‘That’ Side Character Chapter 40: A Heart Ripped in Two

You paused, torn.

Finally, you resigned.

“Yeah,” you said sadly and turned to her.

“Sorry, I’ll just steal her away for a little sec,” Lolita said as she pulled you away with her, out into the hall.

“Sunshine…” She said in a gentle caring voice, “I couldn’t help but overhear what you said to the couple just then…”

You hung your head and you bottom lip quivered.

“I don’t like them,” you said in a voice that indicated you were only just holding it together.

“Sugar, why?” she asked gently.

“They called Mondo a stinky cat and that’s not nice and they don’t look like the type to care about cats and—,”

“Oh sweet. I understand, but you can’t stop people from adopting the kitties, they all deserve good homes and it’s not fair on them to be kept here.”

Tears started to fall down your cheeks as she pulled you in for a hug.

“Shhh, hush love, don’t cry, I know you love all of them but we need to do what’s best for these fluffy babies. Those two in there have plenty of money to give any of the kitties here a lovely comfortable life.”

“But they don’t deserve ANY of the cats! They don’t love them!” you blurted out, still sobbing. 

“Honey,” Lolita said gently, still holding you in her arms.

“Excuse me, but we like the cat in cage 4,” the woman of the pair, Rita, said as she poked her head out the door to attract the attention of you both.

“No!” you gasped, spinning to face her with your tear-stained face, “that’s Kenma’s cage number!!” 

“I beg your pardon?” the lady asked.

“No!” you shouted, glaring at her through your tears, “no! You can’t have him!”

“It says on the cage that Felix is looking for a new home and we certainly have everything that will give him a wonderful rest of his life,” she replied, now talking over you to Lolita seeing as you were of no use to her now.

“No!” you shouted, hoping your loud exclamation would block her ability to take things to the next step.

In defiance, she looked at you and sneered down her nose, staring you dead in the eye.

“Shouldn’t you be in school learning something useful?” she asked hauntingly, “now. If I could have the paperwork set up, I will sign, and Felix will be coming with us.” Her last line was directed at Lolita, since you had started to break down again.

“No! No, you can’t have him! You don’t even know Kenma!” you wailed, balling your fists and ready for an actual fist fight.

Lolita tried to placate you and took you with her as she walked off down the hall.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you go and rest in the staff room for a little bit?” she offered.

“No! I don’t want to go in there, I want to stop them from taking Kenma from me!” you sobbed, fighting to get out of her grip.

Lolita was surprisingly strong and held you fast.

“Honey, I know how you feel, but you can’t act like this,” she said softly, “now, please, go to the staff room.”

She was gentle with her words but you knew she was serious, and you also knew you were being an annoyance, so, still sobbing, you broke free from her grip and ran to the staff room while she took over and dealt with the customers.

Lolita, very sadly, got the adoption paperwork together and took it back in to where the husband and wife were waiting outside cage 4.

“My apologies,” Lolita said as she waddled up to the couple.

“You need to employ better people here,” the lady said- awakening the mother bear in Lolita.

“I understand that you don’t know Y/N and her actions may have seemed inappropriate to you, but she is extremely caring of our animals here and her love for them all has no limits. She is a valuable team member and I won’t have you talk about her like that,” Lolita said firmly.

Dear Lolita, was a sweet lady 99% of the time, but if something got her mad you certainly didn’t want to be in her way when the verbal chancla went flying.

“Well… I didn’t appreciate how she—,” Rita started to say.

“I am sorry but I am going to cut you off right there. This darling kitty you’re adopting is Y/N’s favourite. Now, you have a good think about how you would feel if someone was taking something that you loved away from you and tell me how you would feel before you starting taking about how my Y/N was acting,” she started again firmly, giving Rita a direct glare.

“Maybe we should go,” the husband said softly from behind his wife.

“No, Gerald,” Rita said sternly to her husband without looking at him, keeping her steely gaze on Lolita, “I think Felix would do nicely in our home and I don’t care what some snotty high school kid says. If I want this cat then I will get this cat.”

Lolita’s blood boiled but she didn’t say anything. 

Under her breath, though, she cursed this woman and prayed Kenma would run away and come back to the shelter, or that the lady would return him.

Reluctantly, Lolita oversaw the papers being signed and arranged for your dear Kenma to be discharged from the sheltered.

It was a few minutes later that the couple left, with Kenma, and sauntered out the door with him in a smaller cage.

With a heavy heart, Lolita went to get you from the staff room and found you sitting in the corner of the room with your knees hugged to your chest and your forehead resting on your knees.

“Love?” she asked gently as she approached you.

You looking up at her, completely void.

“Honey, I think you should go home and rest now,” she said gently.

“He’s gone… isn’t he…” you whispered in a hoarse voice.

She nodded sadly.

Numb to everything, you pulled yourself up and turned to the door without saying anything to her, then picked up your bag and left.

You don’t remember the walk home but all of a sudden you were on your doorstep… but you didn’t want to go in.

You needed someone.

A few seconds later you were on Kenma’s doorstep and you knocked loudly.

He didn’t answer.

“Kenma?” you called.

No reply.

So around to the side fence you went.

With difficulty, you scrambled over it and dropped down into his yard, your legs giving way under you and dropping you to your knees on the soft grass.

“Kenma?” you called again, just hearing your own voice call his name reminded you of Kenma the cat and it all came flooding back; the pain of knowing he wasn’t there at the shelter anymore, ripping your heart in two. “Kenma!” you cried out, feeling like this time you were calling for the cat, and not your boyfriend.

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