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Chapter Eleven
Elizabeth tossed and turned the whole night. It didn't matter how often she fell asleep, what felt like minutes later, her eyes snapped open and her brain began to race anew. This really wasn't anything new though, every night before a hospital visit, it happened.
Probably another among many of her personal demons, rearing its ugly head and Piph wondered why she never saw the point in dating or making lasting relationships. Sure, most people had some sort of baggage but could they claim their whole life and everything to come was theirs?
To make matters worse, Cleo continually gave her the evil eye every time she tossed or turned. "Just because I named you after a queen, does not make you one, you know! This is my bed, if you don't like the activities that I am partaking in, then find somewhere else to sleep." Elizabeth snarked at the cat.
"Meow…" Cleo responded.
"Yeah, well, fuck you too…" Elizabeth said while rolling her eyes at herself. "The next time I get a cat, I'm not talking to them, if I had known then, what I know now…I can't even blame anyone else for your absurd bossiness and vocalness. Although, in my defense, I didn't know that talking to you, would reap this type of results. For a being that is barely a foot tall and maybe two feet long, you sure think you are HBIC…"
With hooded eyes, Cleo replied, "Meow…hiss…meow…"
"And the horse you rode in on…" Elizabeth responded before leaving the bed. As the past had already proved, she couldn't win an argument with the damn cat.
Four in the morning isn't too early to start getting ready for something she did not want to go to, right…? The appointment was for ten… It was either go about her normal-ish routine or piss both her and the cat off enough that they woke Piph again. Not something she wanted to experience again, Epiphany took over an hour to calm down after her last laughing jag.
Stopping at the kitchen to grab a clear fluid drink, so she wouldn't mess with the blood tests and fasting they had her doing, Elizabeth grumbled to no one in particular but it was frustrating. 'You need to gain weight Elizabeth, you are much to skinny…' she continuously heard from all types of doctors but it wasn't like she was on a hunger strike…ugh, if she thought about it too long, she'd just end up more angry.
Cracking the main door, Elizabeth almost hoped Francis was still around, he didn't feel scary and she wasn't constantly on high alert in his presence, so if she could kill some time with good conversation, why not?
"Jason? What the hell are you doing standing at our door? Are you not supposed to be in the hospital?" Elizabeth almost screamed, forgetting herself for a moment.
"Elizabeth…" Jason began, her name rolling sweetly off his tongue.
"Elizabeth, that's all you have to say? Get your ass inside and sit down before you fall down! I can't believe you. Is this a man thing or a mob thing?" Elizabeth asked as she paced back and forth in front of the couch where he had reluctantly sat. "Seriously Jason, why aren't you in the hospital?"
Before he could respond, he suddenly had a lap full of fur. "Umm…what is this?" Jason asked, his eyebrows practically receding into his hairline.
"A cat…" Elizabeth said with a smile. "My cat…Cleopatra, is there a problem?"
"I don't think I have ever had a cat on or near me before…it's…weird." Jason finally offered, unsure what exactly was expected of him.
"I can remove her if you like but she really is a friendly thing, well, for the most part. She normally only sits on my lap…actually, this is the friendliest I have ever seen her. You just have to give her a push and she should leave your lap. Although, she is in a snit because I couldn't sleep and her…err…my bed kept moving on her." Taking a seat beside him, close but not too close, if she kept pacing she was liable to give herself motion sickness.
"No…no…I think I'm fine." Jason said as he watched the cat stretch her claws as she seemed to fluff his lap before lying down.
"Great, now what the hell do you think you are doing? Jason, you have alcohol poisoning, that isn't something someone can just shrug off." Elizabeth said, trying to make him understand. Deciding to try a different route she said, "Besides, how can you hope to keep me safe if you end up in the hospital again or worse, dead?"
Through her little speech she hadn't looked at him. Just looking at him distracted her, so it was better to play least in sight in this instance. He didn't scare her; he didn't scare her so much that it scared her. Convoluted for sure but there you have it.
When no answer came back to her, she turned to face him. "Stubborn jackass!" Elizabeth exclaimed quietly. Cleo offered her own snarky yawn but didn't move from her perch.
Taking the throw from the back of the couch, Elizabeth tried to figure the best way to cover him up and not disturb the high maintenance cat. Realizing that there wasn't a simple way to go about it, without risking waking them both, Elizabeth laid the throw on the back of the couch.
Afraid that if she moved, she'd wake him, she simply settled further into her spot, allowing herself a few minutes to drink him in. The short spikes, chiseled jaw, awe inspiringly long, black lashes that just added to his beauty…his bottom lip was slightly plumper than his top…his lips were made for being worshiped…that bottom lip just begging to be nibbled and sucked. Shaking her head as she felt herself lean closer, she quickly slammed her eyes closed. Shocked and appalled that she could have such strong feelings for someone she didn't know.
As she counted in her head, trying without much success to distract herself, the higher she got, the longer it took for her mind to remember the next number before she too slipped to sleep.
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Epiphany hadn't slept much better herself but the gentle tapping on her bedroom door; let her know it wasn't Elizabeth. She liked to make the most noise possible and give you a heart attack in the process, so whoever it was, it wasn't her favorite person.
Propping the door open with her frame, she almost swallowed her tongue seeing Francis standing there. "Is something wrong?" She asked instantly.
"Not at all, I just figured you'd want to see this. I made sure to get numerous photos, I don't know if we will ever see something like this again." Francis offered, gently taking her arm and shushing her as he led her down the stairs.
"HOLY SHIT!" Epiphany almost yelled. Elizabeth was snuggled under Jason's arm, her leg thrown over his lap and that damn cat sleeping on their combined shoulders. It's nose practically in Jason's ear. Taking a few photos of her own, Epiphany gestured to the kitchen, a huge, unstoppable smile gracing her sleep weary face.
"I…Francis…this, that…my God, I thought she was going to live in a bubble of her own making for the rest of her life. I can barely touch her, never mind that if I touch her when she is sleeping, she wakes up screaming like she's being chased down by Freddy Krueger…and let's not forget that damn cat who seems to hate everyone but her, she's snuggled up to him like he's her momma…This is both beautiful and terrifying." Epiphany said, her voice tinge with shock and awe.
"He wouldn't hurt her, he's a gruff man and will probably make the cat look talkative but he'd sooner shoot himself that hurt the farer sex…" Francis said, trying not to think of all the one-night stands who didn't know how to go away.
"I understand that, it is just so out of character. Everything I thought I knew has suddenly been turned on its head." Epiphany said as she began brewing a pot of coffee. After that type of wakeup, there was no way she'd find the sandman again.
Francis took a seat at the small dinette table, allowing them both to have a moment or more to their thoughts. Jason is a good man but he could see the monumental mess this could possibly become. He supposed he would have to ask Sonny his thoughts on this matter. When he had first saw them like that, he had thought it would be great blackmail material but the longer he thought about it, the more he realized that not only was it unheard of for Elizabeth to feel secure but Jason never slept so heavy. Francis would almost swear he could hear a mouse fart and be woken…
The situation just seemed to get more convoluted as they went and they still didn't have all the answers. Johnny and he had decided that they'd tackle her file tomorrow night when they were both off and neither looking forward to it.
Clusterfuck…epic cluster fuck…
XxXxXxX
