Playing It Safe: A Playing it Cool Fanfic

Countdown to Heartbreak

Have you ever noticed that right when you think things are going your way, life fucking knees you in the balls and kicks you until you vomit from the pain? Alright not my best work I admit, but fuck life. Fuck it.

I spent the weekend cooking for her while she went and spent time with her family. When she finally got home on Sunday night she was a stressed out mess. When I showed her all the things I'd made, she suddenly felt better. You could actually physically see the tension in her neck release. I'd never felt like I'd been able to provide that for someone before. I was usually a leading cause of problems.

On Wednesday we all left the house together. We dropped Chrissy and Carrie off at day care together and then like the dysfunctional family we were she drove me to the clinic to get tested.

Christ the nurse there was up for some slut shaming. The lecture I got about being more careful, when I am fucking careful. The incredulous look she was given just for being there with me. Like 'girl, please tell me you aren't letting this douche bag put his dick in you'.

This wouldn't have been half as bad if it weren't for the fact I was fucking clean. All these lectures about making poor choices and I had nothing wrong with me.

We drove home and I sat in the passenger seat seething.

"What's the matter with you? You're clean. Shouldn't you be happy?" She asked.

"I just don't like being made to feel like some dirty, little, deviant, fuck up when I haven't done anything wrong." I said.

She rubbed my thigh. "I know. She was a bitch. Fuck her. Or better yet, don't fuck her. That'll teach her."

I laughed. "Thank you."

"It's okay. It's your life you're living. Not anyone else's. All you can do is do the best with what you've got."

"Why do you think I haven't heard back from that publication house? They seemed so keen. Now I don't know if I should try somewhere else."

Her hands suddenly tensed on the steering wheel. "They're probably just working with accountants and lawyers to draw up a contract for you. It was a really good book, you know?"

"Really? You think it was good?"

"Yeah. I really do."

We were heading up onto an overpass and a car that was several lengths ahead of us threw what looked like a pillowcase with something in it out the window. It bounced along the shoulder and came to a rest. She veered into the shoulder slamming on the breaks.

"What the fuck did they just throw?" She yelped. "It's moving."

She jumped out of the car and ran towards it picking it up and looking inside. The look of pure abject horror that crossed her features is not one that I ever want to see again. She ran back to the car and passed me the bag, as she jumped in.

"Use your GPS to find the closest emergency vet." She yelped as she pulled the car back out onto the freeway.

"What is it?" I asked looking in the bag. Inside was a small black and brown puppy. It was a mess. Blood and two of it's legs looked obviously broken.

People are often too quick to call the ones who do things like this animals or monsters. Quickly dehumanizing the perpetrators so they can be seen as apart from the rest of us. The truth is, they're people. Just like us. That's the horror of it all. You can never tell what the person you're about to meet is capable of.

I put my hand in the bag and stroked the tiny puppy over its ear. It whimpered at my touch.

"Why don't we just take it to your clinic?" I asked.