Chapter 68

The people around her looked at her with even more impatience. Even if they didn't say anything, their eyes seemed to say, "How annoying! How could you bring a cat to the hospital?"

Zoey sternly warned the cat, "Shut up!"

"Meow."

Zoey fell silent.

She had never raised these things before, so she mimicked Lucille and reached her hand into the cat carrier.

The kitten cautiously sniffed her hand and then unexpectedly licked her finger.

Zoey was shocked.

She immediately withdrew her hand and took out a tissue she carried with her, wiping her hand vigorously several times.

To keep the cat quiet, Zoey had to keep reaching her hand in and out of the carrier, teasing it.

After several rounds of this, until she didn't know how many times she had done it, her hand got stuck in the carrier.

The cat stopped meowing, but it hurt so much that she wanted to scream.

After covering the cat carrier with a white cloth again, she looked at it speechlessly.

Because of the white cloth, neither the person nor the cat could see each other's faces.

At this moment, Lucille had just finished her check-up and came out, returning to Zoey's side. "The doctor told me the injury report will take about a week to come out. I definitely won't go back home."

"Then where can you go?" Zoey asked.

Lucille thought for a moment. "Probably to my friend's place." She said, looking a bit embarrassed at Zoey.

It was obvious she wanted to trouble her.

Zoey could easily see what she meant but still asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"My friend is allergic to cat hair. She might take me in, but the cat..."

Zoey didn't care about others' business. If it weren't for her duty to accompany Lucille to the hospital for the injury report, she wouldn't be here late at night. "That's a shame, then you should stay at a hotel."

Seeing that Zoey wasn't taking the hint, Lucille decided to be direct. "Officer Brown, can you take care of the cat for a while? I'll find a place as soon as possible, and once I do, I'll take the cat back. You don't have to worry about cat litter or cat food, I'll cover all the costs."

"I really can't help you." She was currently staying at Robert's house.

She didn't know if Robert and Tenley liked cats, and bringing one home without asking would disrespect the owners.

"Fifty dollars a day!" Lucille's eyes were determined, intent on making Zoey change her mind.

Zoey was silently calculating in her mind.

She was paying three hundred dollars a month to stay at Robert's house, and Lucille was offering fifty dollars a day.

Taking care of the cat for a week, although a bit annoying, would cover a month's rent, making it a good deal.

Zoey took a barely noticeable deep breath. "Wait a moment, I'll make a call."

She remembered Tenley telling her that when Kelvin was little, she had taken care of a few stray cats. But over the years, those cats gradually passed away. Tenley was very sad.

When she mentioned it to Zoey, there were still tears in her eyes.

It was clear she considered those stray cats her family.

The couple probably liked pets but hated the feeling of loss.

Zoey thought that if Tenley agreed to let the kitten stay for a few days, she would give the money she earned to Tenley.

The call connected, and Zoey directly stated her request.

Tenley's voice was enthusiastic with a hint of excitement. "Of course! It doesn't matter how long it stays."

"Thank you, Mrs. Davis."

After hanging up, Zoey told Lucille the result, so the matter was temporarily settled.

Lucille gratefully held Zoey's hand. "Thank you so much, Officer Brown. Can you come with me to my house later? The cat supplies are all at home. I'll help you carry them and take a cab to your place."

"Okay."

The two left the hospital, and Lucille struggled to carry the cat carrier as they walked outside.

Zoey looked at her visible injuries, thinking about how she had just been abused and her wounds hadn't healed yet. She said, "Let me carry it. If your wounds tear again, it'll take longer to heal."

"Thank you, Officer Brown." To lighten Zoey's load, Lucille took the cat out of the carrier.

She kept petting it in her arms.

"Look, my baby is so brave," Lucille said proudly, as if showing off her child.

"The cat is so small, how brave can it be?" Zoey told her to put the cat back in the carrier. "There are too many people here. Aren't you afraid someone might scream and scare the cat? If it gets scared, I won't compensate you."

"Don't worry, it's professionally trained." Lucille, holding her cat, led Zoey back to her neighborhood.

Lucille opened the door, revealing a chaotic scene inside.

Everything in sight was either broken or lying haphazardly on the floor. The tiles on the floor were also chipped, showing how intense the fight had been.

Taking a deep breath, she went to gather the cat's things.

Lucille said, "I knew he wouldn't come back, but coming back alone still scares me. Officer Brown, having you by my side makes me feel less afraid. Thank you."

Zoey looked at her back, hearing the sadness in her voice.

In such situations, she couldn't offer comfort.

Instead, she asked Tenley lightly, "How long do you plan to keep him locked up this time?"

Lucille turned back with a bitter smile. "I'm actually a bit hesitant. I don't know how to view our relationship. When he first hit me and got detained, I thought about what would happen if we got divorced."

"Then I thought about it and felt that divorce would be a relief. You know, when I was single, I was so happy. After being with him, I felt my happiness decrease. I had to take care of him. I thought these were things a housewife should do, so I endured it. After all, marriage is about living for two people. I could tolerate it. But my tolerance didn't make him appreciate me; instead, he hit me."

"I really feel like I'm worth less than a free maid."

After saying this, Lucille wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I really wonder what I was thinking, why I wanted to get married."

Zoey, having encountered many 'domestic violence' cases and women who tried to convince themselves, finally met someone who understood.

Lucille's words made Zoey willing to say a few more words to her. "It's nothing, just think of it as accidentally getting trash on you. Now you're kicking the trash away, isn't it the same?"

Lucille nodded in agreement. "You're absolutely right, Officer Brown!"