His paws pad gently against the hardwood floor, his nails clicking with each step. He thinks I can't hear him because he's moving slowly under the table. His nose bumps into my knee and I scoot my chair back to peer at him. He gives me that wide-eyed look, expecting something.
I give him a pat on the head. "Go lay down." He stares directly at me as he lies down at my feet. "That's not what I meant, you dumb dog." I smile as I pet his head once more before continuing my dinner.
Once my parents leave, I hand him a few bites. He chews it quickly, knowing he shouldn't have it. I look around to make sure no one saw, then declare that I'm done eating.
I call downstairs, "Can I have dessert?"
"Yeah," one of them yells back.
I place what's left of my food into his bowl and put the dishes in the sink. I take a few more cookies than I'm allowed and eat them as I wait for him to finish my food.
His tongue takes long laps at the metal bowl, trying to get all the taste out of it. He pushes it into the corner and makes it clash against the floor with each lick. I gently push him away from the bowl; he moves with no fight.
He follows as I walk to my room. His paws click behind me till we reach the stairs. I take two steps before he bumps me out of the way to dash up them, just to turn around and wait at my closed door. I open it and allow him to enter first before closing it behind me.
He sniffs at the floor, licking up a few crumbs of yesterday's snack. The tip of his tail wags slightly as he hops onto my bed and curls up on my pillow.
"Is it bedtime already?" I pull out my phone to find that it is far past bedtime. "Fine, but you have to move." He grunts in response.
He stares at me with a tired expression as I change into my pajamas. "You know, that'd be creepy if I didn't know that you don't have a single thought in your head." He lays his down, defiantly. "No, you have to move. I'm sorry, okay. I don't mean that. You're a good boy." His head perks up. "Yes, a very good boy. But you would be a better boy if you moved off my pillow." He gives me a glare. "Dude! You're taking up the entire pillow! You don't want me sleeping on you, right? You gotta move." I finish changing and turn off the light.
"Alright, you asked for it." I lay down in my bed and use him as a pillow. "Is this what you wanted?" He subsequently kicks me. "Then you gotta move! You dumb dog!"
I chuckle as I gently push him off my pillow. He steps on me as he stands up to move to his side of the bed. He grunts as he flops down beside me.
"Good boy." I rub his head as I get comfortable.
I wake up, my stuffed animal is lying on the ground away from me. I must have tossed around in my sleep. It brings such miniscule comfort, yet I delicately lift it off the floor, whisper a sincere apology, and place it back on my nightstand. I'm getting too old for toys, anyway.
I rub the sleep and dried tears from the corners of my eyes. Another lonely night. My thoughts land on the empty dog bed, still crumpled from the last time he laid there. Maybe he's downstairs?... No. I stare up in a feeble attempt to keep the fresh tears back, but they streak down my face, anyway.
I change out of my pajamas and into clean clothes, thinking about today's chores as a distraction. Do dishes, clean the kitchen, watch the pest, and take out the trash. Taking a deep breath, I open my door to leave, waiting in the doorframe. I wait and wait before I realize nothing is coming. I close the door somberly.
As I walk into the kitchen, I can hear the faint clicking of his nails against the hardwood. I grab his bowl and start pouring in the dry food. For a brief moment, I am happy, excited for his presence, before I remember the truth. I pour the dry food back into the container. My mind seems to keep blanking on such an important detail.
I sit down at the table and take deep breaths, placing my hand over my heart to feel just how hard it's beating. He is gone... Dead. Rex is dead.
