Heal My Heart

S i x t y - T w o : S c o t t

A/N: Comment & Vote

"You know I didn't mean it."

He continued to cry, huddling under the bed. I wanted to say it was over reaction but I new how traumatizing and devastating Connor's rejection had been. I continued packing quietly for a moment.

"Puppy please."

Nothing.

"What if when we get home, we go pick out a new cat?"

The crying came to an almost abrupt halt and he slowly peeked out at me. His cheeks were flushed with emotion and wet with tears. "You mean it?"

I was just relieved he was speaking to me. "You bet. Why don't you come help me back up so we can go home?"

"Can-can I visit Bailey too? I wanna say sorry."

"Of course you can."

He crawled out hesitantly and buried his face into Milo as he wiped his tears. "Are you still going to have alone time tonight?"

My stomach sunk. I had a feeling he's touch on that. It was hard to agree to miss it--it was honestly one of my favorite parts of the day. "We'll see."

He started to gather his things--there wasn't much. The other stuffed animal, two sets of night clothes, the outfit, the stuffed bee, and new tee shirt. He dropped them into the suitcase with absolutely no order and sat down looking at me expectantly.

"Fold it up. Come on."

"Why can't I wear my bee shirt?"

The bee shirt had a large, smiling cartoon bee plastered to the front. In all honesty it looked absolutely ridiculous. "It's an at home shirt."

"Then how am I supposed to show people?"

"Show who Puppy?" I asked before I realized how harsh it sounded.

He looked down at his feet. "I don't have any friend, huh?" He mumbled half to me and half to himself. "Just me. And Scott."

He smiled at me but I could see it in his eyes. He was scared. Without he'd be truly alone. His ability to connect with people was hindered and flawed by his emotional dependency. "You're sweet and funny Puppy. Anyone would be lucky to have you as a friend."

"You think so? You don't think I'm annoying? Not even sometimes?"

"I don't think you're annoying however your actions sometimes are."

He cocked his head in confusion and I waved him off. "Let's get ready."

***

I was relieved to get home.

Puppy was sleeping and it felt like I could breathe again. I had seven new business cards of affluent men looking to get into horse racing. Not to mention those who would be calling the main office.

I woke Puppy and started out toward the house. He came tottering along, pulling his suitcase on the ground while wiping sleeping out of his eyes. "We're getting my cat now?" He asked sleepily.

"Soon. Do you have to use the bathroom?"

"Uhm... Nope."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh... Yes."

He followed me outside where I found Kyle putting the final shoe on a filly. "Welcome back," he said without looking at me. "I heard Lucky won. Congrats."

"Thanks. What's Bailey up to today?"

"Bitching mostly. Why?"

"I'm gonna say sorry." Puppy told him.