Chapter 6

"Alright, alright, I'll take you to work with me. But you have to promise: just stick to my wrist, no wandering around, and don't let anyone spot you, got it?"

This time, Opal actually seemed to understand and zipped right onto my wrist, wrapping itself tight.

I had to laugh; this little guy always cracks me up.

Slinky isn't dumb at all. If it feels like listening, it'll do exactly what I say. If not, it just plays dead. Honestly, it's way too clever for its own good.

In the end, I ended up taking Opal to work with me that day.

Since I couldn't take a pet on the subway, I grabbed a cab instead.

On the way, I finally had a chance to check my message. It was the girl who found my old Slinky.

She said, "Hey, Milena, since you already gave me Slinky, I guess you don't need the snake box or the food anymore, right? Can you give them to me?

"Come on. Last night Slinky was freezing in my dorm, shivering all over, and my roommate almost stepped on him. Please, help me out. You've been taking care of Slinky for seven years; do you really want to see him suffer?"

She was so ridiculous I had to laugh.

I had met plenty of people who always push boundaries, but she really takes the cake for being shameless.

I couldn't be bothered to reply and blocked her.

Who knows if Opal could actually read what was on my phone, but after I blocked the girl, it gave my palm a little lick, like it was trying to please me.

Honestly, Opal wasn't just smart; it was almost magical at this point.

That day, I brought Opal to work with me. Whenever I had a meeting, it would curl up on my wrist and nap.

When I was working on my PowerPoint, Slinky would wiggle its way under my shirt, slide down my body, and just crash out on my stomach.

Honestly, my boring, frustrating work suddenly became way more fun because of it.

And for a long time after that, with Slinky by my side 24/7, I didn't feel lonely at all.

My parents split up when I was eight.

After that, they both started new families and hardly cared about me anymore.

Ever since my grandma, who raised me, passed away seven years ago, I was left with no family at all.

Because of my messed-up family, I never really wanted a boyfriend, so besides Alice Wilson, it was just me.

So whenever I was exhausted, or in the middle of the night, I'd get swallowed up by a loneliness I couldn't even describe.

But ever since Opal started clinging to me, that loneliness just vanished.

Having Opal around was awesome, but honestly, there were some drawbacks, too.

Ever since it showed up, I've been having hot, explicit dreams almost every night, and they were getting crazier each time.

The first night, the boy with the intricate black tattoo on his back only kissed my lips.

But after that, every night, he'd kiss every inch of my skin, then finally claim me, fierce and intense.

When things got heated, he'd bite my earlobe and gently ask me again and again, his voice soft and teasing. "Milena, do you like it when I treat you like this?"

Every time, I'd be so worked up I could barely speak, my voice choked as I kept asking, "Who are you? Who are you, really?"

And every time, he'd give me the same answer. "Milena, I'm your baby, the one you love the most."

The shower kept rinsing over me, and as I looked at the same old bruises on my inner thighs and chest, I could only sigh.

I still had no idea if those dreams at night were real or just all in my head.

I just sighed again, turned off the shower, wrapped myself in a towel, and walked toward the door.

As soon as I opened the door, I came face to face with Opal's gloomy eyes.

I looked at it and let out a cold laugh. "So you're still sulking, huh? Didn't I tell you not to come in when I'm taking a bath?

"If I hadn't moved fast enough, you almost slipped somewhere you really shouldn't! That's off-limits, you silly thing."

Yeah, that was how Opal was, never listens.

I had told it a million times not to sneak into the tub when I was bathing. The water was way too hot for it.

But nope, every single morning, it pulls this stunt, trying to sneak somewhere it shouldn't every morning.

If I didn't lock it out and give it a proper scolding, Slinky would seriously think it runs the place and has no sense of boundaries.