9. Haven

The moment I stepped outside, it seemed extra dark and spooky without Wick with me. I held my breath as I approached the steps that led down to the basement, thinking this would be an ideal place for a stalker to hang out while waiting for his next victim to pass by.

Great. That vision calmed me down so much.

I peeked into the lightened stairwell and blew out a breath when I only found a cat at the bottom, drinking from its bowl. So I clambered down the steps, which scared the shit out of poor Mr. Whiskers, and he darted back into the basement through his swinging cat door.

By the time I reached the door myself and pulled it open, the cat was long gone. But I felt a little better, stepping inside the basement and knowing the animal was in there with me. Somewhere. Sometimes, just having another soul around—whether they interacted with you or not—made all the difference in the world.

As luck would have it, the spin cycle on my sheets was just slowing to an end when I entered the lau