Bosco Kitty's Arc

Chapter 1 of 9

Bosco sits in the hallway watching Bizzy Dee's door. She has been in there longer than usual with the lights off. He can smell it from here — something sharp and chemical, mixed with the body smell that means fear. His nose tells him what his family doesn't know yet. Bizzy Dee is sick, and she is hiding it. He moves closer and presses his ear to the door. The sound of pills rattling in a bottle. The soft clink of glass against wood. Then silence. Bosco knows that silence. It is the kind that comes after someone swallows something they do not want to swallow. He scratches once at the door, a question without words. The door opens. Bizzy Dee looks down at him with eyes that are trying too hard to look normal. She steps past him and walks toward the back of the house where the white gazebo sits in the yard. Bosco follows her outside and watches as she settles into one of the wicker chairs. She stares at nothing. The bottle with brown capsules sits on the small table next to a glass of water, both still there from earlier. She forgot to hide them. Bosco jumps onto her lap without being invited. She does not push him away. Her hand comes down and rests on his back, and he can feel the tremor in her fingers. He stays where he is, warm and heavy, pressing his weight into her legs. She is not ready to tell the others yet. But she knows that he knows. And for now, that is enough.