Little Marks

19 - Box

January 11th

"Italy? Are you okay?" Papa came running when he heard me scream. He took a sharp breath when he saw what I saw. "Dan! Start the car! We have a problem!" Kineti was on the floor, foam gently rolling out of her mouth with each breath. Her body was convulsing, legs twitching horribly.

Papa left and came back with a throw blanket, gently picking up Kineti with it. He held her close and led the two of us out of our apartment and to the car, where Dad was in the driver's seat, confused as to what was happening. I was starting to get hysterical, slightly from hormones, but mostly because I was so upset.

"Shit." He said, seeing Kineti in Papa's arms. I get into the back, crying as we leave. Papa was so upset he didn't even bother to nag at Dad for swearing. Kineti is my best friend, she's been by my side ever since I was born. Some of my earliest memories were with her right next to me. My first steps, my first word, everything. I can't be losing her. What would I do without my canine companion? She's been there for me for everything.

We hurriedly drove to the vet, the car entirely silent except for my sobbing. As much as Dad and Papa loved her, I was far more in love with her. I've been taking care of her, basically on my own, since I was 12.

~~~

So it turns out that Kineti had a severe form of colon cancer. They told us there was nothing we could do, and that we couldn't have stopped it earlier. It shows very late in larger dogs like Huskies, and by the time it does present itself, it's too late to save her. They said that the best thing to do is to put her down and take her out of her misery. She's been suffering for a long time, but there was nothing we could do about it.

I said my final goodbye to Kineti and left, unable to watch what was going to happen. I couldn't go through the pain of watching that happen to her. I sat in the car, rotating my phone in my hand slowly, unable to bring myself to contact anyone. I just felt so emotionally drained. I was having such a good morning too. I found out that I got into my top college, and I was so happy. We were going to celebrate tonight too. But of course, something bad had to happen. Any time my life is going well, something goes and ruins it. But this is probably the worst thing. I knew this day was coming, Kineti was an old dog, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon.

Dad and Papa came out half an hour later, holding each other somberly. Dad was crying silently and Papa was trying to calm him, but he was also upset so it didn't make much difference. Kineti was a birthday present for Dad when they first got together, and I guess the sentiment still stands, even though she was the family dog.

We all sat in the car for a few minutes, all crying. Our family of four went to a family of three in just 90 minutes. After a little bit, we silently drove home. No one was in the mood to talk, and I don't blame us. We just lost a valued family member. It was going to take a while for us to recover from this event.

~~~

"Cameron I know you don't want to talk to me right now, but I could really use some moral support. We had to put Kineti down." I sob, hanging up. I had called him and it went straight to voicemail. After ten minutes and no sign of him calling me back, I contacted the girls. They promised to come over soon. Thankful that I had such loyal friends, I collapsed on my bed, whimpering. At two and a half months pregnant, I've lost both my boyfriend and my dog, and things just feel like they'll never get better. I'm just glad that my best friends still support me no matter what happens. I don't know what I would do without them.

Ten minutes later, Lianna showed up with a tub of ice cream. She let herself in with her spare key and made her way to my bedroom. "Oh, honey," She set the ice cream down on my nightstand and wrapped her arms around me, letting me cry into her shirt. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. You don't deserve this kind of pain." She speaks quietly, running her fingers through my hair. Fiona got to my house at some point during my cry session, and she sat on my other side, rubbing my leg gently. They comforted me while I cried, and I was glad that they were there for me. Lianna went and got three spoons, and the three of us dug into the tub of ice cream she brought. Fiona hooked her phone up to my speaker and played a playlist that we had made for sad times like this.

~~~

The doorbell rang about two hours after the girls got here, and I got up slowly, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders tightly. I made my way to the door and opened it slowly, sniffling. There was no one at the door. I glanced down and there was a small box. I pick it up and bring it inside, shutting the door behind me. The girls came out and joined me at the table where I set it down. It was light, and it sounded like something was in there, though I couldn't be sure what. And who left it? Why would they just drop it and leave? I don't think any of us have ordered stuff online recently. And it didn't have a label on it, meaning it was someone who was close enough to just drop it off.

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure." I shrug, pulling up the lid. Inside was a flannel, a bar of my favorite chocolate, and a little notecard. I lifted the notecard, reading it.

I'm sorry Butterscotch

It was from Cameron. I set the notecard down on the table and picked up the flannel, letting the chocolate sit at the bottom. It smelled like his cologne. I held it close and buried my nose into it, inhaling deeply. He did care. He couldn't be here for me, but he let me know he was there for me. That's enough for me. 

~~~

Teaser: Alone time with Millie