Act Two // Book One

Chapter Thirteen

When Harry woke up the next morning he fully expected an exuberant Rufus to be in his face whining to go outside. It had become their daily routine. Rufus had a schedule and Harry needed to adhere to it whether he liked it or not.

But that morning, Rufus barely moved. Harry tweaked the dog's butt, ready to lay one of his choice sarcastic remarks out but quieting himself when Rufus merely lifted his head, glanced at Harry over his shoulder and then laid back down.

How did you check a dog's temperature? Could you check a dog's temperature? Seemed like there should've been a way.

Harry rolled over to grab his phone, quickly googling how to know if a dog was sick. He frowned when he read something about puke and runny poop in the first few sentences. He looked down at Rufus,

"You alright, Buddy?"

The dog simply sighed out a breath but didn't move. Harry was fairly alarmed. Rufus was still a puppy really, there's no way he was dying though his current state sure made it seem like it. Harry googled the nearest vet ER. He was shocked to see there was one just a block away from his house.

He checked his watch, Samantha would probably be arriving for work soon. She would be concerned if she got to the house and he and Rufus were gone.

He quickly tapped her number just as he heard the front door slam. He hopped out of bed,

"Watts!!!" He yelled, a sounding a little more scared than he meant to.

Samantha appeared in the doorway of his room while he was pulling his hoodie on,

"What's wrong?" She asked. She didn't wait for him to answer when she saw Rufus on the bed, "Oh no...what happened?" She asked as she pushed past him into the room and sat down next to the dog.

Harry was slightly taken back by her walking into his room uninvited but he pushed it out of his head. There were more important things happening.

"I dunno." He answered, scratching his head, "I woke up and he was like that."

"Has he thrown up?"

Harry turned his nose up,

"No. There's an emergency vet a block away." Harry informed her as he pulled his shoes on.

Samantha watched as he picked Rufus up and loaded him into his Range. Harry gestured to the passenger side, "Get in."

Harry and Samantha were sitting in one of the rooms at the Vet's office. They'd been shown in rather quickly when they got there. Harry pulled his chair up next to Rufus head. The dog had yet to move since Harry had picked him up. Harry lifted his hand to scratch Rufus' ear,

"Feelin' shitty, yeah?" Rufus blinked back at him. Harry smiled, "We'll get you some medicine...you'll be up in no time."

Samantha chewed on her lip as she continued to read through Google to see if she could find any more information about what was going on,

"Maybe something Mr. Rollins put in the yard is poisonous."

Harry shook his head,

"The backyard has been finished for a week now. He would've already been sick."

Samantha grunted and went back to scrolling,

"Nothing here is helpful. There are too many things." She clicked her phone off and tossed it into her bag angrily.

Harry looked up at her,

"Hey...it's ok." He said softly.

Samantha was a bit shocked. She hadn't heard that tone of voice out of him since the night he'd mistaken her for Gwen.