Just Couldn't Help Myself

So, I finally think I know where I’m going with this, which is pretty awesome. Stuff is going to start happening uberfast, and I’m finally getting around to introducing the other important characters! So, read on, enjoy it, and leave me some feedback, okie dokie?!
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Dr. Shrift’s office was cool, large, and full of beautiful furniture. I stood by the window, looking down at the courtyard in front of the office building. I was nervous, and feeling a little sick to my stomach. I wanted to go home and sleep for a few days. The night before had been hard on me… quite literally.

Behind me the office door opened and shut, and I heard the quick, sharp clacking of heels. I turned, a smile on my face, and the woman who’d just entered returned the smile. “Good morning, Mr. Lowes.” she greeted, and shook my hand. She was tiny, probably five foot even, with a long braid of silvery blond hair and wide green eyes. “I’m Helena Shrift, but you can just call me Lena. May I call you Johnny?”

I nodded, and she gestured for me to sit. I did, and she took the chair across from me. “I read Dr. Nunnelly’s notes from your appointment with him, and I must say I’m intrigued.” she slipped a pair of silver framed glasses on and regarded me carefully. “Would you mind sharing with me what you shared with him?”

I shrugged, and told her what I told the other doctor. She nodded along, but didn’t ask any questions, and didn’t write anything down. It old her the same stuff I told Dr. Nunnelly.

When I was finished, she cleared her throat and regarded me carefully. “Were your parents religious, Johnny?”

“No. They’re both gone, by the way.” I explained that to her, as well, and begin raised by Aunt Sarah, who hadn’t been religious either.

“How did you do in school growing up?”

“Fine. Mostly B’s. I hated history.”

She nodded. “How about relationships?”

I sighed. “Well, I swing both ways, which I’m sure is going to go down as a black mark for me.”

“Not at all.” she replied, and I glanced at her. “Bisexuality isn’t a sign of indecisveness, most of the time, but simple open mindedness. There’s nothing wrong with that. Are you seeing anyone?”

“I don’t know. Not really.”

“Anyone you’re interested in?”

I shrugged. “There’s a guy in my building. We hung out yesterday, and he kissed me. His name’s Murphy.”

“You like him?”

“Does this have anything to do with my talking house pet or my alternate me?”

She smiled gently. “Who knows what has to do with what. I’d rather get to know you, and cover all the bases, before claiming I know what’s wrong with you, if there is in fact something wrong with you. Which I doubt.”

I sighed. “Yea, I guess I like him.”

She nodded. “Since you brought him up, let’s talk about Lonnie.”

“What about it?” I asked, scowling.

She arched her eyebrows. “It?”

“It’s a cat.” I told her.

“A male cat.” she pointed out.

I sighed. “Fine. What about him?”

“Describe him for me.”

I sighed again and ran a hand through my hair. “He’s a big gray alley cat. One of his ears is missing, and his tail is split at the tip. He’s a little prick, honestly. He said that the other me left him here to look after me, but he said that I’m different than I’ve been before. He doesn’t like me very much.”

She nodded again, and finally started writing. “And you said he told you his real name? What his name was before he was turned into a cat?”

“Lawrence.” I said. “Lawrence… Worthington? I think. I can’t remember his middle name. He says he was turned into a cat near the end of the civil war.”

“By his lover at the time, who was a witch?”

“With trust issues.” It wasn’t funny this time, for some reason, and I scowled down at my hands folded in my lap. “None of it’s real.”

“No?”

“I’m just crazy, that’s all. He doesn’t really talk, and I didn’t really see myself in that alley. I don’t know why I went crazy, but I did and now I don’t know what to do to fix it.”

She sighed. “I’m not very fond of that word.”

“I don’t imagine most therapists are.”

She smiled. “So what do you want me to do for you, Johnny?” she asked, surprising me. “Were you hoping for pills, perhaps? Nice little daily doses of sanity to make the cat stop talking?” she shook her head. “I’m not going to put you on drugs. I’m not going to tell you you’re crazy either, because I don’t think you are. What I’m going to do is talk to you for a while, once a week, until we figure out what it is causing these… hallucinations.” before I could speak she continued. “Perhaps you think that was harsh? Maybe so. But you’re a smart young man, and I don’t think I need to be careful about what I say to you. You’re not suicidal. I think being blatantly honest is going to help you.”

“Okay.” I nodded my head. “So, blatantly honest, what do you think is wrong with me?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know yet.” she said. “I’d like to meet your cat, though.”

“Seriously?”

She nodded. “Bring him in next appointment.”

“Uh… okay.”

She stood up. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Johnny. I’ll see you next Monday.”

I shook her hand and left her office, feeling put off and confused. I stopped at the desk to tell the receptionist that I was supposed to make an appointment for next Monday. We took care of that and I left.

I wanted to start screaming. How was I supposed to function now? I had to work tonight, but was I really ready to deal with that? Did I really want to stand there and smile through my teeth at people for hours? With a sigh as the elevator doors opened, I pulled out my cell phone and called in sick. My boss was not happy with me, but at the moment, I didn’t really care.

I hung up as I left the office building, but as I was putting my phone in my pocket someone slammed into my shoulder, knocking me sideways and the phone out of my hand. It hit the ground and exploded.

“Fuck!” I shouted, dismayed and angry, I lifted my head to glare at the person who’d bumped into me.

He was shorter than Murphy, maybe five ten or so, heavily muscular, black haired, eyes covered by heavily tinted black sunglasses. Leather jacket, black jeans, motorcycle helmet under his arm. Heavy, blunt, rugged were the words that came to mind when I studied his face.

“That yours?” he asked me, his voice deep, and toed the remains of my phone with his boot toe.

“No, I was just holding it.” I drawled sarcastically. “Of course it was mine.”

“Tough luck, man.” he said with a shrug, and moved towards the door. I stepped in front of him and he half smiled. “Is there a problem?”

“You ran into me. It’s your fault my phone’s broken.”

“Oh is it?” he asked, and chuckled, a rusty sound that made me feel… strange. “Move yourself out of my way, pretty boy.” he shifted, and then there was a knife in his hand. A switchblade. I’d never seen one except in the movies. It was pretty scary looking. “Or would you like to see how much of that prettiness I can scrape off of your face?”

I moved. He grinned and went inside. I started breathing again. When my heart wasn’t pounding, I looked down at my cell phone and sighed. So much for a taxi.

When I finally got home, I was so tired I didn’t even bother to eat anything, I just curled up in bed and fell asleep. Lonnie woke me up at about midnight by sitting on my chest and mimicking an ambulance with his meowing. I shoved him off, growling.

“I’m hungry.” Lonnie said from the floor. “You slept all day. I thought you had to work.”

“Called in sick.” I muttered, and pulled the pillow over my head. “Go away.”

Lonnie jumped up beside me, and I felt him lay down by my stomach. “What happened with Dr. Shrift?” he asked me softly, and I peeked out from under my pillow at him. His eyes were so green in the dark they nearly glowed. “We might not get along, but I’ve always cared about you. It’s no different this time. You need to talk, so talk.”

I rolled over onto my back and he crawled up onto my chest, draping himself there. I ran a hand down his spine and he purred. I told him everything that had happened today. When I got to the part about the guy in the leather jacket, he tensed.

“Did you see his motorcycle?” Lonnie asked.

“No. Why?”

“A man came here today, while you were asleep. Short, black haired, muscled. Leather jacket. He rang the buzzer, but obviously I didn’t answer.”

I put the hand not currently petting Lonnie over my eyes. “You think-”

“Who knows.” Lonnie said, and rested his chin on my sternum. “It doesn’t matter right now anyway.”

“I thought you said-”

“You’re exhausted, Johnny.” he said softly. “And you’re taking this badly. I know I’ve been pretty hard to live with, and I’m not helping. So let’s just get some sleep, okay?”

“I thought you were hungry.” I said, and as if saying it made me think it, my stomach growled. “I’m hungry too.” I scratched him under his chin. “How does BLTs sound?”

“Great.”

I picked him up and carried him to the kitchen with me, and let him sit on the counter while I cooked bacon and sliced tomatoes. It turned out Lonnie was good joke teller, and somehow he got me laughing enough to almost forget about all the things that were wrong with my life.

We ate, and then I showed and brushed my teeth. When I crawled into bed he got under the covers beside me, and I rested one hand on his back and closed my eyes. Just as I was drifting off, he wrapped his tail around my wrist like a bracelet, and I wondered sleepily if he was holding my hand.
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Aww… n_n! I love Lonnie. Anyway, I’m almost done with the NEXT chapter, so keep an eye out, and let me know what you think, please!