. Cain was digging the hole deeper. Shouldn’t his girlfriend know what he was doing to a reasonable degree of certainty? Wasn’t that what being in a relationship meant?
His eyes followed her hand as she pawed at her hair. He felt no urge to tuck it behind her ear for her as he might have done some time ago.
“So I’m not allowed to have friends I’m not related to?” Somewhere inside Cain knew Akiko felt insecure because of Indigo. Somewhere inside Cain knew he was responsible for encouraging Indigo’s obvious affection. But he refused to take responsibility for his actions or validate Akiko’s feelings.
When she went for another cigarette so did he snatching at the pack when she put it down. He counted the cigarettes inside, frowning at her, even though there were plenty to be had. Apparently they would chain smoke their way through this argument. With the cigarette poised unlit on his lips, Cain scrolled through his tagged pictures. His ears pricked forward with curiosity and then quickly fell back to his scalp along with his heart that fell into his stomach. Anger faded into guilt and the fur on his tail smoothed again.
Indeed there he was poking at a fire with a long stick and a beer bottle in the other hand. There he was glassy eyed, sweaty, hair sticking to his forehead, washed out by the camera flash in some dark room, half the crowd behind him lit by strobes. There he was in a selfie with Indigo and several other people he didn’t even recognize. These among less incriminating pictures of him at work.
Cain had seen enough. He locked his phone and tossed it down to the mat. Without answering he lit the cigarette between his lips and puffed deeply. In a quick motion he stood and moved into Akiko’s path to stop her from continuing to pace. He took the top of her arm carefully in his hand with just the thumb and little two fingers touching her. The cigarette was snug between his index and middle held a safe distance from her hair body.
“I didn’t know she was posting those.” He said at last as if that was an apology. I’m sorry you found out I was acting shitty by stalking Instagram. “I didn’t think you’d care to go to that stuff. Is that why you’re mad at me?”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 09-30-2016
“I’m your girlfriend.” She said it, even though she had a hard time believing it. “I’m supposed to know what you’re doing, Cain,” she argued, unknowingly voicing what was going through his head. She sighed, sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Why are you so defensive?” She continued, despite knowing that defensive was his default setting. It was impossible to talk to him over the walls he had built so high. Ten years later and she was still on the outside of them. She was at a loss for what to do. Growing tired of waiting, tired of begging him to let her in.
“That’s not what I’m saying.” An exasperated murmur punctuated by a drag of the cigarette. Still pacing as he looked through his phone, she noted the motion of his ears; carelessly letting ash drop onto the garage floor.
Her path stopped short of running into him, somewhat startled that he was suddenly in front of her. Dark eyes darted up to his face, watching his mouth form the words that should have been an apology, but weren’t. Fingers that were barely against her arm was the first time he had touched her in weeks, and she had to pull away. It wasn’t a recoil, just the motion of her shoulder so her arm was no longer in his grasp. The slight part of her mouth and the lift of her brows were in time with her scoff of disbelief. Her gaze fell away from him, settling on the floor.
“You didn’t know,” she repeated. She shook her head, sending all those blonde strands she had been trying to get under control. “You didn’t think? Exactly, you didn’t think. You didn’t think about me, or my feelings. You didn’t even think about asking me. You just lie and then spend your time with Indigo?”
It was never her intention to fixate on his assistant, but she couldn’t help it. Indigo was pretty and smart, and they worked together. Did they talk? Did she make him laugh? Akiko’s eyes stung with an uninvited well of tears. She pressed her lips together, lest a slight tremble give her away; rendering her attempts at calm disappointment obsolete.
“I’m not mad,” she said softly, forcing the words over the choking feeling in her throat. Shaking fingers lifted the cigarette to her mouth. She felt ridiculous, halfway to tears with him standing over her. He wouldn’t even know what to do if she cried; more walls, more shutting her out.
“I’m going to sleep in the spare room,” she explained. “Tomorrow, I am going to stay with Aphrodite and Holland.”
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 10-01-2016
“I’m defensive because you’re attacking me!” Cain’s voice increased in pitch as his frustration with Akiko crescendoed. His ears had lifted somewhat from his head and rotated to the sides into the angry cat mode.
Cain didn’t try to keep her arm letting her pull away from him easily. He rolled his eyes as if she were being over dramatic. His body turned half away from her and he stared blankly at the wall inhaling deeply on his cigarette while she continued berating him for the Indigo mess. It was deserved. He spared a glance at Akiko but quickly looked away again noting that she seemed on the verge of tears. Crying would definitely make it harder for him to continue acting like an asshole.
He scoffed, “You are mad.” He insisted on this because it was easier than admitting that she was hurt because of him.
Cain shook his head in defeat turning back to her. One shoulder shrugged and his hand waved dismissively. Just like that Cain had shut down.
“Fine. It’s whatever you want, Akiko.” The words he’d said so often to her. It was non-committal. An abdication of any responsibility.
The cigarette was back between his lips and he glared down at Akiko as he puffed on it. The scorching look in his eyes said things weren’t ‘fine.’ Otherwise Cain’s face remained statuesque only moving to blow smoke out of the side of his lips.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 10-01-2016
It’s whatever you want, Akiko. He shrugged her off and the words seemed to echo in the space of the garage, echo in her ears. It was whatever she wanted. He didn’t care.
He didn’t care.
He didn’t care.
About her? If his intention had been to hurt her feelings, he had hit the mark. He looked at her and looked away, quickly retreating from her dejected expression. Defensive, but not defending himself. Aware that he had done something wrong, or willing to acknowledge that she thought he had done something wrong. Yet, unwilling to apologize for it. Akiko appeared in a state of dazed confusion, her eyes wide and her posture rigid. She went through the motions of smoking as if she was no longer committed to finishing it. Tears fell down her face, silently, pooling at her chin and she swiped at them with her fingers.
Moving noiselessly back to where they had been sitting, she took a final drag of the cigarette before leaning to extinguish the smoldering filter.
Turning, she looked at him, and noticed the way he was glaring at her. Like he was mad. He didn’t get to be mad, not at her, but it would be conceited to think he was mad at himself. To assume he felt bad at all.
Akiko left the garage without saying anything else to him. It was late, and she was tired, and any continued conversation could only get worse from there. An argument, a screaming match; she wasn’t the kind to want to wake the neighbors.
~
She didn’t feel better in the morning.
It wasn’t as if she’d expected the hurt to go away, but she hadn’t slept well and that was just another thing to worsen her day. She showered in the second bathroom and got dressed before she went downstairs to make coffee. As the machine did its thing she pulled a duffel bag from the storage closet. She shook out the yellow and blue material, holding it out to observe the Golden Bear logo on the side.
Wasn’t sure if Cain was in the bedroom or had spent the night brooding in the garage. Wasn’t sure when he had to be at work; couldn’t rely on the schedule he gave her. Cain was more the silent treatment type anyway. Conflict was unlikely so she went upstairs and pushed her way into the bedroom. Moving through the room in the half-light of the early morning filtering through the curtain she worked quietly. Gathering necessary clothing and items and shoving them into the surprisingly spacious duffel. They’d get wrinkled, but worst case scenario she had to iron them.
She would come back if she had to, to get things she had missed. Leaving the bag on the floor she stepped into the bathroom to gather her toiletries.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 10-03-2016
Cain tried but couldn’t look away when Akiko started crying. She was crying because of him? He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He hadn’t intended to. But he also hadn’t put any intent into their relationship. He knew that but couldn’t appreciate the extent to which that wore her down.
His hands were shaking as he continued smoking, watching her move through the garage. He pushed at his hair. His mouth opened when her back was turned as if he were going to say something further. Nothing came out. He had nothing to say. Not even ‘sorry’ would slip out. He wasn’t sure what parts he was supposed to be sorry for at that moment.
Cain like Akiko was in a state of shock.
Though he laid down in bed, he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop her words from echoing in his mind. He scrolled through Indigo’s Instagram obsessively finding all the incriminating pictures of himself there. Should he confront her? Hadn’t she just been posting pictures of her friend? Could it be that he was the one at fault for lying?
He finally gave up on sleep and spent most of the night in the living room playing first-person-shooter games with the sound muted so he wouldn’t disturb Akiko in the other room. Daisy occasionally circled the living room and would sit at the closed door to the room where Akiko slept. She wanted to be let in. Cain understood the feeling. Each time he’d go pick up the dog and put her back in his lap while he played until the cycle repeated.
_____
In the morning, Cain woke to the smell of coffee. He could hear Akiko rummaging around in the kitchen. When he heard her return to the guest room, he slipped outside to hide on the porch and smoke with Daisy. He occasionally threw a stick for the dog.
Eventually Cain gathered the courage to return inside. He couldn't wait much longer outside as he had a shift to get to at the animal hospital. He would have to face Akiko. He found her packing her things in the bathroom. Shock washed over him again. Somehow he’d tricked himself into thinking she had been dramatic the evening before. That she slept in the other room to punish him but they would make up again in the morning. Just like always.
But there she was claiming shampoo.
He froze in the doorway to the bathroom watching her for a few moments in silence.
“You’re leaving.” The words came out somewhere between a declaration of fact and a question. Cain was in denial.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 10-04-2016
Akiko spared Cain a glance. A quick flicker of dark eyes to where she could see him in her periphery. She dropped her shampoo into into a plastic bag, already containing a few of her other hair products. She swallowed, stepping away from the shower, folding the bag over to let the air out before she snapped it closed. “Yeah, I am,” she replied, busying herself with shoving scattered eye shadows and lipsticks back into her makeup bag. She zipped it closed as well, picking up both bags. “I’ll get out of your way,” she mumbled, assuming he was trying to get ready for work. She skirted past him in the doorway, shoulder brushing against his in the tight space. He’d have to follow her if he really had something to say, even though she didn’t know if she wanted to hear whatever he had managed to come up with. She also didn’t want to stick around to discover he had nothing to say at all. Dropping the other items into the duffel, she zipped it closed and hoisted it over her shoulder. She didn’t wait if he had anything else to say. Grabbing a pair of shoes out the closet she left the room.
Downstairs, she left her bag and the shoes by the door. Back in the kitchen she made herself a cup of coffee with too much cream and too much sugar; hardly coffee at all. She wanted to leave before Cain came back downstairs, but she went into the office instead. Daisy followed at her heels, not fond of going up the stairs. Akiko dropped down in her chain and pat the dog head. She needed to leave a note for Cain. On a cute notepad decorated in penguins (her favorite animal) she left a list of when the trash pick-up came and which bills were due when. There was a smaller note at the bottom indicating she would leave money in his account at the beginning of the month for her half the utilities and rent.
Finishing her coffee, she returned to the kitchen, washing out the mug in the sink. She left her notes under a magnet detailing the contact information for the animal hospital. More coffee, this time in a travel mug with her school’s logo on it, and she went back to the office to begin untangling cords so she could pack up her laptop.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 10-05-2016
His ears dropped to his scalp, which seemed to be their permanent resting place since the evening prior. “Oh.” He said dejectedly. He moved as if to stop her but hesitated, “You’re not...in my way.” He trailed off and didn’t pursue her. Cain didn’t want to watch her keep packing her things.
He readied himself for work instead which never took him very long. His hygiene routine was simple and performed quickly. He passed a comb through his hair and pulled the curls away from his face. Cain skipped the shave. He knew the hospital preferred a “clean” look but his facial hair grew slow and he barely had any stubble. He wasn’t on surgical duty that day so he had to dress business casual. Cain chose fitted khaki slacks and paired them with a navy button up and dressy dark brown oxfords. The khakis were a risk in his line of work but Cain was on autopilot and not considering the potential for stains. He slipped into his lab coat which hung in the foyer. Cain stocked his pocket with a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, his wallet, and phone. He considered leaving without another word. Thinking better of it, he moved into the office where he could hear Akiko moving things around.
He didn’t have much time before he left for work but he’d get a last word with her. His heart was aching in his chest he was already feeling the imminent loss.
“How long are you staying over there?” He asked from the doorway making no move to help her with the cords. He wasn’t going to make leaving him any easier for her. His hands were hidden in the lab coat pockets. Jingling could be heard from a pocket where he was fiddling with his car keys.
He hadn't yet noticed her notes.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 10-08-2016
Akiko appeared from beneath the desk with a tangle of cords wrapped around her fingers. She stood and brushed dust off of her skinny jeans with her free hand. She focused on winding them into neat circles and securing them in her laptop case so she didn't have to look at him standing in the doorway. She knew all too well what he'd look like, painfully handsome and a little sad. She didn't know if that was enough to change her mind, but it wasn't worth the risk. “I don't know…” she replied, her mouse and headphones disappearing into the bag. “I need some time to think. I'll come back when it feels right. If it feels right.” She hated saying it again, knew Cain would hate hearing it, but the facts were undeniable. The case was closed and she lifted it off the desk. “I left some notes for you on the fridge,” she explained, pushing hair behind her ear. He probably would never notice them if she didn’t say anything. Then something would go unpaid, and he’d be worse off. “Daisy has a follow up appointment with Dr. DeMarco for the pins in her leg. I forgot to add that. I’m sure you remember.” She added the last part quickly, not wanting to risk offending the affections he had for the dog. He’d probably be annoyed enough that she’d left notes in the first place. She did a quick check of the room before picking up her coffee.
Cain encompassed the entirety of the small door frame and she was sort of forced to move him out of her way. He was not particularly inclined to make this easy for her. She should have taken some small comfort in the notion, but she didn’t dwell on it. She could still change her own mind all too easily.
“I’m gonna...go.” Akiko didn’t know what else to say. She wasn’t sure if she should touch him, didn’t know if an ‘I love you’ was appropriate, so she circumvented the whole issue by keeping her head down and returning to the foyer. She did love him, and she hoped he knew that. Without another word or a glance she picked up her duffel, and pulled her keys out of the catchall by the door.
Akiko left. She tossed everything into the backseat of her Mini Cooper, slamming the car doors with more force than entirely necessary. She threw her wallet and the extra shoes she had taken into the passenger floorboards and shoved her keys in the ignition.
The drive from Boston to Valesport was longer than she would have liked it to be, and she cried most of the way. More openly than she had the night before, loud and angry, she drowned herself out with louder music. At a stoplight she text Aphrodite to know she was close, and when she pulled into the driveway the woman was already waiting for her on the porch. Akiko turned off the car and left everything she had taken inside so she could run to Aphrodite, who immediately bundled her up in a warm hug. Aphrodite shushed her gently, petting her hair as she got tear stains on the bodice of her vintage sundress.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - saronym - 10-12-2016
The jingling in his pocket stopped at the suggestion that she might not come back. Cain’s eyes widened a touch and he started to protest, “But I - we -” He gave up when she went on to remind him about notes and vet appointments.
“I know.” It came out somewhat defensively as she’d anticipated. He’d helped to put the pins there, he knew when they would come out. “I’ll take her to work with me Thursday. I guess I'll also take her today.” He explained the already formulated plan as if that made him sound reliable or legitimate to his girlfriend who had decided to leave. he threw in at the end that Daisy wouldn't have an afternoon caretaker in Akiko's absence for the sole purpose of making her feel guilty. You're leaving Daisy too.
He didn’t move out of her way when she approached, forcing her to contend with moving him for herself. However, he didn’t resist when she did easily allowing himself to be moved aside.
“I guess I’ll see you around.” He didn’t know what that meant. He didn't know if he would get to see her or if he was allowed to talk to her. What were the new rules?
The house was silent for only a few seconds after she closed the front door. Muted slams of her car door followed by the blaring of her stereo. This more than the tears of the previous evening signaled to Cain that he’d hurt Akiko. Really hurt her. Swallowing back a lump in his throat, Cain descended the stairs to the sounds of Daisy whining at the door. She hated when Akiko left in the morning, today her whines were more desperate, as if she sensed Akiko wouldn't be coming back that afternoon to play. Cain packed up some toys for Daisy and put her on the leash to bring her to work with him. She could run around in the back for the day. Something would have to be done about her long term, he couldn’t leave her alone for 12 hour shifts continuously, and he couldn’t bring her to work all the time. Today was kind of an emergency. He supposed he'd hire a dog sitter or dog walker.
____
As expected the staff at work were overjoyed but slightly confused to learn that Daisy was spending the day with them. Her picture was on the wall of special cases they’d rescued. She was kind of a star.
“What did we deserve to earn the presence of Daisy today?” One of the receptionists was asking Cain as he rustled around in his locker.
“My girlfriend left me, so I don’t have anyone to let her out in the afternoon or feed her.” The locker closed with a crash, Cain whirled around to find the surprised looks his colleagues who milled about waiting for the 11am shift to being.
Indigo rushed to his side, placing a sympathetic hand on his arm. Her thumb rubbed back and forth over his bicep through his coat. “Ohmygod Cain, really? What happened? Are you okay?”
A chorus of coos and ‘aw man that’s too bad’ sounded from the audience in the room who seemed more rapt for the drama than was appropriate. Cain felt his face flush. His tail twitched behind him.
“She broke up with me and left.” He admitted brushing past Indigo as he left the room. “I’ll find a dog watcher.”
Still feeling emotionally raw, Cain didn’t have much interest in going into the details. He also didn’t feel like explaining the ‘we’re taking a break' part. It was too complicated and none of anyone’s business. He’d been blunt with enough of the truth because he didn’t have the energy to make up some lie as to why Akiko couldn’t let the dog out that day.
The truth would come out eventually. As he’d learned the evening before.
No more lies.
Everyone was especially acquiescent and helpful to Cain that day which only further annoyed him. They tiptoed around him as if he were going to burst into tears at work. He wondered if it was a fun game to them. He wondered if they drew sad cats on the calendar to signify his breakup. He didn’t look because he didn’t really want to know.
“Let’s go out for sushi for lunch, Cain. My treat. I’ll cheer you up!” Indigo promised, her voice melodic and cheerful. The dangle earrings she loved to wear to work, though they were a clear safety hazard for her, swayed with her enthusiasm.
“Sure okay.” Cain agreed, he had no other plans for lunch that day.
RE: Glass Houses [Closed] - megs - 10-12-2016
>Just take care of him. >You know how he gets.
>yeah i kno
Akiko had been messaging her all morning. Pretty much since she had left her shithead older brother a few hours ago. Apparently, Cain's soon-to-be-ex-if-he-didn't-get-his-act-together girlfriend thought he might need a babysitter in her absence. Lucky for him, Anita happened to still be in town and she was a very good babysitter.
Anita tilted back her glass to drain the last of a beer into her mouth. She frowned as she swallowed the lukewarm liquid. The bar was mostly empty which was no surprise since it wasn’t even noon yet. Anita battled with sleep, as in she rarely did so, and with early mornings came day drinking. Easy enough to feed the habit with a fake ID and an easy confidence. She’d learned some time ago that if you acted like you belonged somewhere, people usually assumed you did.
She felt someone sidled up behind her, but she paid them no attention, pulling cash out of the from pocket of her father’s old dress jacket. Anita froze all at once as someone grabbed her tail. An electric shock ran up her spine at the unwanted attention, and fat greasy fingers smoothed over the fur of the appendage. It was mostly a reaction, muscle memory, that had her standing, using the rung on the stool for support. Propping a knee on the chair for leverage, she turned at the waist and grabbed the offender by hair, and smashed his face into the bar top with the entirety of her weight. With a howl the man slumped to the floor, hands clutching his nose as if he would push the blood back up into it.
“You fucking bitch,” he slurred, still whining about his broken nose.
Anita was livid, but her face was a blank mask and she stepped down from the bar stool. Tail twitching agitatedly around her knees. Throwing a few crumpled dollars bills on the impression his face had made on the counter, she stared down at the man with an icy glare her father would be proud of. “I suggest, in the future, you keep your hands to yourself.”
She left before she could get thrown out. Bars had a lower tolerance for violence than they did sexual harassment. That didn’t stop her from smoking a joint in their parking lot. When she was finished she tucked the roach in her grinder for safe keeping and licked the cherry flavor off her lips. Whoever created flavored cigarette paper was a genius.
Sharp looking sunglasses and a neutral expression hid her current intoxicated state and made her seem unapproachable. Which was exactly what she wanted as she walked across town to the animal hospital where Cain worked. Her tail had returned to the height of her shoulders, swaying lazily as she pushed open the door and was greeted by crisp air conditioning and a sharp antiseptic smell. Dual-colored eyes scanned the room lazily behind the dark film of her glasses, and she made her way to the front desk.
A receptionist she didn’t recognize greeted her and Anita smiled. Leaning her elbows on the counter she rocked back and forth on her toes. She didn’t exactly come around all the time, so she probably only found a total of one receptionist familiar. “Could you find Dr. Hart for me?” she asked sweetly, with a tilt of her head, tail still swaying. “And tell him that Anita is here.”
Pulling her phone out of her pocket she selected a thread of messages, the name in the header said mom with a string of heart emojis in different colors.
>How are you?
>i'm gonna hang w/ cain x3