"Trouble? Where are you?" She asked in a panicked voice. "Come on, boy, I need to get you out of here."
She had just received a phone call from her boyfriend. He had left that same morning with his brother to go camping for the weekend. Little did she know that his lying little brother would mix her into one of his famous lies on the trip there. Apparently she had slept with him and her boyfriend believed his brother. Of course he did. This wasn't a healthy relationship they had. She knew that first hand with all the beatings she already took. This one was gonna be a cruel one when he returned Sunday evening.
"I'm gonna skin your cat alive in front of you before taking care of you."
That had been his last words before hanging up. She had no doubt he meant it. It was one thing that she took beating after beating but she would not let anything happen to her cat.
"Trouble, please!" She almost cried.
The grey tabby crawled out from one of his favourite hiding spots under the couch. She quickly grabbed him and got him into the cat carrier under protest as always. He hated going in there.
"I promise you, we're not going to the vet," she said.
Baron was in what most people called a troubled neighbourhood. He never met any trouble there. It was a poor neighbourhood compared to where he lived but the people were friendly. It wasn't that he needed to go there but he had fallen in love with a little Asian shop and he liked talking to the old owner. The man was wise and had a lot of funny stories so Baron went once a month and bought a few items. Today he had only left with a bag of sumac spice.
"Please, can you help me?" A female voice sounded.
He looked ahead to see a dark blonde haired woman with a cat carrier in her hands, trying to stop everyone that walked past her to ask for help. They all either ignored her or said no. She was standing on the sidewalk next to his car so there was no way he could get around her without her noticing. Not that he wanted to either. There was a desperate look on her face and he was curious.
"Please, sir, can you help me?" She stopped him.
"Not if you call me sir," he tried with a smile and a light tone.
"I'm sorry," she said.
Her hazel eyes screamed at him. They begged him for help and his smile dropped. No matter what it was, it had to be serious.
"What do you need help with?" He asked.
"Can you take him?" She held up the cat carrier. "Please, I need to find him a new home before Sunday."
"What happens Sunday?" He asked.
"Bad things," her eyes got wet. "Please, sir."
"Baron," he said. "I don't like being called sir. My name is Baron Corbin. What's yours?"
"Cara Friday," she said.
"Okay, Cara, tell me what happens Sunday that makes finding this little guy a new home important," he said.
She bit her lip and looked at him. There was no way around it. He was the only one who had stopped and maybe there was a chance she could convince him to take Trouble if she was being honest.
"He's coming home," she said.
"Who?" He asked.
"Brandon. My boyfriend," she answered.
"And he doesn't want the cat? What's its name, by the way?" He asked.
"Trouble," she looked around quickly. "He's gonna skin him alive."
He chuckled at that but quickly stopped when he realized she meant it.
"For real? Your boyfriend's gonna skin your cat alive? Why?" He asked.
"Because his brother told him I slept with him," she answered. "I didn't. He's a liar but of course Brandon believes him. He always believes him."
"So you got a psychopath as boyfriend with a lying brother on the side. Somehow I don't wanna meet the parents," he said.
That earned him a little smile. A very little smile that quickly dropped but it had been there. For a brief second she had looked cute. Not happy or carefree but cute. He couldn't recall the last time he had thought a woman looked cute. Hot, sexy, beautiful, whatever words he used nowadays, but not cute.
"So will you help me? Will you take him?" She asked.
"Sure, I'll take him. My car's right there," he pointed at his car. "But I don't have anything for a cat at home."
"I live right in there," she pointed at the building next to them. "We can get all his stuff for you."
"Let's do that," he reached for the cat carrier. "Let me take that for you. Hi Trouble, I'm Baron. Apparently I'm your new owner."
He followed her inside the building, up the stairs to the first floor and into her apartment. It looked old and cold. Sure there was furniture but nothing to make it a home. No pictures or items to make it personal and warm. Just white walls. Well, almost. One of the walls had brown splatter on it from what he assumed had been a cup of coffee being thrown into it at some point. He didn't need to ask to know who that cup had been aimed at.
"His litter box is in the bathroom," she said.
She disappared out of sight while he once again took a look around. After a minute he put down the cat carrier. It didn't take that long to pick up a litter box. He walked out to the bathroom where he found her gripping the sink so tight that her knuckles were white while she stared down in the sink. He placed his hands on her shoulders and she shivered.
"Sorry," she cried. "I just need a moment."
"I'll take Trouble on one condition," he said.
"Anything you want," she said.
"Come with me," he said.
"What?" She asked.
She raised her head and caught his eyes in the mirror. He was way taller and wider than her but she didn't feel scared. There was something in his eyes that made her relax. His hands on her shoulders felt warm and safe.
"Look at yourself," he said softly. "This was not the woman you wanted to grow up to be when you were younger. You're scared and I understand that. But you're also an extraordinary woman."
"I'm not," she whispered.
"But you are. You're hellbent on getting your cat out of harm's way while you don't stop and think about yourself. That takes some sort of guts," he said. "But you should worry about yourself too."
"Trouble is all I have," she said.
"So you shouldn't be separated," he said.
She took a deep breath, clearly thinking about it for a second.
"Baron, I can't," she said.
"I'm only taking him if you come too," he said. "That's the choice I'm giving you."
"That's not very fair," she said.
"I'm known to play dirty," he smirked.
"Okay," she nodded.
"Take your time while packing your things. I'll get whatever cat stuff I can spot around here," he said.
That was done fast. A litter box, two bowls, a bag of cat food and a few pieces of toys. He made a mental note to buy more toys for the cat and maybe even a cat bed and a cat tree too. Anything to make his home a paradise for him and for Cara as well.
"Are you almost done?" He walked into the bedroom.
She was zipping a bag. Next to it two others bags were already zipped.
"I'm ready," she said.
"Okay, let's carry your stuff down to the car," he said.
It took two trips up and down the stairs to get it all out but shortly after they were on the road. Her eyes widened as they drove into the neighbourhood he lived in and up into his driveway.
"This isn't a house. It's a fucking palace," she said.
"I'm a big man. I need a big house," he chuckled.
"Do you need 50 rooms as well?" She asked.
"I don't even have half that amount," he laughed.
Another two trips from the car and all her stuff was inside his house. He opened the cat carrier and watched as Trouble jumped up on the couch as if he had always lived there. She on the other hand seemed more nervous.
"It's only temporary. I'll find something new to live in soon," she said.
"You can stay as long as you like," he smiled. "What do you do for a living?"
"Shit! He knows where I work," she said.
"So quit," he said.
"And then do what?" She asked.
"Get another job. I'll help you. I got many weird contacts. What would you like to work as?" He asked.
"You've already done so much for me," she said.
"And I'm not done," he winked. "I travel a lot. You can become my personal cleaning lady. You're lucky I got this week off or we would probably never have met."
She walked over to his fireplace and looked at the picture frame on top of it. It was a picture of him but he looked different. He had long hair on it and a title raised above his head.
"You wrestle?" She asked.
"Yep," he smiled proudly. "That was taken right after I won the US title."
"I don't know what that is," she said.
"One of the titles within WWE," he said.
"WWE? No shit? That's the top company, right?" She asked.
"Right," he nodded.
"So you're like fucking famous and shit," she said.
"Yeah, I am," he laughed. "But don't treat me any different that you're already doing because of it."
"I wasn't gonna," she said.
She smiled at him. Not a little smile like back on the street. A real smile. A smile that actually reached her hazel eyes and made them shimmer. It was in that moment he knew that he was in trouble. He might not know this woman but he was ready to jump her bones and make her his.
"How does dinner sound?" He asked.
"Really good," she answered.
"Okay, let's see what I got in the fridge and then make the guest room for you afterwards," he said.
"The couch is fine," she said.
"Are you sure? I got a guest room with a real bed and room for your clothes," he said.
"That's not necessary. Like I said, it's only temporary," she said.
She could say that as many times as she liked but he already knew he didn't agree with her. And where would she go? She needed a new job first and he was gonna help her as much as he could to get her back on her feet. He just hoped it would take a little longer than she planned for in her own head. He shook his head. So this was what love at first sight meant. He never thought it was real but there he was, watching Cara, knowing he was already falling in love even though she was a complete stranger.