The rain had been falling all week, soaking into the thin roof of the small rotting house at the end of the city. Inside the air smelled like smoke, spilled beer, and regret. Eddie sat at the crooked kitchen table watching his last few dollar bills curl on the damp wood. His hands were shaking, half from cold, half from the need. Across from him, his roommate and only friend, Marcos shuffled a deck of cards with a grin that showed too many missing teeth. 

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Marcos said

Eddie already knew what he meant. The alley behind Mr Brown's Bakery always had strays. People in this part of town paid a decent amount of money to get their cats back. Marcos had the net. Eddie had the nerve.

“Yeah,” Eddie muttered. “Let's make some cash tonight."

It was pathetic work but it paid enough for cards, drinking, and the illusion of control. 

Years ago Eddie was someone. A husband, a father, a man with a stable job. He could still remember the sound of his daughter's laughter, and the way his wife's hand used to fit perfectly in his. His daughter is 8 years old.  Few things he remembers about his daughter. Only how she loved to play barbies, and watch the movie Barbie over and over again on replay. But what he has a visible memory of was he also remembered the first time he won a bug at the casino.How alive he felt that night. The music and the crowd shouting his name when he hit a jackpot. After that night nothing else compared. He told himself he was playing small, that one more win would fix everything but one win became one loss and then another and another. Then it became the car, the house, and finally the trust. By the time his wife Maria packed her bags and took their daughter, he had already gambled away more than money, he had gambled himself and his family. 

It was near midnight when Eddie and Marcos crept through the alleys with a flashlight and a wire cage. The rain had stopped, but the ground still smelled of wet oil. 

“There's one,” Marco whispered, pointing to a black cat licking itself behind a dumpster.
Eddie moved slowly crouching low as the cage opened in his hand. When the cat looked up its yellow eyes glowed like gold coins. For a second Eddie froze  he didn't know why but something about those eyes felt familiar like judgment or maybe pity. Marco clapped his hands and the cat bolted, Eddie threw the cage and missed. 

“Darn” Marcos hissed, “That was fifty bucks easy!”

They caught two others that night. Marcos laughed on the way home laughing, counting the imaginary money they had made. Eddie said nothing, the thrill that used to come from the hustle was gone. All he felt now was a dull ache. Somewhere deep in his heart. 

A week later Eddie woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, it was Maria. He hadn't heard her voice in months when he picked up all he heard at first was noise and sirens. 

“Eddie” she gasped “I’m at the hospital, I got hit.” His stomach dropped “Are you okay?” 

“I broke my leg and arm,” her voice was shaky. “I can't take care of Sophia right now. I don't know who else to call.” Eddie didn't even think “I'll be there.”

Maria looked small in the hospital bed, her hair tangled, skin pale under the hospital lights. Seeing her like that hurt me worse than losing any game of cards. Sofia, now ten, sat quietly beside her, hugging a stuffed bear. She didn't look up. When Eddie walked in. 

“I can take her for a while,” He said softly. Their eyes met. “Eddie; she barely knows you anymore.¨ she said “I know” Eddie said 

She hesitated and nodded, when Eddie reached for Sophia's hand she didn't pull away but she didn't squeeze back either. Back at the small house Eddie cleared space in the corner for Sophia to sleep, Marcos raised an eyebrow when he saw her. 

“Didn't think you were the fathering type anymore.” Marcos said 

Eddie ignored him and he cooked soup for the first time in years. He sat beside his daughter as she ate in silence. When she finally whispered “thanks dad.”

Something inside him cracked open. He hadn't heard that word in so long, the next morning Marcos mentioned to have a gambling night. Eddie said no. 

  “Come on” Marcos argued “you got a child now to feed more reasons to make money.”  Eddie looked at him, "I'm done.” Marcos laughed thinking he was joking but Eddie didn't smile. 

It wasn't easy, the rush, the feeling of luck turning, never truly disappeared. One night while Sofia slept Eddie found an old deck of cards under the table, his hands itching as he shuffled them. The sound of the paper snapping together filled the silence. He dealt himself a hand queen, king, ace. Blackjack. He stared at the perfect cards, and for the first time, he hated them. He threw the deck into the trash can. A couple weeks passed by and Eddie was able to find a job as a mechanic. It wasn't the best high paying job but it was okay for the moment. Every morning he walked Sofia to school. Every night he fixed what he could in the old house, new locks, patched holes, and a working stove. Maria was healing too, when she came by to see Sofia she noticed the change. 

“You look different," she said one afternoon. Eddie shrugged “Maybe I ran out of lives” She smiled softly, “Cats have nine.  How many do you think you had?” “Too many” He said   “But this one I'm not wasting.” 

Marcos showed up at the door, trying to convince him to go out. 

“Big game tonight,” he said “You in? The winner takes ten grand.” 

Eddie hesitated. Ten grand could fix everything, the roof mirrors medical bills, maybe even a new start. He saw Sofia's shoes by the door, small and muddy from the park. He closed the door. 

  “Im out, Marcos.”  Eddie said. 

Marcos cursed and left. Eddie stood there a long time listening to the rain. 

Months passed and the house didn't feel so lonely anymore. The roof still leaked, sometimes the walls still creaked but laughter filled the spaces between. Maria would visit and would sometimes stay. One rainy night Eddie sat by the window watching Sofia watch tv on the couch. He thought about all the lives he had lived: the gambler, the third fool and one he had finally chosen. He wasn't rich, he wasn't lucky but for the first time he was enough.  Outside thunder rumbled but inside the world was quiet and whole again.