Chapter 7

Rhetta woke to a rough tongue sliding over her face and neck. She opened her eyes and stared at Trixie. She shoved the dog away and said groggily, "No. Go 'way. Bad dog."

The dog whined and jumped back on the bed. Dixie joined her and both dogs began to whine. After several minutes of attempting to block out the dogs, Rhetta resigned herself to getting up and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands, yawning as she did.

She heard a low rumble of thunder and the patter of rain against the windows. The blankets pooled around her bare waist as she sat up and looked at the large wall clock. Rhetta nearly groaned when she realized it was barely five o'clock in the morning.

She yawned loudly as she slid out of bed.

She picked up the baggy flannel pajama pants and thin baseball shirt that she hadn't bothered to put on before she tumbled into bed naked. Her crumpled work clothes were in a pile by her bedroom door. She stumbled toward the bathroom, yawning.

Rhetta turned on the shower and made sure to leave it as cold as possible. She set the clothes on the bathroom counter and stepped into the shower a moment later. She shivered under the cold spray and let her head roll back to expose her neck. The water woke her almost instantly and she rubbed her eyes. The cold water soaked her hair and ran down her goose bump ridden skin. She shifted slightly as the water ran down her chest, stomach, between her thighs and over her back. She reached up and ran her fingers through her hair. Rhetta fumbled for her shampoo.

As the shampoo was rinsed out of her hair, Rhetta heard a soft whining noise and pulled back the shower curtain. Her dogs were milling about in the bathroom, whining anxiously, their claws scratching on the tile. She turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, reaching for a towel. She rubbed herself dry as quickly as she could. She stopped for a moment, looking remorsefully at the tattoo of a swallow that was emblazoned on the slightly jutting bone of her right hip. Rhetta then slid on the pants and shirt, after wrapping the damp towel around her hair.

She shushed her dogs, attempting to soothe away the tension that emanated from the animals. She noticed after several minutes that there was a shrill, near screaming noise coming from the hallway. Rhetta recognized the sound of the smoke alarm and stepped over her dogs on her way to the door. She fumbled with the lock and pulled the bolts back. She threw the door open and stepped out into the hallway. Her dogs attempted to run after her, but she closed the door quickly and looked around.

The hall was deserted.

Rhetta sniffed the air; traces of cigarette smoke lingered, but it was getting fainter. She shook her head and started toward the smoke alarm quickly. The smoke alarm resided at the end of the hallway. It, at one point, had had a protective case around it, but the case had been smashed and now the smoke alarm was unprotected. A stool had been left in the hallway due to the alarm's tendency to go off at the slightest provocation. Rhetta stopped beneath it and scowled up at the alarm. She pulled the stool toward it and clambered up easily. She fiddled with the switches briefly, and smiled in relief when the shrill screeching ended.

She jumped off the stool and landed lightly, her still wet hair slapping against her back sharply. Rhetta walked quickly back to her door. She stepped inside, pushing the dogs back with her legs. She glanced at her clock and smiled. Rhetta slipped off her shirt, hung it over the back of a chair and headed back into the bedroom. She stripped off the pajama pants and tossed them onto her rumpled sheets.

Her dresser was perfectly organized and it took her barely a second to locate her underwear. She pulled on a sports bra, but didn't bother with underwear. She opened a second drawer and pulled out a pair of soft, black Capri length leggings. She slipped into them, then headed back toward her front door. She pulled on her shirt once again. She opened the door of the closet and rummaged around till she found two identical black leather leashes. She set them to one side as she rummaged for a baseball cap. She set it on her damp hair, not bothering to brush her hair out of her eyes or worry about brushing it. Rhetta then reached back into the closet and pulled out a pair of soft tennis shoes. She didn't feel the need to put on socks and simply slid her feet into the shoes.

She quickly rummaged through the drawers and pulled out her work clothes for the day. It was a pantsuit, done in a deep grey and black pinstripe fabric. The jacket fit well, curving in at the waist and flaring out around the tops of her hips; the pants had been fitted especially for her and fit snugly. She also pulled out a high necked, sleeveless white shirt that buttoned up to the hollow of her throat.

When she had finished laying out her clothes, Rhetta picked up the leashes, knelt, and fastened them to the dogs' collars. Trixie and Dixie danced with excitement, yelping happily, as she grabbed her keychain, opened the door and let them pull her into the hall. Rhetta forced the dogs to stand still as she shut and locked the door. She gripped the keychain as tight as she could. She ran down the hall, doing her best to keep up with the dogs. Rhetta stumbled as she was dragged down the stairs.

When she reached the front door, she unlocked it, held it open for her dogs and stepped out into the chilly rain. Rhetta shivered as she turned and locked the door behind her. Her dogs whined anxiously. She bounded down the steps, splashing through puddles behind her dogs. Rhetta belatedly realized that she would have to bathe her dogs when she returned to her apartment, but she merely sighed and continued letting them dash through the puddles.

She allowed them to lead her to the park. It was several blocks away and had a small playground, a tennis court, a short, if winding, track for bicycles and joggers. Trash littered the whole place and Rhetta scowled when she saw it. The dogs knew the track by heart and trotted around it methodically. Suddenly, Dixie stopped dead and lifted her head, sniffing the air deeply. Trixie followed her example. Rhetta stared at them, raising a brow slightly.

Both dogs shot off the path as one. Their leashes were jerked out of Rhetta's hands and they bounded into the bushes. She ran after them, wincing as the whippy branches caught her bare legs. She clambered over the bushes and nearly tripped over a fallen branch.

She righted herself quickly and looked around. Her dogs were standing side-by-side, tails wagging.

Rhetta headed toward them quickly. She glanced down, as she dropped into a half squat, interested in what the dogs were inspecting so interestedly. She pushed the dogs aside gently. She stared, eyes wide. She turned her head to one side quickly and threw up.

She got to her feet shakily and grabbed her dogs' leashes. She dragged them out of the bushes and back onto the park's path. She pulled them down the path and forced herself to stay outdoors till her dogs had finished their business and she had gathered it up in a plastic bag.

She tossed the bag into the trashcan at the entrance of the park.

Despite having to forcibly drag the dogs away from the scene, once they were suitably distracted, she allowed the dogs to lead her back to the apartment. As they trotted up the steps, the door opened and the twins appeared. Murphy dived to one side dramatically as Connor stepped up quickly to hold the door open for her. Rhetta smiled weakly and said, "Thank you."

Murphy flipped back his unruly bangs and asked, "Are ye alright?"

Connor put in, "Ye do look a bit pale."

Rhetta shook her head as she replied shakily, "There's a skinned cat in the park. It's missing it's head."

There was a long pause, then Murphy murmured, "What the fuck?"

She merely nodded.

Connor grimaced, "I suppose we could ge' rid o' it."

"I ain't helping carry it," Murphy muttered. He snarled a moment later, "It's jus' a cat."

Connor rolled his eyes and cuffed his brother lightly on the ear as he said apologetically to Rhetta, "He don' like mornings much."

Rhetta smiled slightly, "I suppose that makes him human."

"What are ye doin' up?" Connor asked curiously.

"I never admitted to being human, now did I?" Rhetta asked as she slipped quickly into the building. As Connor rolled his eyes, Rhetta continued quickly, "I always take my dogs for a walk in the morning."

Murphy leaned down and said pleasantly, "Hallo ye littl' bastards. Did ye have a nice walk?"

Dixie growled and snapped at the man's nose.

Connor threw an arm around his brother's shoulders and said quietly, "Come on. We need ta check on that littl' problem, 'member?"

Murphy grinned, "Gratuitous violence here we come!"

Rhetta stared at them, then she said slowly, "I suppose I should tell you to be careful, but I'm sure you know what you're doing."

Connor dragged Murphy down the steps, "We'll get rid o' the cat."

As she pulled the door open, Rhetta heard Murphy say, "You're so whipped."

"Fuck off," Connor replied.

Rhetta ignored their ensuing argument and instead focused on pulling the door open and hauling her dogs inside. She briefly glanced in the direction the twins had taken. Her gaze raked up and down the lean lines of their bodies, then she flushed bright red and looked away guiltily.

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And, guess who's back! I finally got all the kinks worked out flashdrive-wise and have been getting back into the swing of things nicely.

Thanks you all for all the encouragement and support while I was freaking out about the evils of technology!

And, special thanks to: Leyshla Gisel, rckyfrk and cemmia for their lovely Reviews!