They The Pretty Stars (Court High 1)

I guess I just wouldn’t come back here.

Nineteen

“A chocolate Labrador puppy? Yeah, we acquired one of those, but she’s been moved to the veterinary clinic on third. Let me give you the address.”

The fear Hershey had to be moved to a vet clinic caused me to hit the gas faster. The woman on the phone couldn’t tell me why she’d been moved from the local pound, but just that she had and that was enough for me to move in quick time. I pulled up to the vet clinic just after dark and barely closed the door before rushing up to a building that was completely pitch black outside of the front building lights.

“Hello, hello!” I tapped on the glass and to my relief someone was in there. The lights flickered on, and a woman in scrubs came down the hall.

She opened the door. “Can I help you, miss?”

I explained the situation with mush mouth. I mean, completely incoherent, and I even shed a few tears. I couldn’t help it. Hershey was my friend and I needed her back, and though the woman sympathized, she shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” she said, sighing. “I don’t know why the puppy was brought in, but I can’t just give her to you. She was brought in today by the vet himself, and he must have had a reason.”

“Can we look at her? If you can see if there’s nothing wrong, can I take her?”

She shook her head again. “I’m not a vet, miss.”

“Please, please, please. You don’t understand. She’s mine, and if she is hurt… if she’s scared, she needs me, please.”

Her hands held the door, so much debate on her face, and I prayed for small favors. This woman had no reason to let me inside this building right now.

But for whatever reason, she did.

She waved me in, locking the door quickly, and I followed her through intricate halls to the back. The place was really nice. In fact, I’d venture to say top notch for a vet clinic. I was used to seeing run-down places where I was from, but the white walls and shining tiles were completely opposite of that. The whole place was elite and not much unlike everything else around this town I’d come to find myself immersed in. The clinic was shiny and polished like anything else, and in the back were cages. They were all empty.

All except for one.

I rushed over, Hershey… my silly little puppy up on her hind legs and waging her tail at me. She looked completely okay. If anything, more than, and when the woman saw us together she laughed a little, shaking her head.

“I guess she knows her mama,” she said, opening the cage for me. Hershey didn’t even let the woman pull her body out before bounding over her and into my arms.

I caught her easily, giggling through tears, and I thought I lost my damn mind. I was crying over a dog, but she wasn’t just a dog. She was mine, my friend.

“Hey, honey girl,” I crooned, cradling her. “You okay?”

“Appears that way.” The woman gazed at a chart on the cage, scanning it. “The doctor did a full workup on her today, and she’s fine. She’s actually queued to be released.”

“So I can take her?” I asked, hope in my voice. “You see she’s mine. We’re each other’s.”

She smiled at that, but then chewed her lip a little. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll give her to you, but I will need to get your personal information before you leave. I’m only doing this because Dr. Anderson does bring strays in from time to time, and when he does, they usually go to a no-kill shelter for adoption. It’s only because of that, and only that, I’m letting you have her. Adoption doesn’t seem to be needed for this little one.”

She rubbed Hershey’s head beside me, and the ham Hershey was leaned right into it. I petted her for a while before the woman came over with a personal information chart for me to fill out.

“Go ahead and fill this out and please don’t lie,” she said. “I’m going to call your cell phone to make sure it’s correct before you leave.”

They really didn’t want animals going out to the wrong hands, and though I appreciated that, it made me nervous I did have to lie about my address. I obviously couldn’t go home to my dad and had a feeling I’d be sleeping in my sister’s car tonight. I wouldn’t be calling Birdie or anyone, not with how they’d barely been talking to me.

Hershey in hand, I took a pen to the paper, starting with my name and the other easy stuff. The woman watched me for a while before saying she’d come back.

“I’ve got to finish my rounds,” she said. “I was cleaning before locking up for the night. I gotta take the trash out, but I’ll be right back.”

I nodded, watching her go before going back to the paperwork. I could leave right now with Hershey in hand, but she’d done me a solid, so I didn’t want to do that. Hershey licked my ear, and I dropped my pen.

“You want to get out of here? Huh?” I teased, laughing before going down to the floor to find it. I found the pen quickly, but on the way up, I froze.

Smoke… billowing smoke curled across the floor in a waft, and standing, I noticed it eased out from behind the door the woman left through.