He Said the Cat Needed Him. There Was No Cat Chapter 03

He Said the Cat Needed Him. There Was No Cat Chapter 03

That night, I slept lightly after returning home.

My dreams were filled with small memories I had ignored before.

Once, at a company barbecue, Vanessa Reed sat beside me. The moment her tongs touched a spicy sausage, Adrian Cole frowned.

“Don’t eat that.”

Vanessa Reed rolled her eyes. “You control everything.”

He placed a slice of plain grilled beef on her plate.

“Don’t call people crying at midnight when your stomach starts hurting.”

Back then, I laughed.

“The two of you fight every time you’re together.”

Another time, it rained.

Neither Vanessa Reed nor I had an umbrella.

Adrian Cole had brought only one.

He shoved it into her hands, his tone harsh.

“If you catch a cold, you’ll act like you’re dying.”

Vanessa Reed snapped, “Who wants your umbrella?”

I stood under the awning and watched them argue all the way to the parking lot.

In the end, I ran into the rain alone and called an Uber.

I still made excuses for them then.

One was my boyfriend.

The other was my best friend.

Now, every warning sign seemed obvious.

I woke just after dawn.

An Instagram post from Vanessa Reed appeared on my phone.

An IV line was taped to the back of her hand.

Adrian Cole’s jacket covered her knees.

The caption read: Someone yelled at me all night.

Our mutual friends joked in the comments.

“He yelled at you, but he still covered you with his jacket?”

“Director Cole only gets this sharp with you.”

Vanessa Reed replied with an emoji.

“He’s so annoying. I told him to go make up with Claire, but he refused to leave.”

I stared at that caption for a long time.

When it was time for work, I got dressed and went to the office.

The voices in the break room stopped the moment I walked in.

Someone brushed past me with a mug and muttered,

“Her best friend had an allergic reaction and ended up in the hospital, and she’s still making trouble.”

“Her boyfriend can’t even help a friend without her turning it into some pathetic competition between women.”

My fingers tightened around my cup.

I went to HR and submitted a request.

“I want to transfer to the Fairview branch.”