Chapter Seventeen

Nick's Point Of View

Flashback

My nose twitched as a strong smell erupted throughout it. "Do I smell-?" I began.

"Bacon?!" Ben finished and sat up from his sleeping position.

I blinked open my eyes and slowly sat up and yawned.

I noticed Elisa and Lyla were already gone from their spots on the bed.

Sammi was still asleep, rising and falling with each breath she took.

The other three were all in Jameson's cage, a tangled mess of limbs, fur, and feathers.

"I think it is bacon!" bem announced quietly.

"Come on!" I jumped off the bed and made my way down the stairs.

Ben and I made our way into the kitchen. Elisa glanced over at us from her lying position on the counter. Lyla turned her head to look at us and broke into a huge smile.

"There's my little cuties." She bent down and scratched our ears.

Ben and I's tails started wagging and Ben's tongue escaped his lips.

Lyla stood back up and grabbed two things from the counter. "Look what I have for you two." She turned around, holding up whatever she had just previously grabbed.

Bacon! Two slices of it too!

"Lucky lucky." Elisa snickered from the counter.

I smiled even wider and sat down obediently, waiting for our treat.

Lyla threw them up slightly in the air and Ben and I immediately jumped into action. We jumped slightly and caught the pieces in our jaws. I've missed this taste. Man, it feels like it's been an eternity since I had a human meal.

"Guess what guys." Lyla began to speak after she turned back to tend to the bacon.

"What?" I answered instantly.

"Nick, you're cute." Nalla yawned and landed on my back. "You still answer her even when she can't understand us."

"Well, it's rude not to." I defended myself and raised my head higher. "I'm a polite boy."

"You're a dog, genius." Sammi sassed and hopped up on the counter next to Elisa.

"Yeah, And you're a cat." I retaliated, licking my lips from the bacon.

"Thanks for noticing." Sammi yawned and laid on Elisa's stomach.

"Good morning Sammi and Nalla. Nice to see you two up." Lyla greeted, putting the remains of bacon on the plate..

Ben snickered. "Yeah, only Nalla is up. Sleeping Beauty over there fell asleep." Ben chuckled, staring up at Sammi.

We all turned our heads and saw that Sammi was indeed asleep once again.

It's her natural state, she can't help it.

"Sleeping Beauty who?" Peter squeaked from below me.

I glanced down and saw a blob of fur.

"Good morning." I greeted him with a smile.

"Morning Nick." Peter leaned against my leg, a tiny little yawn escaping his lips.

I heard a rhythmic thump come from the stairs.

Turning around, I saw Jameson hop down the stairs slowly. I chuckled slightly. The kid hasn't mastered the stairs yet.

"Hi Jameson!" Elisa announced from the counter top.

"Hi Elisa." Jameson sneezed, his whole body shaking with him.

Lyla turned around upon hearing Jameson's sneeze. "Bless you." Lyla smiled.

"Amen." Peter commented, half asleep.

(I am a Catholic by the way. If I have any religious related stuff, it will most likely be Catholic. I do not mean to offend anyone or their religion in any way)

"So, now that you're all awake." Lyla glanced over at Sammi. "Well, most of you." She corrected herself with a smile.

Elisa stood up, thus making Sammi's head fall against the counter.

"Little shit." Sammi mumbled and stretched.

"Anyways," Lyla took a sip from her coffee. "I have the day off today! So I was thinking that we could all spend some quality time together!"

——

After many hours of playing games, two hours of baking a large variety of things, and an hour nap, we all ended up on the couch.

Let's see here.

Jameson is currently on top of Lyla's head, looking quite comfortable actually.

Nalla is perched, and leaning slightly against her neck, on Lyla's right shoulder.

I'm to Lyla's left and Ben on her right. Our heads are resting in her lap, with our bodies cramped onto the rest of the couch. It sounds uncomfortable, but trust me on this, I'm the most comfortable I've been in a long time.

Elisa and Sammi are hanging out by Lyla's outstretched legs, laying on top of them.

Lyla is holding Peter in her hands, and stroking him in a steady motion.

We are watching our second movie, Finding Nemo.

"That'll right fishies!" Nalla shouted, fluttering her wings. "Swim away! Make that fisherman regret that he even tried to catch you."

"Calm down Nala. It's literally an animated movie, not the Olympics." Peter chuckled, blinking slowly at the eldest of them all.

"I can be excited about this if I want." Nalla spoke quickly, defending herself. "Don't judge me!" Nalla announced, laughing.

"Alright alright!" Peter laughed, all of us joining the laughter.

End of Movie -

"I swear if Dory doesn't become Nemo's mom, I'm gonna murder someone." Elisa stood up and stretched.

I snorted. "That's a very violent statement." I commented with a grin, watching Jameson struggling to get off Lyla's head.

"Oh Sammi." Lyla sighed lovingly as she stared at the sleeping cat.

Ben rolled his eyes. "She's always sleeping. Where does she even put all of this energy she gets?! She literally does nothing!" Ben laughed.

"I dunno." Jameson shrugged, looking around at us. "Maybe her sarcasm?"

"That's very bold of you to assume that I have sarcasm." Sammi commented, awake now apparently.

"Why do you always wake up at the exact right moments?" I laughed.

I glanced over and saw Lyla staring at us with love in her eyes and a smile on her lips. Then her eyes started to tear up. But Lyla still sat and smiled.

I whined slightly and nudged my head under her arm, so her arm was draped around my neck.

"Is something wrong?" Nalla asked, shushing everyone else's conversations.

Lyla noticed that we all had gathered around her to see what was wrong. "I'm sorry guys. I just, I just love you all so much." She sniffed, still smiling.

"We love you too Lyla." Elisa walked forward and snuggled against Lyla.

Everyone else followed suit.

"We will always love you Lyla." Peter whispered from the group hug.