Found

Chapter 10

She took an Uber to her office, not risking a walk, even though there were people everywhere. As she watched the passing scenery, the words earth magic, realms, and gates circled in her mind. This was the stuff of fiction. Meant to stay in books, movies, and dreams. Not meld with real life.

Cat's favorite movie when she was younger was Last Action Hero with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Did she watch a movie and unknowingly get sucked into the screen like Danny? Was the movie bleeding into real life? Or was she simply losing it? Like Russel Crow's character in A Beautiful Mind. Except, that one was a true story. Shit. That's gotta be it. Mental illness.

But, Henry had seen the creatures, too. Did her meeting him trigger a Schizophrenic gene?

And Jamison. Jamie. He was too perfect. No one had lavender eyes. No one! At least, no one on Earth.

Record scratch.

No, uh uh. She was not going to think about that right now. She didn't need anymore evidence of her being a nutball.

What she needed, was Kiki.

Cat: Can you meet me after work? Main Street Park?

She didn't have to wait long for an answer.

Kiki: Fo sho! Wanna go for a run? Cat winced. Cat: Fuck no, Keeks. I need you to prove I'm not insane. Kiki: Yeah, like that's gonna happen. Cat: Funny. 5:05?Kiki: Weirdly specific, but ok.

Maybe it wasn't a great idea to get her involved, but the woman was a goddess. If anyone could handle their best friend going insane OR the possibility of magic and other worlds, it was Keeks.

She grabbed her backpack as the Uber came to a stop, and walked into her company's one story brick building.

"The FUCK are you doing here?" Debbie flew towards her, eyes narrowed, hair bun at the top of her head bopping.

"I'm feeling better after washing my hair, and some mild retail therapy at Target." Not a complete lie.

Debbie dug through Cat's hair. "Ow!"

"Looks like the bleeding has stopped. Still looks raw, Tabby."

Cat slapped her hands away. "Quit. It feels raw. I just needed to get out of the house. Plus, I still need to write my notes about my home visit with Henry."

"Fine. But if you end up passing out because you over did it, I'm not claiming responsibility."

"Fair."

They walked towards Cat's office. "Tell me how it went yesterday."

Cat cringed inwardly. "It went. I got him set up with an AngelSense device, dad's getting a service dog, and we have a host of other services being requested. Just waiting to hear back from providers."

"Well done. Now, tell me about your date."

Now she outwardly cringed. "It went fine. He was perfectly perfect. We had a perfectly sweet kiss, and am sure we'd make perfectly adorable babies together." She bit her lip and mumbled, "And then I kind of met someone else right after."

Debbie did a double take. "Da Fuq? Tabitha James, nun extraordinaire, queen of celibacy, maven of dry spells—"

"I get it."

"Meets two dudes in one night." Debbie's eyes were wide, mouth gaping.

"Close your mouth," Cat tapped her chin. "You look like a demented fish."

"Was there sex involved?"

"No sex. Not yet anyway."

Debbie walked into Cat's office and announced, "Cat's going to have sex with two guys. Two!"

Her officemate looked up from the ream of papers she'd been reading. "Eh. She's going to hell anyway, might as well go down in style."

Cat raised an eyebrow, "Thanks, Stormy."

"Truth hurts, heathen." She went back to reading.

Debbie blinked at the other woman and whispered, "Sarah is leaving at the end of the month. Feel like a new officemate?"

Cat didn't lower her voice. "Fuuuu—dledeedum, yes!"

Stormy didn't bother looking up, "I've already put my name in."

Debbie rolled her eyes. "Cat has tenure and I'm the boss. You're stuck in here forever."

Aside from a reddening face, the office wench didn't respond, and Cat flipped her off.

Debbie grabbed her arm, leading her to her own office. "Right. Let's get away from that before HR gets involved. Has she always been like that?"

"Stormy, the thundercloud? Yes. All eight months she's worked here. I'm blessed to have a crazy caseload. Did I tell you that she listened in on one of my phone calls the first week she was here?"

Debbie closed the door behind them and raised an eye brow.

"After the call, she proceeded to critique my performance, telling me I was going about offering supports the wrong way, and how I should have done it."

"What did you do?"

"I asked her what she did before this. To which she answered that she was a server at Golden Corral."

She looked confused. "Golden Corral is a buffet."

"I'm aware. She hasn't critiqued another call since."

Debbie took a seat in one of the two chairs in front of her desk and gestured towards the other. "Now, spill on the men."

And spill she did. By the end of the story, some parts being edited (like squeezing through the ground), Debbie had her elbows on her knees, head held up by her fists. "I really can't decide if I'm Team Merrick or Team Jamison. Can I be Team Reverse Harem?"

"No. There is no team anything. No contest at all. I probably don't need either of them in my life right now. And what the fuc-fudge is a reverse harem?"

They both turned around when they heard a knock on the door. The receptionist, Amber, peaked her head in and adjusted her thick, red glasses. "Oh good! Stormy said you were probably in here. You have some flowers at the front."

Debbie popped up, and ran towards Amber's desk. Cat laughed, knowing that they could only have been sent by one man, and followed at a more leisurely pace.

"Merrick! They're from Merrick." Debbie waved the card in front of her face.

Cat would be lying if she said the flowers didn't make her feel the least bit fluttery. They were beautiful. Daisies in every color. He must of have done some recon with Kiki to know they were her favorite flower. They were simple, happy flowers. To Cat, a vase full of daisies was a vase full of joy.

Debbie read the card. " 'These aren't as sweet as the kiss we shared, but they come pretty close. Can't wait to see you again. —Merrick.'" She looked up. "If you don't want him, I do. Think he likes older women with blood pressure issues?"

"Who doesn't?"

"A surprisingly large amount of people."

"Noted." Cat scooped up the vase and headed back to her office. "I'm going to work now."Debbie yelled after her, "Team Merrick!"