Finding Solace

XXVI

I wasn't used to the house being so quite. It was odd, too odd. I awoke to Mrs. Somers usual kitchen noises, but I knew it was later in the day than normal, the sunlight peering in on me being the big indicator. Throwing the blankets off, I forced myself to get up and opted for a shower, hoping it would wake me up. It didn't perk me up as much as I wanted but it was still something. Throwing on an oversize sweat shirt and some leggings, I made my way downstairs.

"Looks like we've all had a late morning." Mrs. Somers joke, sliding me a cup of tea and I thank her, knowing I wasn't a fan of coffee.

"Do you need any help?" I offered, seeing she wasn't exactly coordinated today.

"I would love some." She admitted. "I'm no good when I'm tired." She joked and I moved next to her, the heat from the stove warming my body, which was greatly appreciated. I scrambled the eggs in a bowel with a fork while she cooked the the last of the pancake batter. We worked in comfortable silence and I watched as the birds flew from branch to branch in a nearby tree.

"I'm surprised he isn't up yet." Mrs. Somers spoke gently. I didn't know if she was talking to me or herself.

"I'm sorry?" I turned to face her, setting the now mixed eggs on the counter.

"Maverick. He's never slept in this long. I'm afraid if he doesn't get up soon, he'll ruin his sleep schedule." I didn't say anything, just nodded to let her I acknowledged her statement. "He must have been up late last night." She whispered, and I pretended not to hear her, seeming that I don't think she wanted me to hear her last comment.

I moved on to set the table, only this time, Mr. Somers would be the one not joining us. Mrs. Somers informed me that he mostly likely made himself something before leaving to work.

"Do you mind going up to wake him while I finish up? I would myself but my old body doesn't seem to agree with the stairs much anymore." I hesitate but agreed. All I have to do is knock on the door and wake him up. We don't have to talk or anything, I assured myself as I walked slowly up the stairs, stalling as much as possible. Just knock on the door until he wakes up and then leave. That's all you have to do.

Taking in a deep breath, I knocked sharply on his door. I heard a groan but no other indication of him being up. As I debated knocking again, the door opened up to reveal a half naked, messy haired man, peering down upon me with tired eyes. Thankfully, he was wearing sweatpants.

"Mornin'" His voice was lower then normal and he let out a yawn. We made eye contact and I quickly looked away. He shifted his stance to lean against the frame, letting me see further in the room. A bright bed spread caught my eye, a very familiar shade of yellow.

"Your mom wanted me to wake you." I muttered, playing with a ball of lint in my sweatshirt pocket, still looking the comforter. It was his.

"Thank you." I saw in the corner of my eye that he ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more. "I'll be down in a minute." I nodded before looking at the floor and turned around, when I reached the stairs, I heard his door close.

"He said he'd be down soon." I repeated to Mrs. Somers as she places the last plate of food on the table. True to his work, he was downstairs almost immediately, looking more awake. His hair was somewhat more put together and he had thrown on a hoodie.

I had never had a meal here that was so quiet. The only real noise was the sound of silverware clicking on the plates or the sound of ice rattling in the cup. A few words were spoken of course but not enough.

After breakfast was done and I assisted Mrs. Somers again with the cleaning, I had no where to go really. By sleeping in so late, the ranch hands have most likely tended to the horse, leaving me almost no excuse to get out of the house. I debated on making an escape to my bedroom but I was tired of being conformed in it, with nothing really to do but stare at the wall.

"Faylyn." This time, he didn't startle me. I had heard the floor creak as he walked and I could see his feet out of the corner of my eye. I pretending to be busy wiping of the counter but eventually folded it and put it aside.

"Hmm?" I hummed, still not looking at him. I didn't want to have this conversation. I didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he knew. I didn't want him to tell me that he knew.

"I have a surprise for you." I turned to him with a questionable look and he told me to wait here. I heard as he walked up the steps, only to walk down almost immediately.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, noticing the fluff ball in his arms. He handed him to me, the puppy immediately went to lick my face, making me laugh.

"He wanted to come home." Maverick answered. "He's healed quite well and I couldn't find a reason to keep him at the vet anymore. Plus, he likes you more then me." The puppy settle in arms and I cooed and pet him.

"Is he always going to be missing hair?" I asked concerned as I noticed some thin patches in his fur.

"He's not the prettiest dog yet but he's getting there. He may have some permanent hair loss but I'm confident that most will return soon." Maverick was acting normal with me, not bringing up last night's incident. I didn't know if was pretending not to know for my sake or if he truly didn't know what it was.

"Do you know what kind of dog he is yet." I shivered as he pressed his cold nose into my neck. Personally, the breed didn't matter, I was genuinely just curious. All that mattered to me was if he was healthy or not. He definitely looked a lot better and bigger than when I brought him in.

"By the coloring, he looks like a German Shepard but I'm also seeing some lab in his features. He could be a few other things but I'm pretty confident in those two breeds." I nodded and continued to play with his large ears. He let out a small yawn and I gushed at him.

"Aren't you cute?" I cuddled him closer to me.

"Have you thought of a name for him yet?" He asked, watching us interact. I shook my head.

"No, but I guess I have to, don't I?"

"It's not that hard, just say the first thing that comes to mind." He gives me a bit of advice.

"What if it's bad?"

"If I'm being honest, there's no way what you come is going to be worse than my first dog's name. I named him Bark." I have him a small smile, trying not to laugh and he smiled back. "Though, to be fair, I was only three." He joked. "So just say something random and see if he likes it. It's easier to train him his name if he responds to it initially." I closed my eyes for a few seconds before blurting the first thing I thought of.

"August." I winced at my attempt of a name, the only thing I could come up with was the month we were currently existing. It was September in just a few days. I almost couldn't believe that I had been here for that long.

"See, that's not bad at all. That's actually a pretty cool name." He assured me.

"How about August?" I asked the puppy in my arms. He perked his head up, tilting his head at me with his big brown puppy eyes train at me. My heart melted instantly.

"I think he likes it too." He reaches out to pet him on the head.

"August." I settled.

"I uh." He went to say something but paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "I kind of got a few thing for him last night. What's at the vet stays there and I thought he deserved some new things.

"Thank you." I looked up at him, honestly coating my voice. He really didn't have to that for him. I paused for a bit before tilting my head at him.
"I don't mean to assume but is that why you were late last night."

"That may or may not be the reason." He tried to act casual but the slight hue of pink that creeped up his neck and onto his face gave it away. He cleared his throat. "There's a few more things for him in my room. I think he's ready to be a spoiled dog."

"Oh definitely." I agreed, heading towards the stairs. "You coming?" I asked when I noticed he was still standing still behind me. I was excited to his August's new things.

"Yeah." He smiled. "I'm coming."