It was probably the best sleep I ever had, and I still woke up screaming, clutching my side. It hurt so much to scream, or cry, or cough, or even breathe. That's what I get for trying to be human when I'm not.
But this time, the boy was next to me, and when I looked over, he looked scared, probably from the loud noise. No, not just scared... Sad.
Why was he sad?
He reached a hand out, and I flinched, making him look even sadder. "... Hey there, buddy." He whispered, a smile forming that didn't quite reach his eyes. "It's ok. You're gonna be ok."
I didn't understand. Wasn't he upset that I turned human when I shouldn't've? Wasn't he gonna punish me? He and the man were screaming and yelling at each other just a few hours ago, I thought because he didn't get what he wanted.
He cleared his throat, trying to get my attention, and my head snapped back to him. "You... You looked like something hurt. Hold on, I'll try to..." He reached into a bag, and kept digging in it for a while. I tried not to be scared, but then I heard a rattling sound, and I instinctively covered my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. That was one of the worst sounds in the world, rattling pennies. It was a warning.
Finally, it stopped, and when I looked over at him, he was holding something in his hand. "Maybe this'll help."
When I picked it up, it kinda looked like a food pellet, except white, so I put it in my mouth and tried to eat it. It tasted so bitter it almost hurt, but I carried on. If he wanted me to eat it, I would eat it.
Looking back over at him, though, he looked confused. "That wasn't... You didn't have to chew that... Here." He pulled out a bottle of red water, unscrewing the lid before he handed it to me. "This'll wash that awful taste out of your mouth."
When I started drinking the red water, it was sweet, and a tiny bit salty, and I couldn't get enough. I drank the entire bottle, and everything felt so much better. My head wasn't quite so fuzzy anymore, and it didn't hurt quite as much. But of course, it couldn't last, and soon, my stomach started to growl. I guess it'd been enough to wake it up again.
He stood up and left the room, so I was alone in the dark, trying to ignore the desperate demands of my body. There was nothing I could do but lay down flat on my angry belly, my face buried in the bed, my eyes squeezed shut.
After a little while later, though, he came back, with something in his hands. "Hey, I found some leftover pizza." He held his gift out to me, and without a second thought, I bit into it, holding it in my mouth before I put it on the bed, suddenly remembering that I had hands. I blushed a little and started to use them, and before I knew it, it was gone.
I looked up at him. I wanted to thank him, it was a lot more than I usually got, and tasted better too. But... I hadn't spoken in years. Did I even remember how to form the words?
With speech out of the question, I just smiled up at him, hoping he would understand. His own smile began to form, and this time, it looked real. "Alright, is that gonna be enough for tonight?" He asked, before yawning. "Because I think it's about time for me to go to bed."
I quickly nodded, moving to get up from the bed, but he stopped me before I could stand.
"Where are you going?" He asked. "Do you need to use the bathroom or something?"
I shook my head, now feeling forced to try and explain myself, barely above a whisper. "... Y-you... Bed, you... You need..."
He sighed, seeming to understand. "But... Then where'll you sleep?"
I didn't wanna try speaking again, so I just turned back into a cat and hopped down onto the floor, trying to ignore how much my leg hurt, before I curled up on the floor, even that being softer than I'm used to. I hoped he'd understand what I was trying to say, I'm a cat, cats don't sleep on the bed.
He crouched beside me. "... Well, if you insist. But if you ever change your mind, just tell me, alright?" Then, he stood back up, took off his shoes and his pants, and climbed into his bed. I tried to go to sleep, but for some reason, I was cold. It was hot back in the cage, so unbearably, mind-numbingly hot. But it was cold here, even with my fur.
Eventually, I gave up and started watching him, and after a while, he started to whine in his sleep. I knew what it was, it was a nightmare, and if mine were anything to go by, his would get worse, and fast. I limped back over to his chair, jumping up onto his chest as an attempt to comfort him, and as I felt his body heat soak into my body, my eyes slid closed again, and a noise started coming from my throat that almost made me cry.
For the first time in... I'm not sure how long... I was purring.
I was happy.
