Love Made Music

LMM 6: Sleeping Dogs Yet Lie

I rolled around in bed, trying to fight back the wakefulness that was trying to capture my attention. Of course, sleep was always impossible with a fat tabby trying to suffocate you and a people-happy mutt licking every inch of your face the purring orange mound failed to cover. Eventually, I decided sleep wasn't worth the effort it took to fight the two off, and sat up. My sister's precious cat, whom I had nicknamed "Tubby" instead of Tommy, rolled off my face and unto my lap. He acted as if the fall hadn't fazed him and curled into a ball before starting to purr. I wasn't really much of a pet person in general, as proven by my long history of dead fish and neglected rats, but I didn't really mind Tubby.

The dog, however, was a different story.

I looked over and glared at Dingo, our six-year old German Shepherd, who smiled at me as if I were happy to see him and started wagging his tail. Drool pooled in the spots around his gums and leaked in puddles on the sheets below.

"You are one sick mutt, y'know that?" I asked him. His response was to wag his tail even harder, knocking off pill bottles, half-full water bottles, and a framed photo from my bedside table. The glass covering shattered into a million pieces on the floor and I raised an eyebrow at Dingo.

"Nice going dude," I said as I surveyed the damage from where I sat.

Just then, I heard the doorbell ring once, causing Dingo to leap off my bed and dart at top speed out of my room. He howled excitedly as he ran.

 I glanced over at my alarm clock, one of the few things that survived Dingo's earlier assault. It read a quarter after ten, much too early for my family to be back from their Christian gathering, which I had successfully avoided having to attend. Besides, why would they ring the doorbell?

Once again the doorbell sounded, and I involuntarily jumped in surprise. Tubby was thrown to the side as I yanked the covers off me and bolted out of my room. I was more concerned with calming Dingo down than answering whatever salesman was probably stalking around my porch waiting for his prey to reveal them self. Running over to Dingo who was still barking incessantly, I dropped to my knees and slid across the floor. Once I reached him, I stroked the soft part underneath his throat while simultaneously scratching behind his ear. The barking immediately stopped and he calmed down. It wasn't until I was sure he wasn't going to start up again did I stand up. I walked over to the peephole that my paranoid father had installed in our front door and looked inside.

Much to my surprise, it wasn't a salesman standing there. Instead it was Cassie.

I watched her for a moment through the peephole. She swayed back and forth as she shifted her weight between her feet and chewed lightly on her bottom lip. Every once and a while, she would nervously reach up and run her fingers behind her ear, tucking any stray hairs neatly in place.

I noticed that she was slightly dressed up. Small silver hoops dangled from dual pairs of holes on either side of her head with an extra diamond stud on her left earlobe. Her cartilage was pierced on both sides with more hoops. A simple necklace with a music note charm dangling off the end hung from her neck, causing me to stare at her thin collarbone.

Before I had time to observe anything else, I noticed her gaze shift to where the doorbell was situated and watched as she reached for it. Quickly taking action before Dingo was sent into another frenzy, I unlocked the deadbolt and slipped the metal chain off before frantically throwing the door open.

I threw my hands out in front of me, catching her wrist a mere centimeter before her finger could connect with the contraption. She looked up at me, alarmed by my intensity. Staring down at her, I stated as if she understood the situation, "I just got him to calm down." Then I motioned with a jerk of my head to Dingo who wagged his tail happily at the recognition.