Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 58691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58691 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 235(@250wpm)___ 196(@300wpm)
He’s just as much an animal as the bunny and needs to eat. But as far as Leona is concerned, I buried it.
Putting my gun back in the back of my slacks, I head inside and Eddie is looking at me with a pale look.
“What happened?”
“Where is she?” I ask, ignoring his question. I know she heard me shoot it in the head, and she’s more upset.
He points down the hall; she’s in her room. At least she didn’t run back outside and off into the woods like some crazy damsel in distress or some shit.
Sighing, I take off my jacket and start to unbutton my shirt. Looks like today is going to be a lazy day. Opening the door, I hear her sob into the bed, she’s heartbroken, and I find it attractive. She has a big heart. Undoing my pants, and slipping off my shoes, I turn the TV on and climb in the bed with her.
“What are you doing?” She tries to act tough, pushing me away from her. She shoves me, her face filled with anger. Either because she just hates me or because I couldn’t save the rabbit, I don’t know. I grab ahold of her hands and wrap them around her tightly so she can’t move or push me away. I pull her back to my chest and just hold her. She resists, trying to get away from me.
“I never had a pet,” I say softly, and she relaxes in my arms; listening. I swipe the hair from her face, noticing her cheeks red from crying. “My father said they make you weak.”
“That’s dumb.” She replies, and I can’t help but smirk at her sass. He wasn’t wrong though. Animals make you feel, they open a place in your heart at a very young age that teaches you about losing a life. If you never witness that heart crushing moment of losing an animal then you never have to experience that feeling of caring.
“I had a cat once, but he got out and got hit by a car,” she confides, and I listen. “My mother said the city was no place for a pet and I never had a one since.” Her voice shaky.
“God, he was an ugly cat.” She begins to laugh, her body rocking against my own. The smell of her making me inhale harder. “I found him by central park, he was white and had really big eyes.” She continues to tell me before rolling over and looking at the TV, her episode of crying seaming to subside. I glance at the TV with her noticing Deadpool on.
“I called him Peepers, like the scary movie Jeepers Creepers.” This catches my attention, and I can’t help but give her a strange look. I figured she’d name it coco, or sprinkles, some girly shit. She keeps surprising me.
Silence fills the room, and we both lay there watching the old TV. As if the last few days had worn us out, or the past few years more like it, we fall asleep, and when we wake up we watch more TV before falling back asleep. My hand is always on some part of her delicate skin, her neck, hair, lower back, anywhere to make sure she doesn’t leave my side. I’m supposed to hate her, despise her even but every day I’m around her, the more I’m finding myself enjoying her company.
I feel closer to her today, but I don’t think for one second that, that sly fox with that white rabbit in its mouth didn’t show up by coincidence. I feel as if fate was telling me something today.
I’m the fox, she’s the bunny.
Leona
Waking up this morning, Kieran is gone, as usual. I feel different this morning though, happier? I don’t know, but sleeping all day with him next to me, watching re-runs on TV is exactly what my soul needed. Without having to say a word, it’s as if we connected more than ever. He never left my side until sometime this morning. Going to the bathroom, I sit down to pee and press my forehead into my hand. I might have overreacted over that rabbit, but something deep inside of me had been building up. I just couldn’t cope seeing all that and it’s as if Kieran knew, I feel like he might have needed the reprieve himself.
Splashing my face with cold water, I dry it, staring back at my reflection. Kieran is not what the press or my mother says he is. He’s very different. Men like him don’t cuddle a woman who is supposed to be his enemy because she saw a dead bunny. There’s more to him, I wonder if there’s more to me.
Heading down the hall Kieran is in his spot in the chair in the corner, looking just as handsome as usual. He’s wearing just sweats, tribal tattoos swirling his chest making me want to relive yesterday all over again. He was just mine in the bed, my eyes tracing every line of ink he had when he was asleep.