Unconditionally

16

Victoria's phone went off for the fifteenth time and once again she silenced it. They were finally in between sets and she was just plain tired. They were halfway through filming and she was already done with it, her night with Mads had refocused her and given her life. The tabloids made a huge stink about her entrance and exit with Mads to which neither had responded to. She had called Tom the next day and told him of the events, careful to leave out Henry and Mads overnight stay, so he was not blindsided to which he was thankful and very understanding. Their relationship had gone from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend overnight. Not by her choice, by Tom's. He had taken the reigns of their relationship and she was just going along. She let him take control because she was tired of being lost and confused. She wanted to move on and Tom was the way she was going to do it. She walked to her bike ready to be home when her phone went off again. "hello" she said frustration evident in her tone. "Hi is this Victoria Reyes?" she was confused she hadn't had a collection call in years. "Yes" she responded "Hi this is Gaines kennel and boarding, you are listed as an emergency contact for one our dogs that's being boarded here and we have been trying to reach you because he is sick" she was even more confused "I'm sorry I don't have a dog" she said "Oh well you are just listed as an emergency contact for Kal, is that wrong information?" she rolled her eyes, how dare he put Kal in a boarding place. "No it's the right info give me you address and I will head over right now."

She arrived an hour later and walked in quickly. The girl at the front desk was young and clearly inexperienced. The place was nice, definitely pricey, but regardless she hated kennels. "Hi I am Victoria you called about Kal?" "Oh yes thank you for coming, I'll take you back" she walked around the counter and let her lead her to the back. "So our vet checked him, he has canine influenza, its not deadly but it is contagious so we can not have him here. Do you have any other animals in your home" "No" she said "Perfect so you can take him home he doesn't require any medication, water, rest and some NSAIDs for pain." She opened the door of a clinic room to the big bear dog laying on the floor who stood at seeing her. "Hey buddy" she leaned down and pet the sweet dog. The girl handed her his leash and a bag full of his belongings to take. "Have you been able to get a hold of his owner?" she shook her head "We left messages but he hasn't returned any. "Alright, thank you for calling me, come on bud" he stood and followed her obediently.

After realizing that she could not take Kal home on her bike she called an uber to take them home leaving Kal there while the Uber took her back for her bike. She was more than angry at Henry for leaving Kal in a kennel. She called Henry as soon as she had settled Kal at her apartment. He was incredibly fond of the elevator ride up to her flat and was even more excited about the big spot on her floor that the sun shone through. The phone rang three times and it picked up immediately responding  "Vic" said a sleepy voice on the other side. He still had a special ringtone for her. She was still part of his important contacts. "Hey, Kal is sick, the kennel called me to come get him. He's ok it's just the flu but they can't keep him because its contagious." There was a rustling around on his end "Bloody hell i didn't look at my phone I just went to sleep" he was whispering and indication that he was not alone. "Well I can keep him its not a big deal" he sighed "thank you" there was a moment of silence and the sound of foot steps and the closing of a door. "Are you ok Vic?" she wasn't going to tell him, she was going to be strong. "I can't believe you put him in a kennel, you know he hates those places." he sighed "I know but Lucy didn't really want him on set so I-" she was furious "Wow so your just going to leave your best friend behind because someone who supposedly loves said so. If she really loved you she would never ask you to do that! You should have just left him with me, I love Kal and I would have been happy to do it!" she was angry but not just because of Kal but because he was with Lucy. "Well you are so wrapped up with your boyfriend I didn't want to intrude" she scoffed "Ugh whatever Hank you know that when it comes to Kal I will drop everything." he smiled and she could hear his smile through the phone so clearly she could almost see it. "I know, that's why I listed you as his emergency contact" she closed her eyes, the ache in her chest got worse.
"I will keep him, it's fine" Were down for a while and Tom is away on a work trip for a few weeks. My team will be back too and they will help me with him during the day if your ok with it" "I trust you judgement" there was a long silence "Vic.." she cut him off "No Henry don't.. don't say anything" the tears were on the verge and she took a shaky breath. "I will be back in six weeks, I will pick him up then." "ok, I will send you pictures and keep you up to date." "Thanks Vic, goodnight" "night Hank" she ended the call and walked over to sit next to the big fluffy dog. "looks like your staying with me for a while bud" the dog put his head in her lap as she rubbed his fur.