Trapped In (2)

◦ n i n e ◦

An hour later, we're still panting and in desperate need of water but I'm doing my best to keep my mind off of it.

By this time, Dakota is now on the brink of passing out himself and looks weaker by the minute. I have to admit, I'm growing a little concerned because he hasn't popped out a joke in about twenty minutes.

"Dakota?" I ask him, watching his eyes open as he lays on the floor on his back. "Are you still alive?" I laugh weakly, my mouth feeling sticky and dry.

"No I've died and now I'm in heaven telling God about how mean you've been to me." Dakota croaks thirstily, making me laugh once more.

"You're insufferable." I tell him before pausing, my face falling. "Do you think we could actually die in here?"

Dakota doesn't reply at first and my heart begins to be hard with panic before he sighs and relief pours over me. If he passed out I don't think I'd have the energy to do anything about it. "I mean...I guess it's possible but also not very likely. It's almost, if not already, evening so it should start getting cooler in here."

I sigh, my head rolling to the side. "I just want water. Like so bad." My dry throat is basically crying and my stomach is burning hungrily from the absence of food today.

"Do you have any pets?" He suddenly asks me, my eyes squinting in surprise.

"Why do you ask?" I breathe, clothing my eyes tightly as I swallow again.

"I'm trying to keep your mind off of water. So...do you have any pets?" Dakota's green eyes watch me intently as if he's asking a question much deeper and much more meaningful than this.

My dry lips press together, my mind choosing for a moment to focus on this conversation with this curious and interesting boy I met only a few hours ago instead of the fact that my kidneys are basically aching from dehydration.

"No." I reply almost bitterly. "I do not own a pet."

He studies me closely. "You don't sound very pleased about it. So why don't you get one?"

I bite my lower lip subtly, my heart aching a little when my mother's face comes to mind. Her soft brown curls and her contagious smile. I know very well why my dad hasn't allowed me to buy another pet and why we both instinctively look away when we see a golden retriever walking down the sidewalk or connected to the handle of a person in need of their assistance.

"We had a dog." I tell him, forcing my voice to be light and void of emotion. "He's gone and my dad doesn't like to be reminded of him. It - uh...it reminds him of my mother." I laugh bitterly, wincing at the involuntary sound.

Dakota remains silent where he is. I can hear his slightly heavy breaths, the heat in the small elevator feeling almost like a hand around my throat. I can feel the humidity volumizing my curls, my bangs sticking stubbornly to my forehead.

He suddenly speaks, "What was his name?"

"Baxter." I reply with a small smile. "He's a golden retriever."

"Is? As in present tense? I thought he was gone." He gives me a confused look and my heart twists, my eyes casting downward as I silently remind myself that it's not a big deal and I need to quit dramatizing my mom's disappearing act.

I keep my gaze fixed on the wall as I fight to sit up, crossing my legs with a sigh. "He is. My mom took him with her when she left."

I small choking sound comes from him. "Lillian...I'm so sorry, that's terrible." He says lowly.

Another small smile graces my lips but I do my best to hide it. Dakota's few words holds a hint of what he really wants to say. Or maybe even what he doesn't know to say. What matters is I can hear the true genuine compassion in his words and suddenly the words that usually tick me off to no end, find themselves buried in my mind like a pleasant echo.

"Thank you." I reply with a light laugh. "It's okay, really. It's been a while and my dad and I have kind of gotten into our own routine. We don't need her anymore. Not after she decided she didn't need us." I shrug with a heavy sigh, turning to lean my back against the wall.

"I wish I could understand." He says softly. "But I don't and I'm sorry. I wish I knew what to say."

I look at him with a grateful gaze, my extra hair falling around my face. "Dakota, the fact that you're admitting you don't know what to say means the world to me. Seriously."

He chuckles, shaking his head, his lip gliding over his bottom lip. "Well I'm glad that, for once, my ignorance has served me."

I laugh, my cheeks hurting from smiling so big. I find Dakota to be a complete idiot but I can't deny that he makes me laugh. "Just this once. I can't promise that it'll ever happen again." I reply teasingly.

Dakota nods and cocks his head to the side briefly as if he can't help but agree. "You're probably right. But despite my usually horrible sense of people skills and all around uncomfortable presence, I seem to have had some pretty great luck today."

My stomach swirls a little, my face reddening, but I push the feeling away and clear my throat, placing a nonchalant smile on my lips. "Either great luck or horrible karma. We'll see."

Dakota laughs once again before silencing and resting his head on the hard floor. "We'll see." He echoes quietly, earning a raised brow from me albeit I remain quiet, closing my own eyes as I allow myself, for a split second, to remember a time when I was a girl with a cute dog and a happy family.