"Ow. Ow. Ouch."

"Sorry, Bun. You're not sleeping on my pillows with hair this gross. And pull up your towel a little, it’s slipping."

Bunny had just gotten out of the shower (that I made her take) but it didn't look like she had washed her hair at all. If she wasn't going to do it, I was. Her hair was matted and damaged, just pulling my fingers through it is a chore. I’m sure it doesn’t feel for her either, but I know she can take it.

"Ow... Ow."

"Do you, like, ever wash your hair?"

"Not really."

I could tell. It was down to her shoulder blades, a pretty faded baby blue color. It was very fine and soft, at least after I worked through most of the knots.

"So… about your new pet."

"The purple thing?"

"Yeah. Why are you carrying it around?"

"I need to give it to Rose. But I don't know why she wants it."

Probably something demonic. I wouldn’t have said something like that a couple weeks ago, but that seems to be the trend now. It makes me wonder, why is Bunny dealing with her at all?

"Hey, how did you two meet anyways?"

"I don't remember."

"Ah, I see. Do you remember how me and you met?"

Bunny went silent for a second before speaking.

"You bought me something from a vending machine."

"It was a pretty pitiful sight, you were just staring at the snacks through the glass. After that we kept bumping into each other everywhere. On the street, grocery stores, on campus… That would be where you met Rose, I'll bet."

"Maybe."

"She'll remember, you're a pretty difficult person to forget. Blue hair, piercing gaze, named after an animal… Oh shit, speaking of names."

She remained motionless and stoic, but shifted her gaze to meet my eyes behind her in the steamy mirror, my hands still combing through her hair.

"I saw that Rose sends you lots of names and addresses. The hell is that about?"

"It's about you."

I pulled my hands off her flaky scalp.

"About me?"

"Yeah."

"You're going to have to explain."

"I'm your bodyguard."

My eyes narrowed in reflex. I wish she’d give me more information at a time.

"My bodyguard?"

"Yeah. I watch out for bad guys."

"Oh, uh, thanks… Have you caught any?"

"Yeah."

"Give me an example."

"Uh… A guy was going to steal your bag one time. I stopped him."

I didn't ask how she did. If it was like the last guy i saw her “stop”...

"Is that what those names are, people to stop? For my sake?"

"Mostly."

"What do you do to those people?"

"Stop them."

I plugged my hair dryer into the wall, not having any idea what this all really meant. I get what she's saying, but I don't understand the bigger picture at all. What's been happening behind my back for so long? And more importantly, where is it going? As I spaced out, Bunny began to speak. Not an answer this time, but an unprompted statement.

"I told Rose I was going to meet her tonight."

"But you came here instead?"

"I didn't mean to. I ordered food to your house because I didn’t know where else to pick it up."

"So why not Rose's place?"

She turned her head slightly to the side. It was too hard to hear her over the sound of me warming her hair to a toasty temperature, but I know she said something.

An hour or two later, I was setting some blankets and pillows onto my couch once again. I wanted to make it a bit more inviting for her, even if it was still just a couch. She wasn't saying anything, just watching me in the silky black pajamas I'm letting her borrow.

Last time, she left in the morning before I woke up.

"Bunny, you're going to go to Rose's tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah."

"Wait for me to wake up. I'll go with you. I want to talk to her too."

"Okay."

At least she's agreeable. Lights out.

I woke up a little after noon and began brewing some coffee. I heard Leo purring from the living room. It looked like he had climbed on top of Bunny in the night and she was petting him in her sleep. I filled the little metallic bowl with his breakfast, causing him to snap awake with a leap off Bunny's chest towards the kitchen. I guess I should make us some food too.

A few sunny-side up eggs later, I was following Bunny down the side of some nearby roads that I'm unfamiliar with. There were no sidewalks, these roads were clearly not intended for pedestrians.

"Are you sure this is the best route?"

"Yes. She lives there."

Bunny pointed at an apartment complex past an intersection. I didn't know she lived so close to me. She probably did.

The intersection was scary. The stoplights were so short, and cars were rushing past unpredictably. I made an impatient Bunny wait until it was absolutely clear before we crossed, costing us an extra five or ten minutes.

We make it to the parking lot of the apartments. It doesn't look like there's any security, we so we just walked towards the buildings. Bunny led me up the creaking wooden steps to the third floor. It was only at this point I started to feel nervous. What if Rose isn't exactly happy to see me? I guess that's irrational, it's not like I've done anything to her. If anything, I should be the mad one. But still, nerves are nerves.

Bunny stops walking in front of one of the doors. I hadn't been paying attention to them until now, but they were labeled with words instead of numbers. Not “302” or something like I expected, this door says "SEAS". At least, that's what it said to me. Apparently I can't take text for granted anymore.

Without knocking, she opens the door and walks inside. I follow behind her, a few safe steps behind. The inside walls are white, and the carpet a soft color not unlike Bunny's hair. The air conditioner was on full-blast, making the air cold and loud. On her coffee table there was an open birdcage. There was one on the counter too. And on the stove. And a few on the floor. Huh. I inspected one near the entrance. On the bottom of the cage were newspaper scrap and a few white feathers.

"Does Rose keep birds?" I had to speak pretty loudly for Bunny to hear me over the AC noise.

"I didn't think so."

I would have asked Rose herself, but there was no sign of her anywhere. I watched Bunny go in and out of various rooms, looking like a lost puppy. I didn't text Rose that we were coming, and I know Bunny probably didn't either, so she's probably out running errands or something.

I saw Bunny poke her head out of one of the now-open doorways. She stared at me, silently asking me with her unmoving eyes to follow her in.

Inside is Rose's bedroom, presumably. She has a queen-sized bed, a small desk with a laptop on it, and some posters from anime I don't recognize on the walls. The ceiling fan is spinning on its highest setting, jangling its cords around wildly.

Oh, and there were about a dozen white doves on her mattress. That too.