SLIPPING (B.E.)

{fifteen}

hi <3

the sun was so bright today; i wished i'd thought to wear sunglasses. at least it wasn't too hot. a light breeze blew across my face, but it wasn't enough to stop me from wearing shorts.

shark trotted ahead of me happily, stopping occasionally to sniff a tree or a fence post. sometimes it would look back at me to make sure i was still there or something. it made me miss my puppy back at home.

i stopped at the gate to the dog park, biting my lip in uncertainty. there wasn't many people in there, but i didn't really know how shark got along with other dogs... i didn't want anybody to get upset with me if he started humping their dog or something. but i had told billie i would take him to the dog park, and she takes him all the time; he couldn't be that bad.

shark looked up at me longingly from where he stood watching the dogs playing on the other side of the fence. that look almost made me cave, but i decided against it, too nervous i would have a run-in with a karen. billie would be upset with me if i told her i had taken him for a walk in the neighbourhood right after i promised her to take him to the dog park, but it would be okay. i knew she was just concerned because i wasn't used to la life yet, and there was always people at a dog park who would see if something happened to me. but i would be okay.

shark resisted when i tried to pull him away from the gate, but eventually jogged to my side again, looking dejected. i felt even worse now, but i was too scared to go back.

it was mostly nice outside, apart from the wind. the sky was cloudless and bright blue, and it was twenty degrees celsius. everything was always green or brown here, never white like it was for six months back at home.

home... i thought longingly. i missed skating outside with ginger, here you had to go to a rec center and the environment was entirely different. and i missed watching the oilers games... but i guess i could still do that if billie had a sportsnet subscription or something.

shark suddenly yanked on the leash. i barely managed to hang onto him, but i fell onto my knees. i looked up and noticed he had seen a bunny, and was stiff at the end of his leash, keeping a close eye on it.

"awwww, it's so cute!" i squealed. my voice must have surprised it though, and shark lunged for it as it bounded away, causing my knees to scrape on the concrete.

"ow! no, shark, bad dog!" i snapped. he turned around and slowly trotted back to me, a guilty look on his face. i sighed and patted his head so he knew he was forgiven despite the tears pricking at my eyes due to the gravel embedded in my knees.

i stood up and brushed off as much of the dirt as i could, wincing when a trail of blood ran down my shin. i tried to ignore the stinging and turned around, walking quickly back home.

shark trailed behind me, still wanting another go at the bunny, but i didn't want to drag him home so i called him everytime he went to look back until he gave up.

i felt bad again, but i wanted to get home and clean up the blood on my knees before i got scared and slipped into my headspace in the middle of a neighborhood i hardly know.

finally, billies' front door was in sight. shark and i both sped up at the same time, and his tail started wagging. i thought it was so cute how excited he was to see billie, no matter how long they had been apart. i missed rossi even more, because although shark liked to lick my face, he didn't love me as much as he loved billie. which makes sense, since he hadn't known me for nearly as long. but still, it was hard to be away for so long.

i let myself in and unclipped sharks leash. before i could even bend down to untie my shoes, i was swept up in a tight hug, and the sweet smell of the perfume billie had chosen to wear today filled my nose.