A Miserable Pile of Secrets Ch. 12

"Oh, but wouldn't a dog really help you?" Mama's voice turned hopeful then. "And you'd have a cute doggie to love too!"

"No, Mama. I have a cat, and I really don't think I qualify for a service dog."

"Well get a dog anyway! A good dog, maybe a former military dog. Those dogs are so well behaved and so sweet!" Arthur was pretty sure that wasn't true for all military dogs, but he respected those good doggos regardless.

The conversation was much sweeter and nicer in the end. Arthur felt better from it. Mama was like a beautiful German Shepherd. Loyal, sweet, but also hardworking. Yet ... at the same time, she was also like a damn Chihuahua, often forgetting how big certain opponents are and easily freaked out. She was fun, a little stressful but fun. When Arthur was a kid in school, there were a few bullying incidents, and Arthur's Mama always went into full on Mama Bear mode. It was always glorious. Daddy never had to get involved, thankfully ... that would've shed a lot more blood.

Arthur walked down a hallway and to his bedroom, thinking Benny needed his morning greeting. Then he wondered something.

What had Vince's parents been like?

Arthur knew they were dead, but he'd never seen a picture of them.

Then he recalled that scene with What's-Her-Name. Vince had said something about his mother ... about how she was crazy or something?

Crazy parents make crazy kids, usually.

Arthur went into his room, and he cooed out, "Benny! Bennnnnnnnnnnny!! Where are you, Baby?"

Meow!!

Benny ran up to Arthur and jumped up to his arms. Arthur kissed his warm fur a few times. "Oh, aren't you just a sweet little sugar cube!"

Purrrrrrrrr!!

And a nuzzling head bump.

Good kitty!!

Arthur set him back on the floor, and Benny seemed to decide he was ready to go exploring somewhere. Arthur didn't normally think much on that, but he wanted to observe the cat a little more. So, he carefully followed Benny out of the room and down the hallway. He thought to himself, "I wonder if I can recreate Benny in The Sims 4? His eyes might be the hardest things to imitate. Some CC might help with that."

Benny went to the kitchen for a few bites of food and some laps of water. Then he went back to the hallway and went on. Sometimes, he halted and turned his body around, which would lead Arthur to stop his feet. Benny would usually meow up at him as if to ask, "Why the hell are you following me? You never do that."

Hm? Would he feel better if Arthur kept a few steps back?

Trying not to giggle, Arthur moved back, giving Benny his space. Benny's ears twitched and he continued on, his tail high. He stopped once to sneeze, but went back to his pace. Arthur pretended he was spying on the cat. Stereotypical spy film music played in his head. They went down stairs, so many stairs. This counted as a workout, or Arthur thought it should have counted. When Benny finally stopped seeking out stairs, going to an empty hallway Arthur didn't recognize, Arthur had to sit on the floor and catch his breath, right at a corner.

He gripped the edge of the connected walls and peeked around. Seriously. Where the fuck did Benny think he was going?

Benny stood at a blank wall and stared at it for a moment. Then he approached and swatted the wall with his paw, every movement in the same direction.

As if he was trying to peel something away.

And there was a shift in the wall.

A sliding door?!

One of Arthur's hands went to his mouth.

Some attempts later, and Benny had successfully batted the hidden sliding door away, revealing a second door with a big keypad and a lever style handle.

What did Benny do? Well, he hopped over and over, reaching up and tapping the keypad. Arthur was too dumbstruck to register which buttons were being pressed with the little kitty paws. Then, after a click rang out, Benny jumped up to the lever handle and used his weight to open the door by a crack.

Then he just ... sped into the room.

Arthur pushed himself up and walked over to the door, but it closed itself just before he could touch any part of it, like there was an automatic system involved. If Benny was slower, he could've been caught in the door and severely harmed, even killed. Arthur tried fiddling with the keypad, but he couldn't figure out the code.

He stood there, his hand hovering over the keypad, as he thought, "Okay, Benny's clearly done this before. He probably watched some people open the door a few times."

And Benny always returned to Arthur's room. There were certainly ways out.

Rustling his hair, trying not to get a headache, Arthur decided to go back up a set of stairs and into an elevator. He didn't want any trouble, didn't need it either.

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