Once Michelle made it back to the apartment, she hauled her food in with a scowl. She knew her eyes and cheeks were puffy, and was disappointed to find one of her roommates, Danielle, had come back.
“Shelly, what’s wrong?”
Even though almost everyone called her Shelly, the nickname still stung. It wasn’t even really fair for her to throw it in Kyle’s face, she just wanted to hurt him in the moment. “Kyle dumped me.”
Danielle’s eyes widened as her mouth turned down in a frown. “Oh. That’s a jerk move during finals week.”
“It’s okay, at least I have studying to occupy my mind.”
“I hope so,” Danielle responded, a look of pity overtaking her countenance.
With a soft huff, Michelle carried her food to her room to eat in bed. She left the bedroom door open only a crack and glanced up when it creaked a little. She didn’t see any movement at first, then Orion scaled the side of the bunkbed to snuggle up beside her with a soft purr. She pet him gently, noting how loud and heavy his breathing was from an act he used to do with ease.
Michelle had this awful, heart-wrenching feeling the news from the vet tomorrow wouldn’t be good. She might be able to use studying to forget about Kyle for a while. But how could she cope with losing Orion as well?
~~~
The news was as horrid as Michelle expected. The veterinarian wore an apologetic expression as she delivered the news. There was nothing she could do aside from make him comfortable the last few days. Michelle could make a euthanization appointment on the way out. She also received information on a local pet cemetary, which made the whole situation more real and hit harder than ever.
Michelle felt numb as she went through the motions, scheduling the appointment for next Thursday, the day after her last final. She knew if she did it beforehand, she’d be completely unable to focus on the tests. But still, she’d be thinking about Orion the entire time. Michelle wanted to burst into tears, but was afraid if she started crying, she wouldn’t be able to stop.
She texted her best friend Jessica after settling into her car. Even if there was a tension between them, she knew Jessica would be supportive at a time like this. The returning ding, though, didn’t come back until Michelle was pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex.
‘So sorry, Shelly! I’m here for u. Anything u need. <3’
Taking Orion out of the car, Michelle carried him up to the apartment. She then transported him to the top bunk, which was a little difficult, but worth sparing him the effort. She curled up beside him on the bed and cried into his fur. He purred softly, staying still beside her, perhaps to comfort her.
Michelle thought things were bad when her parents didn’t want anything to do with her or her new religion. But this might be the worst week of her life.
~~~
Michelle powered through finals, unsure if she received all the As she’d hoped for, but grateful to be done with them and to the other side. At the same time, she wasn’t grateful, because she knew the end of finals meant she’d have to say goodbye to Orion.
She wasn’t sure if studying distracted her from Kyle as much as grief over Orion did. She thought about that cat more than anything, going through old photos. She played with him with his toys, which he rarely had the energy to do more than a handful of seconds. He spent most of his time curled on top of her tablet, and she let him, just petting and singing softly to him.
Michelle felt like her world was falling apart and didn’t know how to deal with it except to keep going forward one step at a time.
Danielle went with them to the vet’s office for the euthanization appointment. She sometimes found her roommates annoying, but at least they were there when she truly needed them. After the procedure, Michelle took her beloved cat’s body to the cemetery and Danielle drove her home. All three of her roommates ordered pizza and gathered around to chit-chat and keep her company without demanding any responses or interaction from her. They let Michelle process her grief in silence.
Tomorrow her roommates would be gone,
traveling home for Christmas break. Michelle’s family didn’t want her to come home, so Michelle planned on picking up more hours at work to make up for time she’d lost during finals week. Hopefully she’d still function despite her grieving process. Luckily, she didn’t have to report to work until one p.m. the next day, and set her alarm for noon. She spent that night crying into her pillow.
The next afternoon, however, Michelle was surprised to find Danielle still milling around the apartment. “I thought you were all going to leave early in the morning?” Michelle asked groggily.
“Early in the morning wasn’t until 11 a.m. for Angie,” Danielle smirked.
Michelle offered her roommate a half-smile in response. “And what about you?”
“I’m staying here for now,” Danielle replied.
“What? But I thought you were going home for Christmas.”
“Sure, but Christmas is a couple weeks away yet. And I’m needed here more than my family needs me right now. I can leave in a few days.”
Even though she hadn’t explicitly said it, Michelle knew Danielle was staying there for her. Emotion made her knees feel wobbly and she wanted to crumble to the floor into a ball, but forced herself to stay standing. She was unable to stop a few tears from sliding down her cheeks, though.
Danielle smiled, the action causing her bright blue eyes to light up. “How about before your shift tomorrow morning, we go down to the mall and get coffee from that favorite little coffee shop of yours? We can just meander around and see if there is a stand with those flavored holiday pecans or something.”
“Okay,” Michelle nodded, moving to the kitchen to scrounge together something to eat before leaving for work.
Michelle was unsure if she’d ever be able to fully tell Danielle how thankful she was to not be left alone. She hoped her friend understood without words.
~ G.G. Marshall
Enjoying the story? Read about the creature that inspired this story: https://www.ggmarshall.com/post/phoenix-profile
Want to read the rest of Michelle and Orion's story?
Part 3 (available 8/15/24): https://www.ggmarshall.com/post/little-phoenix-3
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