Hiding Place || Tori Kelly

Ecclesiastes 7:9

three days later

6:30 AM

Tori woke up to Busker with his front legs on her side of the bed, moaning in her ear. Slowly, Tori turned over and came face to face with the pup. "What's wrong, buddy?" Tori asked, tiredly sitting up and getting out of bed. Tori stepped on the cold carpet and headed into the bathroom to freshen up before taking her new pup out for a walk. Since the only place open at the ungodly hour that they got back at was Walmart, Michelle picked up everything she could in short notice, such as a leash, collar, food, and a bed. Tori finished up what she had started and turned to the puppy at her feet. "Alright, buddy. Let's go," Tori said, exciting the dog. Victoria headed down the stairs careful not be tripped up by the little guy and grabbed the leash on the counter. As she hooked Busker up, Tori glanced at her back door, that had the whole covered by clear masking tape, until they could get someone in to fix it. Her blood boiled, knowing that someone had come into her home and basically defiled it. "Stop, it's over. You, Dré, and Bean are fine. Nothing major is gone. You got a dog. Be grateful," Tori chanted to herself. She had come up with those affirmations just to go to sleep the night before. A small piece of her was not completely settled on everything, but she definitely wasn't going to dwell on that. That would take her to a place she didn't need to be in.

7:18 AM

Tori and Busker came back in the house after doing a couple of laps around the neighborhood. Busker went potty and Tori got to breathe and think.

After letting Busker off of his leash and filling his water and food bowl, Tori washed her hands and started breakfast. "Good morning, baby," André smiled as he came down the stairs shirtless in running shorts.

"Morning, babe. You smell good," Tori complimented. André shrugged and took a piece of bread from Tori's French toast plate. She quickly smacked his hand causing him to drop the thick cut back onto the plate.

"Okay, owe. And I only used soap," André said, rubbing the back of his hand dramatically.

"Soap, huh? That's a good smell on you. You should use it more often," Tori joked, forcing André to attack her with kisses and tickles. The ex-ballplayer wrapped his arms around his singer and butterfly kissed the mess out of her jaw, neck, and cheek. Busker watched the ordeal and started to get excited, causing him to bark and jump around. André looked down at the dog and released Tori from his strong arms.

"What's up? You want some too?" He said, taunting the dog. André took a low position with his hands on his knees and stared into Buskers eyes. The two had a stare down before André made a quick jerk, causing Busker to jump a few steps back and bark. Tori watched them play for second before going back to cooking. When she turned back around, André was cradling Busker and rubbing his head, gently.

"Awe," Tori murmured. The sight made her heart swell with joy. "You guys are too much," she said. "Oh, while I'm thinking about it," Tori chirped, pulling out her phone and snapping a quick picture to post on her IG story later. "We gotta take Busker to the vet at 11. I set up an appointment for him to get his shots and checked out," Tori reminded aloud. André nodded and gave Busker one last head rub, before putting him back down and watching him run to take his rightful place between Tori's legs. The medium puppy plopped in between his new owner's legs and took solace in knowing that he was finally safe.

8 AM

The happy couple sat at the table eating breakfast, and chatting when a message came through on Tori's phone. "Who is that?" André asked, sipping his grape juice. Tori wiped her hands on her napkin and unlocked her phone.

"It's just a baby thing," she dismissed. "Since that," Tori motioned to the door, "have you thought about how blessed we are that God was watching over us? He had me get sick, so that way we were out of harm's way. That was..." Tori said at a loss for words. André nodded.