I try calling Caleb every thirty seconds. I send off a dozen texts but all of them are met with the red warning that they didn’t go through. In the backseat, Rex stays comfy, and his breathing slows. He might even be asleep by now.
I can’t believe I’m doing this but… I drive home.
It’s three in the morning when I make it to my apartment, and the rain has finally slowed down a bit. The wind isn’t as terrible, and my wipers don’t have to fling themselves at superhero speed to combat the water. I park and Rex immediately jumps up, tail thumping against the window.
“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do,” I tell him. “I will open your door and you’ll walk with me to my apartment door. You’re not going to run away, okay? You gotta stay right by me.”
Rex tilts his head. I am not speaking his language. I really wish I had a dog leash in here, or even something to use as a leash, but my shoes don’t even have laces. If he runs, I’m screwed. If he gets angry, I’m screwed.
I call Caleb again but it doesn’t go through.
What was the word he used to make Rex heel?
Sit sounds just like Sit but with a z on the end. He says “platz” a lot, but that’s the lay down command. I know I’ve seen him say something that makes Rex immediately stick to his side in a heel command.
My teeth dig into my lip until it bleeds.
Foos!
It’s now or never. I get out of the car and Rex’s tail wags harder, making my whole car shake. I crack open the back door and say, “Foos!”
He leaps out onto the concrete. “Foos,” I say again. “Rex, foos!”
He does just what he’s told. Tail wagging, he stands by my leg and looks up at me. “Let’s go.”
I make it to my door, hands trembling so hard it takes longer than usual to unlock it. Rex stays beside me the whole time, watching my every move. When the door opens, a little part of me wants to shove him inside, close the door behind him and sit out here, safely away from him until Caleb can come take him home. But I’m way too cold and wet and miserable.
“Be a good boy,” I tell him as we walk inside. It’s more of a plea, than a command. “Please be a good boy.”
Rex immediately checks out my apartment, leaving wet dog paw prints all over the tile floor. He starts in the kitchen, sniffing everything high and low, then slowly sniffs his way through mysmall living room. He sniffs the bathroom and my bedroom, spending a lot of time on my nightstand. I am frozen near the door, still wondering if I should lock him in here and run away. But after a ten minute sniff-a-thon, he comes back to the living room and lays down on the floor.
I exhale.
“You want some water?” I ask. I would probably be just as lost if I suddenly found myself taking care of an actual human baby. I don’t know how to do any of this, but dogs like water, and Caleb is always giving him something to drink, so I pour a bowl of water and he slurps it all quickly, big golden eyes watching me as if saying thank you. Then he lays back down and starts licking his paws.
I have to get out of my soaking wet clothes, but I’m scared to leave Rex’s sight in case he decides to destroy the place the way he destroyed the fence in his kennel the other day. With the bathroom door wide open, I take a quick hot shower, peeking out at him every few seconds. He’s just chilling there, so my anxiety eases a little bit. I dry off, put on some clean leggings and a sweatshirt and feel like a whole new person after spending an hour in the pouring rain.
When the hair dryer clicks on, Rex gets up and curiously walks over to the bathroom. I’ve always been afraid of dogs, but Rex is the biggest dog I’ve ever seen. He’s like a wolf. Terrifyingly huge with teeth so long they’d definitely go straight to the bone in one bite. He sniffs the hair dryer in my hand, but doesn’t seem mad about it.
“You smell terrible,” I tell him. Wet dog smell is always bad, but this is a huge wet dog. My whole apartment smells like wet dog.
“You want some of this?” I say, pointing the hair dryer at him. His tail wags. He doesn’t shy away from the blast of heat. Maybe it even feels good for him, because he turns his side tome, as if asking me to dry him off. That’s when I remember the grooming section of Alden Brothers K9. They have these big blow dryer machines. Max once told me the dogs love getting blown off because it blows out all the loose hair and feels good on their skin.
I spend the next half hour alternating between drying my own hair and giving Rex a blast of hot air on his fur. If I take too long on my own hair, he paws at my leg. I laugh, sitting on the edge of the tub so my hair is level with his head. I turn the dryer toward both of us, trying to dry us both at the same time, but it doesn’t work well. Dog hair flies all over my bathroom, making a total mess, but Rex loves every second of it. My hair gets tangled since I can’t brush it at the same time, but at least we’re getting warm and dry.
That deep, unshakable fear in my chest started the day I got attacked by a dog as a child. It’s been there every day since, rearing up uncontrollable panic anytime a dog is around me. Once Rex and I are dry and back in the living room, he lays down on the floor right in front of me on the couch. I yawn, tapping out more unsendable texts to Caleb, and my whole body is ready for sleep.
I peer down at Rex and wonder what’s different. After a long moment, I realize what’s changed.
The fear is still there, but it’s not the same feeling. I’m not worried about my own safety right now. I’m worried for Rex.
chapter twenty
Caleb
My years of law enforcement training rises to the surface as soon as I feel like panicking. Rex should have been easy to find somewhere on the property, but we’ve looked everywhere. Unfortunately, I can’t call in a helicopter and use their thermal imaging camera, so I need to use whatever tools I do have available. My brothers.
Everyone helped with searching, but we need to get strategic. The first step of finding someone missing is to have someone waiting at home in case they return. I assign Owen to stay here near the kennels, keeping an eye out for Rex. He’s got the worst vision of all of us since he needs glasses and won’t get them, so it’s best if he just stays put.
