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Before I can make another argument against it though, the front door opens. A second later, a scruffy brown dog comes trotting into the room, tail wagging a mile a minute and tongue lolling out of its mouth. It gives one loud, gleeful bark, and then plops down on the floor in front of us, its tail thumping against the carpet as if its expecting attention or a treat or something.
I blink at it, confused, and for the first time today, Ash and Gage are on the same page as I am, staring down at it like they have no idea how a dog just materialized in our house.
Then Knox comes strolling in, a grin on his face.
“Everyone say hello to River,” he declares, gesturing behind him. “Our new houseguest.”
River.
So that’s her name. It fits her somehow, even more than Ghost does. She’s slippery and hard to grasp, seeming calm on the surface but concealing rapids underneath. Not someone you should trust when you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.
Knox doesn’t seem to care about any of that. He grins, bending down to pet the dog. “Good boy, Manson,” he says.
“That’s not his name,” the girl—River—snaps from behind him, stepping around him with a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. She’s showered and changed since we last saw her, her hair pulled back into a messy bun, and more of her body covered up by a t-shirt and jeans. Her skin has been scrubbed free of blood, but her wrists are still raw and red, and a bruise blooms over her temple.
“I’m just trying it out,” Knox shoots back, rubbing the dog behind the ears. “You obviously don’t care about his name, and this one fits him better.”
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“Don’t mind her, Manson.” Knox puts on a funny voice as he talks to the dog, scratching him under his hairy little chin. “She’s just cranky. We’ll find you a good name.”
“What. The. Fuck,” Gage breaks in before she can reply to Knox again. “I told you to bringherback. Not her andthis.” He gestures to the dog like it’s dragged in some kind of disease, and judging from the state of the thing, it very well may have.
It’s scrawny, and its fur is matted in some places despite not being very long. There are healed scars and bite marks on its droopy ears, as if it’s been through some shit.
“We’re a package deal,” River snaps, matching Gage’s anger in a flash. “If you’re going to drag me back here after telling me I’m free to go, then you get to put up with Dog until I’m done with my mission. Otherwise I can leave.”
Gage narrows his eyes, and I know he hates her tone. She’s acting like she’s the one calling the shots here, instead of her being here because we said so. His face darkens, ready to lash out right back at her.
Ash and Knox both look a bit amused. Knox keeps petting the dog, and Ash is looking at River, not at all deterred by the fact that she’s more covered up as he lets his gaze roam all over her.
I just stand back and watch it all happen. That’s my usual role anyway. The observer. Trying to sniff out trouble before it happens. But this already smells like shit. This girl is trouble, and it’s obvious. Knox looks self-satisfied and smug, like he’s already had his fun and can’t wait to have more, and Ash just looks hungry. Neither of them bother to hide it.
It makes me hate her, and I can feel that anger and resentment bubbling away inside me. None of it shows on my face, but just for a second, I let myself indulge in the emotion before shutting it down. We’ve worked hard to build this life for ourselves. Dealt with lowlifes and assholes and all kinds of bullshit to claw ourselves up to where we are. Anything that could destabilize what we’ve built is a threat in my eyes, and as I watch River glare at Gage while the other two eye her like a piece of meat, I know this woman is trouble waiting to happen.
The rage builds beyond where I can control it, warping into a kind of unaccountable fury that makes me see red.
Usually, I’d shut it down and carry on, forcing my emotions down, but this is different.
This is outside of my control.
I don’t want any of them to see it, least of all this woman, so I turn on my heel and stalk out the door, leaving them all to keep carrying out this farce if they want to.
