Meet Me In The Rain

Chapter 1

I can't help but start to cry as I stare out into the pouring rain. I let my dog, Pixy, outside to enjoy the rain an hour ago, and she hasn't come home. I must have left the gate open.

Pixy has always loved to play in the rain, especially as a puppy. The first time I met her, I was turning nine years old. My parents waited until all the guests had left my birthday party. I remember it so well. I was sat down at out kitchen table playing with my new Polly Pockets when my dad came in with a little golden retriever puppy snuggled up in his arms. When I saw her, I practically flew out of my chair. The first time I held her, I knew me an her would be best friends forever.

But now, I don't know where she is, and the only thing that I want to do right now is crumble into a ball on the floor and cry. I won't though, because I know I'd make a fool of myself in front of my parents. They raised me and my sister, Amy, to never let our emotions get the best of us. To them, emotions are sign of weakness. Amy has always been good at concealing her emotions, unlike me. I'm more emotional than ever now that she's gone off to college and I don't have her here.

I quickly wipe the warm tears from my cheeks and try to focus on the raindrops running down the window. I feel a hand rest of my shoulder and my moms soft voice in my ear.

"Don't worry, honey. I'm sure she'll come home after it stops raining."

"I'm sure she will too," I lie. I can't help but jump to horrible conclusions. Pixy could be lost in the woods somewhere, or hit by a car. My thoughts aren't helping anything, so I give my mom a quick hug and run upstairs to my room.

I sit down at my vanity and touch up my smudged mascara. I don't always wear makeup, but today was the last day of school for my freshman year, so I thought I'd end the year looking my best. I need to talk to Amy. I want her to wrap me up in her comforting arms and tell me that Pixy is just fine. But that won't happen, because Amy is doing a summer internship at a law firm near her college. The next best thing is to call my best friend, Addie Jackson. She picks up on the second ring.

"Hey, Valerie!"
"Hey," I reply.
"Oh no, Val. What's wrong?"
She must have heard the pain in my voice. I try to keep it together as I explain the situation to her. Addie let's me rant on for about ten minutes before I start hearing voices in the background.
"Are you with someone?" I ask.
"Oh, yeah. Cam came over after school and Brett stopped by to help my dad with some gardening or whatever. But it started raining so he's hanging with us now."
"Oh." I don't know why I'm surprised by this. Cam, Addies girlfriend, always comes over on Friday nights. I faintly hear Brett's voice on the other end of the line asking, "Is that Val?" A second later, Brett's on the phone.
"Hey! Valerie!"
"Hi Brett." I try not to sound very interested in Brett when I talk to him. He's had a thing for me since forever and he doesn't hide it very well. I don't want him to make a move and ruin our friendship so I just don't engage too much.
"You should come over and hang with us. I think we're gonna watch a movie."
I use my inner actress to pretend I'm losing connection and hang up.

That night, I lie in bed staring at the ceiling. The rain hasn't stopped, and Pixy hasn't home. I fall asleep when I start to see the sun come up.