I was in a sour fucking mood.
I couldn't be mad at them. Had I been in their shoes, I would have been the first laying down money to bet. But being the one people were betting on, yeah, it wasn't nearly as fun.
The only way to make it in any way better was to prove them wrong.
I wasn't going to sleep with Dusty.
In fact, since I said hello to her and she awkwardly (and fucking adorably) muttered her hello back and disappeared, yeah, I hadn't even caught sight of her.
I probably wouldn't again for months and by then, the bet would be over anyway.
Except that sometime late that night, after nodding off four times in the middle of a work email I was typing off on my cell at two in the morning, and finally deciding to power down and deal with it after some sleep, I was startled awake by the loud, insistent, piercing scream of an alarm.
I shot up in bed, heart slamming as I reached for my cell, noticing immediately it wasn't my personal alarm or anything in my apartment, but was coming from the hall. I slipped my feet into a pair of loafers, threw on a sweatshirt, and headed toward the door, moving out into the hall to see the carbon alarm flashing a red warning light.
Carbon monoxide.
Fucking great end to a shitty day.
I reached inside to grab my key and closed the door, moving to turn around and freezing.
Because there standing in her doorway with a cat carrier in one hand, scratches down her hands, and completely frozen on the spot, was Dusty. The hand that wasn't holding the carrier was closed around her throat, like she was trying to ease a pressure there. Her green eyes were huge and fucking... terrified.
A shut-in who couldn't even make herself step outside her apartment for an emergency.
"Honey, we got to go," I urged, pocketing my keys as I moved halfway across the hall.
"I, ah," she started, shaking her head, craning her head out toward the alarm that was flashing a number of twenty where it was always zero. "I, um, I can't. Just... can you please take Rocky with you?" she asked, thrusting the thrashing carrier out into the hall.
Without thinking, I reached for it.
It was knee-jerk.
A beautiful woman begs you to take something, you just take it.
That being said, I knew she wasn't planning on leaving. It was in her terror-filled eyes, her shallow breathing, her shaking body. She wanted me to save her cat and leave her there to possibly die.
Yeah, that shit wasn't gonna fly that was for damn sure.
I put the carrier down and before she could guess my intention and react, I charged across the hallway, bending low and throwing her body over my shoulder. My arm clamped tight around her as she froze for a short second then started struggling, begging me to put her down and leave her there, her voice getting more frantic by the second and, as I grabbed the carrier in my free hand and made a dart for the stairs, you could hear the tears she was crying in her tone.
My heart had a distinct sinking sensation as I flew down the stairs, understanding that she was having a holy fucking meltdown, but knowing that there was no way I could have just left her behind either.
I slammed the door for the emergency exit and stepped outside, the December air assaulting me from head to toe despite having long sleeves and pants on.
And that was when I saw the crowd of people all gathered toward the front of the building, small groups huddled together to ward off the chill.
As if hearing or just sensing the group as well, Dusty started struggling again, making me turn away from the front of the building and head toward the back where the lot was, finding my car and putting the cat carrier down on the trunk so I could bleep the locks then going around to the passenger's side and opening the door, pulling Dusty down and depositing her into the front seat.
I bent inward, reaching across her to put the key in and crank up the heat before going to get the cat and sticking his carrier in the back.
I went back around, squatting down beside her still-open door, like she couldn't focus past the panic to even do anything as basic as reaching and closing it.
"Breathe, honey," I demanded because the whole time it took me to come to the side of the car and squat down, her chest hadn't risen at all.
Her eyes snapped to me, her lips parting slightly, as her hand went to her belly and she took a slow, deep breath. Then another.
"I am going to go see if the super or fire department has anything to say. You just sit and breathe and I'll be right back, okay?"