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“I’m looking for—”
“You seem to think you can keep her safe all on your own, yet you were spreading your legs for a cold-blooded murderer,” Adrik says. “Your judgment is questionable at best.”
I gasp, but before I can say anything, Adrik points back towards the bar. “Go back and wait for me at the bar.”
“No, I’m coming—”
He grips my good arm and yanks me towards him, his breath hot on my face. “You claim you have Isabella’s best interests at heart, but you’re slowing me down. Go back and wait for me at the bar. Now.”
I want to argue, but it feels like that would just be proving his point. And if I go back to the bar, Adrik gets what he wants. He’s created a win-win situation for himself. I hate him for it.
Hours’, days’, weeks’ worth of frustration starts to bubble up in me. It has been brewing under the surface, unable to come out, and now, I can feel it burning the backs of my eyes. I’m going to cry.
But there’s no way in hell I’m going to do it in front of Adrik.
So just before the first tear falls, I spin on my heel and stomp back towards the bar. I don’t know if Adrik watches me walk the block and a half back to the bar. When I reach the front doors and turn around to check, he’s gone.
“Asshole,” I mutter, swiping at my traitorous eyes.
“Excuse me?”
I jolt at the unexpected voice behind me and spin around to find a dark-haired woman standing close to the curb… with a leash in her hand.
It feels like it takes centuries for my eyes to trail the leash down to the dog attached to it. But finally, my brain kicks into gear. I run forward and throw my arms around the dog’s neck.
“Travis! Oh my God.” I’ve never been so happy to see a dog in my entire life. “Where have you been?”
The woman laughs. “So this is your dog, then?”
All at once, I realize I’m on my knees on the sidewalk in front of a stranger. I quickly straighten up. “Yeah. Sorry. It is. I’m—”
For the first time, I look at the woman and see beyond her dark, shiny hair. Her face is badly scarred. Mottled, damaged skin covers sixty percent of her face at least.
In any other situation, I’d have more control of my expression. I’d be able to register her appearance without gaping. But I’m so off-kilter from my fight with Adrik and the surprise of finding Travis that I know the awe is plain on my face.
The woman gives me a polite but tight smile that pulls me out of my stupor. I finally blink.
“Sorry,” I mumble, feeling my cheeks flush. “This is my daughter’s service dog, Travis.”
“Oh. A service dog, hm? That explains the orange vest.”
I nod. “My daughter has muscular dystrophy.”
And has spent her entire life being ogled like I just ogled this stranger.I feel disgusting. I hate people who gawk at Isabella, and I just did it to this woman.
I steady myself and look into her eyes, doing my best to correct my mistake.
“Then this guy has important work to do,” the woman laughs, patting Travis’s head. “I’m glad I could bring him back.”
I take the leash from her and Travis sits next to my feet. “Where did you find him?”
She points down the block in the opposite direction Adrik and I were walking. “Around the block. I stopped at a few other restaurants along the way to see if anyone was missing him. I was just about to try the bar when you found me.”
“We were looking everywhere for him. My…” I stumble over the word, clearing my throat before I can continue. “My husband and I went looking in the opposite direction.”
The woman looks down the block where Adrik just disappeared. “Oh, is he still looking? I’m heading that way. I could find him and tell him Travis is home safe.”
I wave her off. “That’s okay. He’s annoying me tonight, anyway. A walk might do him some good.”
The woman looks at me thoughtfully, brows furrowed. And for a second, I think I’ve been a little too familiar with her. But then she throws her head back and laughs. Her face may be deeply scarred, but when she laughs, she’s beautiful.
“I know how that goes, believe me,” she says, giving me a knowing smile. “My ex was a piece of work.”
“Aren’t they always?”
“You have no idea.” She sighs and bends down to pet Travis. “Well, bud, it was nice to meet you. Stay out of the streets, okay?”
Travis' ears press back flat against his head and his perpetually wagging tail goes still. For the first time since we got him, I hear the subtle ripple of a growl brewing in his chest. Strange.
She stands up, adjusting the bow of her silk blouse across her shoulders. For the first time I actually notice what she’s wearing. It’s nice. Very nice. I’m not sure why that sticks out to me, but it does.
“Thank you again,” I say, trying to inject the true depth of my gratitude into each word. “You clearly had other things going on tonight. I’m sorry you had to spend time dealing with this.”
“No, don’t worry about it,” she says. “I'm headed home. And I love dogs. I’d have a pack of them by now, but my ex never let me have one.”
I can't imagine this woman ever letting a man tell her what to do.
“You should get one now, then,” I say. “Screw him!”
She laughs again. “I like you. Maybe I will.”
She turns to leave. I feel the weird urge to stop her, to ask her name, to vomit up my life story and beg her to tell me what to do next.
Something about the woman strikes me as familiar. But I’d definitely remember meeting her. Because of her scars and her easy confidence alike. I wonder if one led to the other. You'd have to be strong to handle all of the looks and comments that come with having such a visible injury.
There's no way I know her. More likely than not, I’m recognizing in her all the things I wish I could be.
The woman sashays down the block, her hips swaying from side to side. Head high, chin proud. Travis only relaxes once she’s out of sight. I hold a little tighter to his leash.
“Come on, Trav,” I say, pulling him towards the door. “Let’s go see Isabella.”
