Kahlan Banks (crumbledown) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2013-06-28 03:53:00 |
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‘WHERE IS KEELIN?’
Kahlan couldn’t answer the shrieking in her head because the pug who had screamed the question had jumped onto her chest, knocking the wind out of her. Her arm came up to swat away the offending creature without her stopping to think about what she was doing. She offered a weak apology as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. ‘Out of it’ was putting it lightly when describing how hard Kahlan had been sleeping. She ignored Pugsley as he anxiously bounced around her feet in favor of stretching herself the rest of the way to consciousness. Her sister’s couch wasn’t cheap, but that didn’t make it any easier to sleep on. She often woke up with more cricks in her body than she thought possible; add that to the aches and pains of pregnancy and it didn’t make for the best of sleeping arrangements. Finally she stood up and walked past Pugsley to the kitchen to make some tea. Had she been more awake she might have noticed that there wasn’t already a pot of warm water ready from where Keelin had prepped it before leaving for work. “Now, what has your tail in an extra curl?”
‘KEELIN. YOUR SISTER. SHE ISN’T HOME!’ As he spoke, Pugsley rushed forward until his front paws were propped on her shin. ‘If you would listen to me, you would know, she hasn’t come home all night.’
Kahlan was listening, or at least she was now, but still she wasn’t feeling the panic that Pugsley was trying to instill. “Chill Pug,” she said pointedly as she nudged the dog off of her. “Keelin’s a big girl. If she wants to stay out all night, she’s free to do so.”
Pugsley growled and ran at her leg again, this time nipping at the skin of her calf. When she cried out, he barked at her to further prove his point. ‘Listen, I know you’re new here, but even you should see that’s not her. Something is wrong!’
Kahlan sighed and took a step toward Keelin’s landline. She didn’t look away from the familiar as she dialed Keelin’s cell number. Her face remained blank as it rang and rang until the voicemail finally picked up. That was certainly unusual. Her sister would have recognized the number and she doubted that Keelin would ignore a call from her pregnant sister. Kahlan calmly hung up the phone and stood silent for a moment, weighing her options. “What am I supposed to do,” she finally asked. “I’m not exactly familiar with the city and I don’t know any of Keelin’s friends.”
‘REGGIE!’ Puglsey said the name as if that was the entire point he had been trying to make. She had to admit that she felt stupid for not thinking of Keelin’s boyfriend down the hall sooner; at least, she was only willing to admit that to herself.
“I’ll go talk to him, see what he knows.” Kahlan took the pot of water off the burner and began walking for the door. She stopped suddenly and turned to point a finger at Pugsley. “You stay. I’ll let you know what I find out.” As quickly as she could, she slipped through the door and slammed it in Pugsley’s face when he narrowly missed the opening. Kahlan couldn’t think with him around, and she was in no mood to handle one of Keelin’s annoyances while dealing with another. Barefoot and still in her pajamas, she made her way to Reggie’s door. She had only been shown where he lived in passing, just in case she ever needed anything while Keelin was out. What she hadn’t told her sister was that hell would likely freeze over before she asked a man for help ever again. Apparently, today was going to be a chilly day down below.
Kahlan knocked and when the door wasn’t instantly answered, she crossed her arms over her chest in exasperation. If Reggie was dating Keelin, shouldn’t he be beating down their door to find out where his girlfriend was? After a half-second of waiting, she banged on the door for a second time. Really?! Reggie could hurry up and answer the door now.