A Twist of Fate ✔

Ch. 10

Hamza checked his watch for the fourth time, tapping his foot relentlessly. Mr. Daniels had never gotten back to him and it began to greatly worry Hamza. So, after trying (unsuccessfully) several more times to get ahold of him by phone, he decided to take action and come to his office.

But his secretary informed him, quite snottily, that he was currently in a meeting.

Hamza cursed under his breath. He had been waiting for over an hour now. What kind of meeting stretched out for this long?

He hated Mr. Daniels and if it weren't for the good salary he gave out, Hamza would've quit a long time ago.

Standing up, Hamza ran a hand through his hair and strolled over to the secretary who was typing furiously into the computer.

"Are you sure he hasn't finished yet?" He asked, ignoring the rumbling of his stomach. He was hungry.

She looked up, flashing him a tip-lipped smile. "No, I apologize. I think it'll be best to try and catch him another day."

Hamza was seriously contemplating running past her and breaking down the door, but he changed his mind. He wouldn't accomplish anything that way. "Okay, can you tell him I came by?"

The woman nodded distractedly and off he went.

The first thing he did was go to the grocery store. Pulling out a shopping cart, he began zooming through the aisles, blindly reaching for whatever he saw that looked tasty and throwing it into his cart. He searched for cat food and bought a new bag since the one at home was almost finished. Tabby was growing to be more irritable and grouchy with every passing day. Hamza concluded it was because he missed the attention Laila used to provide for him.

Spoiled cat.

Upon arriving to his house, Hamza quickly put everything away. Tabby remained at his heel meowing and rubbing his furry face against Hamza's leg. Groaning in annoyance, Hamza lightly kicked the fat cat away.

"Shut up. I'm giving you your food now." He said, getting down to the floor and bringing out Tabby's feeding bowl. He barely finished scraping out half the chicken from the can when Tabby squeezed his face inside. Chuckling, Hamza sat back and just stared at the cat. "I never understood what Laila saw in you."

As if producing a reply, Tabby let out a meow in between her loud slurps.

Hamza sighed, stretching out his body. "I still remember when we were walking outside that day. You were still a little kitten hiding under the park bench. You were dirty and shivering from the rain." He paused. "You were a mess."

Tabby continued to munch loudly, occasionally swinging his tail back and forth. Back and forth...

"No one wanted you. Even the kids playing there ignored you. But the moment Laila laid eyes on you, she insisted we take you to the vet and keep you. I tried to talk her out of it, but when she makes up her mind, there's no changing it. She's the most stubborn person I've ever met."

Tabby ignored him again.

"I miss her, Tabby. I never thought missing someone could physically ache, but she manages to do that to me." Hamza reached out and ran his hand through Tabby's mass of fur. "We'll get her back though, buddy. I'm sure of it. We just have to be patient, give her time and space. Then she'll remember. And she'll finally come back home."

Tabby moved his body until Hamza's hand was no longer in contact with it, then resumed eating.

Hamza glared at the cat. "I hate you."

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A/N: Yikes! I know, this chapter is really short. Drop it a vote, for Tabby? 😸