fine,” Julian said through gritted teeth. “I just need to—Ow, Gretchen that was my eye!”
Gretchen had halfway freed herself from his grasp and was making a break for it up and over his shoulder.
“Let me get this,” I said, taking the box from him gently. “That way you’ll at least have two hands.”
“I don’t need two hands,” Julian grumbled. “I need a cat who doesn’t go insane at the sight of a cat carrier. It took me thirty minutes to get her into it the first time, and after the vet visit, she scratched me every time I tried to—Ow! Gretchen!”
She sank her teeth into his wrist. Julian pulled away reflexively, and she used his momentary distraction to her advantage, pushing off his chest and jumping down to the ground. She was halfway across the street before either Julian or I could move, and Roxie barked and lunged in her direction.
“Roxie, calm down!” I called before turning back to Julian. I dropped the box of folders so I could look at his wrist. “Are you bleeding?”
“I’m fine,” Julian said again, glaring at me. “And I don’t need your help.”
“Wait, you are bleeding. At least let me get you a—”
“Just go, Connor,” Julian said, looking over his shoulder as he advanced into the street. “I told you to leave this morning and I haven’t changed my mind just because my cat went crazy.” He turned back to Gretchen, who watched him warily from the middle of the road, her eyes wild. “Come on, kitten. Don’t you want to come inside? I promise, no more vets.”
He took two steps into the street, only for her to scamper to the far side.
“That’s actually why I’m here,” I said, following him. “I came because of this morning. Because I wanted to—Roxie, chill.”
Roxie had chosen that moment to remember that she was a hound dog, and had begun baying at the three of us—me, Julian, and Gretchen—in apparent frustration that she wasn’t allowed to join the fun.
“Just take your dog and go,” Julian said, casting an aggravated look over his shoulder. “I don’t have time to deal with you right now.”
“I’m not trying to take up your time.” I looked between Julian and Roxie, who was still doing her best to tear the palmetto out of the ground with her lunges. “It’ll only take a second.”
“Well I’m a little busy at the moment,” Julian snapped.
He turned back to Gretchen and walked slowly into the middle of the street. Kneeling, he reached into the pocket of his pants
“Gretch, kitty. I’ve got treats. I know you like those.”
Roxie bayed again, having evidently decided that if she couldn’t participate in the confusion, she could at least wake up the whole neighborhood, and I decided to go get her. I didn’t want to leave without saying what I’d come to say, but Julian obviously had other things on his mind. Besides, no one could think straight with Roxie howling like a maniac.
“Roxie, it’s okay, you can calm down,” I said as I reached her. She jumped up at me, front paws reaching my chest. I tried to pet her to calm her down, but she refused to stay in one place long enough for me to do that. “We’re gonna go, okay?”
I reached for her leash to unclip it, but she jumped off of me and lunged back out toward the street, baying more.
“Rox, you’ve gotta stay still long enough for me to get this leash loose, or we’re gonna be here all night.”
What was driving her so crazy, anyway? I turned back toward the street. Julian was exactly where I’d last seen him, kneeling in the middle of the road. Gretchen was just a patch of white on the far side, until a flash of headlights illuminated her clearly against the curb.
Headlights.
I looked a second time, registering what my eyes had glanced over the first time. A car was coming down the street at an alarming clip, headed right for Julian.
“Julian!” I called. But whether he was determined to ignore me or just couldn’t hear me over Roxie, he didn’t respond. Didn’t seem conscious of the headlights either, even as they illuminated his hand, still outstretched toward Gretchen, a cluster of treats in his palm.
“Car! There’s a car!” I shouted, already running away from Roxie and back to the street. Why wasn’t he listening? The car didn’t seem to be slowing down.
“Julian, get back!”
I launched myself into the street. The car was only yards away and I heard