Five And A Half Years Later
Keeley woke up with a bunch of fur in her mouth. She sputtered as she tried to get it all out, eventually picking pieces off her tongue by hand.
Her rescue cat Molly, an eight-year-old fluffy flame point, shot her an affronted look for disturbing her rest before hopping off the bed and trotting away with her bottlebrush tail held high.
Molly had been a bit of a surprise. Keeley never owned pets growing up because her dad was allergic and Aaron didn't want animals messing up his expensive furniture so it didn't happen then either.
One rainy spring day during the first year of her doctoral program, Keeley was walking home from the convenience store to pick up some bandages when she heard a horrible guttural sound coming from a nearby storm drain.