The Sky is Everywhere

Chapter Thirty

"I don't know what to do," I tell Roan, leaning against his chest. "We've kept Boots secret all these years, and now Cole knows, and I just don't know what she's going to do with that information."

She hasn't told anyone yet – that much is clear.

This morning passed much the same as normal. Cole made a sneering comment at Taffy in the showers, but it was halfhearted at best, and even Taffy, who normally crumples under the cruelty, was able to ignore it.

None of the Handlers approached us.

I found myself watching Cole with an eagle eye throughout breakfast, waiting for her to look at me and smirk, smug with the secret that she was holding over my head, but she didn't look at me once. She almost seemed subdued, but I don't trust it.

"What happens if the Handlers find him?" Roan asks.

"They'll throw him out. Pets are completely forbidden, no exceptions. But he won't survive on his own, and even if he could, I can't just abandon him."

Tears prick my eyes.

We've been so careful for so long, but just not careful enough.

"What if I take him?" Roan asks.

The world stops moving.

"You – what?" I sit up straighter, looking at him.

"I could take him."

"You'd do that? He's not your responsibility."

"So? I'm not going to abandon him either. Besides, I love cats."

My heart is flying out of my chest and into the sky.

"Really?"

"Yes," he laughs, kissing my nose.

Hope flares, but it's bittersweet. Of course I want Boots to be okay, and of course I will do whatever is necessary to ensure his safety, but I can't bear the thought of being parted from my sweet little cat.

"He'll still think I've abandoned him," I say, blinking back tears.

Boots sleeps in my bed every night – the thought of not falling asleep to the sound of his breathing is something I can no longer imagine. The thought of waking up to an empty bed, to not seeing his little face tucked against his paws, it wrenches at me. What will I do without him?

More importantly, what will he do without me?

I love that Roan is so willing to take Boots on, but Boots won't understand what's going on. All he'll know is that's he's being taken from his home and the people who love him. He doesn't know Roan at all.

"It's only temporary," Roan says. "Think of it as him going on holiday. I'll take him with me for the time being, and as soon as you're out of the CC, you can have him back."

It wouldn't make things easier for Boots in the meantime, but I'm not sure there's an alternative. His safety is what matters.

Something else occurs to me, and my hope withers.

"This won't work. I can't get him out of the CC," I say.

Roan frowns, thinking it over. "There's no way you could smuggle him out?"

I shake my head. "He's too big."

Roan pulls at my baggy jumper. "You sure you can't stuff him under this thing?"

"I won't get from the top floor all the way to the bottom, and then all the way out here without someone noticing. He'll wriggle too much. Could Rosie help? Is there anything she can do?"