Branded For Ruin

Part 5

           Bucky's eyes shot open as he screamed. Sweat had gathered on his body and his heart was racing. He sat on the floor for a few minutes, as he caught his breath and tried to forget his nightmare. Alpine mewled as he walked toward Bucky. He leapt into Bucky's lap and Bucky's fingers found themselves in Alpine's soft fur. Alpine began purring as Bucky pet him.

"Thanks buddy." Bucky breathed. "It was a bad one."

Alpine nuzzled closer to him. Bucky's breath was evening out and his eyes darted toward the random soccer game on the TV. He just needed to ground himself back in reality, but, boy, was it hard. He clutched Alpine a bit tighter and nuzzled his face in the soft white fur. Alpine was happy to calm his owner and purred a bit more, the vibrations soothing Bucky a bit. After sitting there for a little while, Alpine wiggled out of Bucky's grasp and padded toward the door. He meowed and pawed at the door, waiting for Bucky.

"You're right." Bucky said as he slipped a blue Henley over his head. "The early morning air should help."

After tugging on some shorts, socks, and a hoodie, he grabbed his keys and pulled on his shoes. Bucky grabbed Alpine's service vest and strapped it on to his little companion. Gently picking up Alpine, he set him inside his hoodie. The cat's fluffy head poked out from Bucky's hoodie and meowed to signal he was ready. Pressing a kiss to his trusty pet, Bucky closed his door and began to walk down the apartment hallway. Birds softly chirped in the distance, and the brisk air cooled Bucky's body and mind. Walking around the park, Bucky pet and cooed at Alpine, trying to show him how beautiful the sunrise was on this particular morning. The white furball was only interested in snuggling up to Bucky, which was probably what Bucky needed most at the moment anyway. The sun rose slowly, causing pink to paint the sky. They sat on the park bench watching it for a while.

"Do you know what I need right now?" Bucky asked turning toward his friend.

Meow

"That's right. Coffee."

~~~~~

It was Saturday, the worst day of the week—grocery day. You groaned as you heaved yourself out of bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Maybe you could just skip today and go next week. You nodded as you stumbled into the kitchen toward the fridge. Upon further inspection, you closed your fridge. Right, you skipped last week. Finally, submitting to defeat, you decided to look decent to go out in public.

About an hour later you were ready to go out into the world. Cracking your door open, you looked for any people. Good, the coast was clear. As you locked your door, a voice boomed across your driveway.

"Mornin' neighbor!" Charles greeted with a wave. "It's a fine morning, isn't it?"

You took a deep breath and plastered on a smile. "Yup."

Then you practically ran to your car and strapped yourself in. Turning the car on, you were about to pull out before you saw Charles running up to you. Slowly sinking into your seat, you tried not to notice him at your window. He tapped on your window, and you begrudgingly rolled it down. His perfect caramel hair looked extremely soft, and you resisted the urge to touch it. He flashed you a smile before speaking.

"I've just realized you haven't had the pleasure of having dinner with a handsome Blackwood, and you haven't seen the inside of my home. So, I—"

"Can't." You blurted quickly. "Sorry, I, uh, have plans. Uh, yup big plans."

He chuckled and smiled at you. "No worries. Tomorrow it is then. See you tomorrow at 5."