Reflect // Van McCann

28. They'll Be Just Fine

*Amy's POV*

It took a lot to persuade Van to tell the apartment manager that he had a dog.

"I want to see how long I can go before they find out. How long do you reckon it'd take? Three months?" Van questioned playfully.

"I don't want you to get in trouble! Besides, don't you have to let them know I'm staying with you anyway?" I asked back. "I'll pay for whatever they charge you."

"You're no fun," he replied, frowning. As soon as he turned around, I stuck my tongue out at him.

We walked out towards the elevator with Shadow under his jacket. I told him there was no need to hide her but he argued with me how he wanted it to look like he just got the dog and not like he had her for months already. The elevator arrived and we pressed the button for the lobby. I began walking towards the front desk but Van pulled me back.

"Not yet. Let's go out for a couple hours. She just saw us get here. I can't have her thinking that—"

"I got it," I said, shaking my head.

As soon as my hands reached the door, someone called out Van's name.

"Where are you going, Van?" I heard someone ask. I turned around and saw two boys around my age walking towards us. I instantly recognized them as Austin and Jacob from the dreams I had.

"Fucking hell," I heard Van mutter under his breath and then he turned around smiling.

"I'm going to the park," Van answered quickly. "For fresh air. I'm not going to the park because I have a dog or anything."

I felt the need to face palm. He's the one coming up with an elaborate scheme to make it seem like he just got a dog and here he was lying terribly. I swear to God if the lady at the front desk doesn't know by now, I might as well just have the ground open up and swallow me whole.

Austin stared at Van, grinning. "Right. Even I go to the park for fresh air and I don't even have a dog. It's totally a normal thing to do."

I was starting to get a migraine. These two will be the death of me! For some reason, I thought Austin would be different in person. I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt but there's no saving him. This is just how he is, I guess. There was an awkward silence between Van and Austin until they suddenly remembered they were on their way out so we walked out.

Outside, we could breathe a little easier and I could see Austin and Jacob looking at me, wondering who I was and why Van hadn't introduced us yet. Once we were stopped at a crosswalk, Van knelt down to let Shadow down. He straightened up and turned around to face us.

"I realize I should introduce yous to each other. Austin and Jacob, this is Amy," he said, gesturing to me. "Amy, this is Austin and this is Jacob." The boys shook hands with me and I suddenly felt shy since I was the odd one out.

"Nice to meet you, Amy," Austin replied, smiling.

"It's nice to meet the both of you too," I responded.

The crosswalk signal lit up telling us it was safe to cross so we crossed and made our way to the park which was a short distance away. As soon as Shadow saw the park, she began bolting. I looked to Van in panic and he seemed to know what I was thinking.

"Her name is Shadow for a reason. She'll come back," Van assured me. He then turned to the three of us. "I met Amy in limbo. She's one of the mates I left behind and now she's here."

"When did you get here?" Jacob questioned. I turned to look at Van in a panic. I don't even know what day it is or how long I've been here.

"She got here three days ago," Van answered for me and I was glad of it.