I Among Dogs

Chapter 15: Babysitter Putdown

"If anything, I think humans like you are nothing but a plague."

"If you really thought I would ever love a human, think again."

"You're not welcome here, and you NEVER will be."

Those phrases among the many others that Hailey had said to me kept echoing through my mind like a broken record. A broken record of hostility and lies. Even with the audible running water from the shower flowing down my skin like heated raindrops, I could still hear those words clearly.

Chilli... Bandit... Bluey... Bingo... They've been doing everything they can to help me recover emotionally from that very night. It's been... I can't remember at this point. Over a week since that event? Feels like it was only yesterday.

In all honesty, I'm not hurting as much as I was on that very night. The Heelers have done good so far in helping me combined with my memory of what Wendy had told me when we first met.

But... It's almost like I'm recovering from a broken limb or any other serious injury. The worst of it is fading, but I still feel a lot of hurt. I can still feel the cracks in my heart, actually, they're more like scars, and we all know how long those take to heal.

What I'm trying to say is, I'm just not one hundred percent better yet. I feel like I'm getting there but on the other hand I feel like I'm just stuck in a bout of misery.

Is it really possible for someone to move on and recover from being humiliated when the person who duped you into thinking they loved you all did it because they think you're a joke?

I guess I'll never know...

I blinked as I shook my head a little to shake out the lingering thoughts of Hailey's insults before turning the shower off. I need to do something to help take my mind off it, hopefully that would help.

With Bandit and Chilli going somewhere tonight, it was just going to be me, Bluey, Bingo and whoever it was they had hired to look after us. I suppose getting to know the babysitter would make for a good distraction.

...I can only pray that they don't freak out or pretend to be friendly towards me.

"Nathan, you alright in there, mate?" Bandit's slightly muffled but recognisable voice called out from outside the bathroom.

"N-No, everything's fine, Bandit!" I called out half-truthfully. I didn't want him to worry too much about me whilst he's out with Chilli. I know he needs some time to himself and Chilli as well. Young kids can be a handful after all.

Drying myself off and putting on a new set of clothes on, I exited the bathroom and made my way down to the TV room, turning the set on as it showed a live newscast. The reporter being the same one I saw on the day Bluey snuck me to school.

"And so it seems that many of the citizens of Canistralia are already prepared for the upcoming funeral ceremony for the fallen mother and father of Canistralia's newest human ambassador, Nathan Faulkner. Flowers have already been left at the memorial area whilst our highest ranked investigators are still analysing the site of the plane crash that claimed the lives of Nathan's parents in hopes of uncovering the possible cause of the crash to begin with."

That's right... Mom and dad's funeral, I had almost forgotten about it. The fact that almost all of the dogs of Canistralia were pitching in to set up the ceremony did make me smile a little. I still miss them, but I had to remember to abide to what Wendy told me and stay strong for them.

Maybe... if they were still alive, they'd encourage me to stay strong and not think about what Hailey said to me.

My train of thought was immediately cut by the sound of the doorbell. That could mean only thing, that the babysitter was here. Turning the set off, I headed for the front doorway, stopping halfway as I was met with a rather odd sight.