Living With Animals

Chapter 22

Jacob's P.O.V.
The next morning
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The sun shines threw a window, slowly waking me up more and more, as the sun moves and time passes.

By the time I'm fully awake, it's 10:45am and I can hear the ruckus from downstairs. I go to get up then realize Claire is still lying on my shoulder, sleeping. She lets out light snores and I realize she must be tired from yesterday's jet lag. 4 hour difference in time zones really tires you out.

I pull out my phone and text Laken to come up to the attic and he does. A huge smile appears on his face when he sees Claire cuddled next to me.

"Don't say anything, just stay quiet. She's tired. Can grab her a blanket and pillow, please?"

"Can do," he says nodding.

"Thanks." Carefully, making sure she doesn't collapse down, I stand up and pick her up. She doesn't move or make any sound except the periodic snores. I set her on the couch we have up here and she luckily doesn't wake up.

Our attic is more of some sort of man cave. It has a PS5 and things like that, including air hockey table, a pool table, and a foozball table. But it's not just a man cave. It's Claire's favorite spot. She has a small cozy corner on the back of the attic, secluded from everyone else. It has a small swing that hangs from the roof, and a desk, and a few pillows set on the ground. It has lights around the ceiling, as has space for that.

The space itself is like a small room. It has 3 walls separating her from everyone else.
It has one wall that only goes hallway, leaving door space, but there's is no actual door.

(It looks somewhat like this)

Laken comes back up, Claire's fuzzy blanket from her bed and big pillow in his hands. He brings them to me and I lay the blanket on her, making sure she is warm, then slightly lift her head up to lay the pillow. When I'm finished I give her a small kiss on the forehead and then noticed that her face is bruised from her dad.

I go from being all happy and joyful, to wanting to kill him. I march down out of the attic and Laken follows but then gets out of my way seeing I am in a mood.

I march down to the kitchen and see my mom making breakfast.

"Where the hell is Claire's dad?"

"Language," My brother yells from the other room. I ignore his annoying comments and turn back to my mom.

"Where is he?"

"Good morning to you too," she scoffs and then her face softens, turning into confusion right after. "Why?"

"I need to have a word with him."

"Okay, you know what?" she asks if hung as she puts the whisk down and walks over to the sink to wash her hands. " I don't even want to know. He was in the upstairs living room last I knew."