15

Spencer Cypress

I wanted nothing more than to be able to sleep peacefully at night and wake up tomorrow and spend more time with Graham. He's been an amazing boyfriend over the past few weeks, and I could count on him.

And yet, I can't even get a proper night's rest. Some point during the night, I began to hear scratching on the wall. This had been going on for a while. While I used to think it was house settling noises, it began to get louder.

As the scratching got louder, I sat up and tried to hear where it was coming from. When I found out where it was coming from, the wall next to the bathroom, I approached closer and scanned the area.

"This is how you die, you fucking dumbass," I muttered to myself.

I pressed my ear against the wall. The scratching was indeed coming from there. Nothing could've prepared me for what happened next.

A loud screech came out from the wall. I jumped back and landed on my ass.

"Fuck this!" I shouted. I ran out of the house, not even bothering to put on slippers, and ran to Graham's house.

I pounded on his door for a few minutes. Juniper began to bark. Finally, when my boyfriend opened the door, I jumped in his arms and hugged him.

"Spencer?" He asked.

"Graham! You have to help me! There's something in my house!" I told him.

"Calm down." He told me. He saw I was barefoot and gave me some slippers to wear. He stepped out and walked with me to my house.

It was the only thing I could think of. I wasn't going to sit around and just wait for whatever that was to come and kill me.

"Where did you hear it?" Graham asked. I stood behind him.

"My room." I told him. He assured me that he was going to take care of things.

I showed Graham where I heard the screeching from. Instead of freaking out like me, he instead took charge and listened closely.

"Interesting." He muttered. "Do you have a hammer?" He asked me.

"Uh, no?" I replied. He gave me a look. "I'll go check." I said.

I did manage to find a hammer under the sink in the kitchen. I gave it to Graham and watched him hit the wall with it.

"I might have to break the walls." He told me.

"What? No way!" I retorted.

"I don't think it's a monster. And I'll fix it afterwards." Graham said.

I huffed. "Fine. But if it's the Babadook or something like that, I'm throwing you first." I said.

Graham smiled and rolled his eyes. I watched as he began to break holes into the wall. Every time he banged the hammer on the wall, I cringed on the inside.

"Anything?" I asked.

"No- Wait, yes!" He alerted me. I got closer to him and watched as Graham stuck his arms into the hole.

He pulled them out and made the hole bigger. With both hands inside, he felt around until I saw his arms flex, meaning he was grabbing something. When he pulled out his hands, he held something in hands.

"Hang on," Graham told me.

Upon closer look, I saw he had pulled out a ball of black fur. It began to move, causing me to jump back and hide inside the bathroom.

"Ew! Ew! Get it out!" I said.

"Hang on, Spencer. Look!" Graham said. I looked out and saw Graham holding the ball of fur.

"Is that a chicken?" I asked in awe.

"Huh? No," Graham looked at me like an idiot.

"Sorry. Pop culture reference." I said. I got out of the bed and walked over to him. "It's a cat!" I eagerly said.

"Yup. Looks a bit terrified." Graham said. He inspected the cat as it barely moved around. "Let's feed him. He looks hungry."

"So, it's a he." I mutter. Graham and I took the cat downstairs. I began to search around my kitchen for something to feed him while Graham inspected the cat.

I managed to find a can of tuna I wasn't planning on eating. I did some research and diced up some carrots on the side.

"How is he?" I asked.

Graham was looking at the cat on the living room floor.

"He looks a bit shaken up." Graham said. The cat let out a fierce hiss. "And he's feisty too."

I brought the food in front of the cat. He hissed at me. But I didn't let this deter me. I managed to place the plate in front of him directly.

"Is he eating?" Graham asked.

We waited as the cat smelled the food. Then he began to eat. "Yes!" I cheered. Graham and I cheered for joy and hugged each other.

"Look at him go." Graham mentioned. "Poor thing. Must've been starving."

"But how did he get in the walls? And how long has he been there?" I asked.

"This has happened to many people here. During the Fourth of July, cats will enter homes to avoid the loud noises. My guess is this little fella snuck inside during the fireworks show. As for how he's lived, he's probably been feeding off a dead mouse or something." Graham explained.

"A mouse?" I gagged.

"Who knows? Maybe you can keep him, and he'll kill all of them for you?" He suggested.

I looked down at the cat as he ate away. "I don't know. Isn't getting a pet like, a big deal? I don't know if I can look after him."

"Cats are quite independent. I'm sure you can look after him with little effort. Though some do become incredibly attached to their owners."

The cat finished its food quickly. I brought over a bowl of water for him to drink up.

"Still, we should get him to a vet and maybe ask around if someone is missing their cat. Based on how big he is, I reckon he's no more than 6 or 7 months old." Graham said.

"Where will he sleep?" I asked.

Graham smirked at me. "I'm sure you've got a spare room."

I relented. It's not like the cat was going to murder me in the middle of the night. And at least I know it's not a monster in the walls. Just a starving cat.

I kneeled next to the cat. It hissed at me. I examined it more. His fur was entirely black. And its eyes were a bright yellow.

"You're going to pay rent at some point." I muttered to the cat.

Graham laughed.

My clock on the wall told me that it was past midnight.

"Shit! It's late." I said. "Sorry, I disturbed your sleep."

"It's okay. This was a fun mini adventure." He said.

"Go back home. I'll finish up here and take care of this little guy." I said.

"Okie dokie. But if you need any help, just run back, with shoes this time, and call me."

I pushed Graham out of my house and watched him as he went home.

"Damn, I still have his slippers." I said. I then turned my attention to the little cat. He had moved under the couch. I could barely make out his tail sticking out.

The cat must still be a bit shocked. Being stuck in the walls for days and then seeing light and suddenly being ogled by two giant men would frighten anyone.

"Hey! Kitty! Let's get you somewhere to sleep." I told the cat. I looked under the couch and saw him looking at me with his bright yellow eyes. "Awe, you're actually adorable."

He let out a hiss.

"Fuck you too." I said. "Look, it's been a long night. I'll let you sleep here if you promise to behave. You're not some animal... well."

The more reasonable option was for me to sleep in the living room and keep a watch on him. Which is what I did. I brought down my blanket and slept on the couch.

"Night, kitty! I'm going to sleep now! Don't kill me in my sleep." I called out.

I was expecting a reply. I simply dimmed the lights and turned in for the night. A cat wasn't on my agenda for this week. Though, this entire stay has been one crazy rollercoaster.