Act Natural!

Chapter Seven

I sat in the lobby of a vet clinic with my bloody face in my hands. 

"Persephone Byrne?" asked the vet.

I wiped my tears away from my face and pulled my hair out of my face I looked up to see the same college student from the apartment building. "Yes?" I asked, my voice only cracking once. "Is he okay? I mean-- I know he's not okay-- but is he alive?"

He sat beside me with his elbows rested on his knees. He rubbed his face in his hands. "I hate to have to say this-- it really is the worst part of my job--"

My breath caught in my throat and my eyes started to fill with tears again. I covered my mouth with my hands.

"But your dog is going to be fine," he said with a smile.

My face furrowed. "What the hell?!" I yelled and shot to my feet. 

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood." and he stood up.

I tilted my head to the side and tried to look down at him even though he was almost an entire foot taller than me. "The love of my life almost died today!" I screamed at him.

He laughed at me and covered his mouth with his hand. "The love of your life? What are you, forty years old?" he mocked.

My jaw dropped to the floor. "I thought you were a doctor. Aren't they supposed to be nice?"

"Firstly, I'm a veterinarian, not a doctor they're completely different. And secondly, I'm a very nice person."

I crossed my arms and ignored his argument that was better than mine. He did save Fenrir. "For your information, Fenrir is the love of my life. He is man's best friend, he doesn't complain, and he eats the food that falls onto the floor-- best companion ever."

"Look, it wasn't right for me to judge you. You just don't look like the type that would be in a relationship with a dog instead of a human. Anyways, would you like to see him?" he said and motioned to the back rooms.

At this point in the conversation, I probably would've made a sarcastic comment, but I wanted to see my dog. I choked down a rude comment and said, "Yes, thank you."

When I got into the back room I saw Fenrir on the table. His eyes were open but he didn't even wag his tail when I came into the room. I put my hands over my mouth to stop myself from breaking down in tears again. I slowly walked to him. I gripped onto the table as I lowered myself to his level. 

"Fenrir can go home tomorrow. You should probably go home and get some sleep." he said.

"Can I ask you a question?" I said as I rose to my full height. 

"Shoot," he said and sat on the corner of the desk in the room. 

"What were you doing before you rushed to my apartment?" I asked.

"I was hosting my little sister's birthday party in the pool behind the building when I heard you scream bloody murder," he said.

"Oh," I said and looked back at Fenrir. I had a bad thought as I looked down at his body. If I ever found out who did this to him I would kill them very slowly. He had a stab wound on the side of his rib cage. It was shaved and stitched up so it was red on his skin. "Can I stay here?" I begged as I looked at the vet.

He clicked his tongue and tilted his head to the side. "I'm supposed to be here all night for the animals, and I'm not supposed to have anyone else here but..." He said and looked down at Fenrir. "I will make an exception for you. Just don't cause any trouble like forcing yourself on me or falling for me."