The Unexpected Visit

Chapter 30

I guess we fell asleep on the floor because I open my eyes and the apartment is dark. I nudge Owen. "Wake up." He doesn't respond, I get up and flip on the light switch, only to find a dog. It looks just like Lily, the dog from my dream, except it's a puppy. Either way, it doesn't have a collar, and it looks like a she; therefore, I think, in honor of the dog in my dream, I will name her Lily. She's black and gray with some white and appears to be a Siberian Husky. I bet Owen bought her. It looks as though Lily moved him to be closer to me. I laugh out loud, waking Owen.

"What's so funny?" he asks groggily.

"Look at Lily and where we fell asleep. I think Lily moved you. You're practically in another room," I say, trying to contain my laughter.

"Haha, that's hilarious. Where did this dog come from anyway? Do you think Jackson brought her? He's the only one with a key; maybe that's where Anna and Jackson were. I wonder why they bought a puppy though..." He says, looking alert all of the sudden.

"We did bring her. I like the name, by the way. It makes her immense size seem less threatening. We bought her for Rebecca; Lily is now her dog;" Jackson says, strolling into the apartment, Anna following behind.

Anna comes up to me and whispers in my ear: "We also thought she might help with your withdrawal. When I talked to the doctor, he said that a dog should help your symptoms subside, or disappear completely, within a month or two."

"Thanks, how did you know I liked Huskies?" I ask, trying to remember if I ever told any of them.

"We didn't, we guessed. Turned out to be a good hunch," Jackson replies, already spoiling my dog with a belly rub.

"Let's teach her her name," Owen says, running his hand through his hair. He usually does that when he doesn't know what to do with his hands; it's a cute habit.

"That's a good idea, but she has to learn it from Rebecca so that she knows who the alpha is," Anna says, shooing Owen and Jackson away from Lily.

"Lily," I say, looking at her, "Lily. Lily, come here," I beckon her over while I continue to call her. After calling her about fifteen times, she trots over to me in that clumsy puppy like way, looking very pleased with her name.

"Good girl Lily, good girl," I cry, petting her enthusiastically.

"I already love your dog, but we have important things to talk about with Owen that are Warriors related. We'll be back soon, have fun with Lily!" Anna states, taking Owen and Jackson to the other apartment.

"Alright Lily, ready to have some fun? It looks like everything is here: a leash, collar, toys, even a Frisbee. Wow, they thought of everything," I state in disbelief.

I take the collar out. I should probably get her name on this. I turn and look at Lily. Hm....a bath would probably be a good thing. She doesn't like baths very much, apparently, although after I got her a rubber toy to chew on, she settled down quickly. After her bath, we run around and play in the apartment to dry her off fully. Once that's done, I take the brush and brush her for a while. Luckily, she actually likes to be brushed.

Slowly but surely, my coughing fits fade, and as they fade, Lily grows. I go to soccer practice every Wednesday and Friday, with the occasional practice on Saturday, and school starts. Owen goes with me most days, while Anna and Jackson take turns. Lily refuses to leave my side, so we get her certified as a service dog and she follows me everywhere. Lily even tries to play soccer with us; it takes a couple people to keep her off the field during a game.

We go from place to place, but so far we haven't seen Brooke and no one at any school knows her. Jay, the financial provider for the team's daughter, and Vallie soon become my good friends. I become friends with some of the girls on my team and get to know others. I've never been in a better environment then when I'm at soccer practice; everyone's super encouraging, friendly, and concerned if something happens to a fellow teammate.

Jackson and Owen are fitting in well, too. Jackson is even dating someone, despite our discouragement. Owen and I well; we've been going out and having fun, although he doesn't like when we go go-karting as I always beat him. Anna seems attracted to a guy who's always around. I won't say anything but she knows I know. Ava, my dad's former secretary, even showed up and is helping us manage money. She's a little shy but she's fun to be around. We think we've seen Eric around, too, but he either hasn't noticed me or is waiting for something to happen, so he can "swoop in and save the day." Yeah, right. Ava said that he probably hitched a ride on the boat and she didn't know it. She took the same boat as us because the boat has this really cool feature that can call it back home.

Everything is going well, and I couldn't ask for anything more than to find Brooke, when something changes.