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I watch as he looks at and speaks to Dana, “You can ride in the back or run there, up to you. Just, don’t ruin the seats.” She huffs and hops into the backseat.
“She understood you?” My eyes are saucers as his lips twitch and closes the door.
I’ve gone mad. That is the only explanation. I’m officially one hundred percent certifiable. I can never tell Claire any of this, or I will be permanently admitted. They will lock me up in a straight jacket, in a room with padded walls and throw away the key.
The driver’s side door opens and the truck shifts as he settles into his seat as the engine turns over. It rumbles to life as he pulls onto the road. I blink slowly as exhaustion creeps up, and I find myself soon lulled to sleep by the sway of the truck.
Chapter 14
I rouse as the engine cuts off, before the driver’s side door opens and shuts. Blinking the sleep away, relief washes over me as I notice that we are parked in front of my house.
I don’t have the time nor the energy to ask how he knows where my house is.
The passenger door opens, and next thing I know, I’m cradled against his bare chest once more. Dana leaps down from the back seat and follows us to the entryway. “Oh, I don’t have the-” A jingle of keys cuts me off as he unlocks it.
“I found the spare.” I blink at him as my front door swings open and Dana walks in as if she owns the place, sniffing around and investigating each room. “Which way is your shower?” He asks, and I point down the hall toward the bedroom.
Carrying me into the washroom, he slides the shower door open before setting me down gingerly near valve that turns on the water.
He’s mere inches from me as he searches my face, “I’ll grab some clothes from the other room for you. Are you able to stand and shower on your own?”
“I’ll be fine.” My cheeks flush as I nod, my gaze flicks to the floor.
He’s quiet for a moment, “Alright, I’ll be in the other room with the wolf. Call if you need me.” he says, stepping back out of the shower.
“Dana” I whisper.
“Hmm?” I see him pause and turn toward me.
“I named her Dana.”
“Dana it is then.” He laughs softly before exiting the room.
Twisting the knob on the shower, I wait for the temperature to climb enough for me to step under the steady stream. Normally I’d have it set to some ungodly level of heat, but these wounds most likely wouldn’t agree with it, so lukewarm water it is.
I stand there for a moment and suck in a breath. I shift my weight onto my injured ankles and a whimper crawls up my throat as pain radiates from my Achilles tendons and up my calves.
Biting the inside of my cheek, I pull off Mystery Man’s shirt, tear off my sports bra and stagger under the falling water.
The minimal heat sears pain into my wrists and ankles as it cascades over me and tears begin to fall down my cheeks, mixing with the gentle water sluicing off my skin as the unreal events of the past few days replay through my mind.
My legs quiver, the strain aching in my ankles and a pained cry catches in my chest as I lean on the wall for support. I cover my face with my hands and slide down to the floor.
I feel broken.
The door to the bathroom opens slightly and hear the clack of nails against the tile, accompanied by a whimper as Dana looks in at me. She seems to hesitate before pawing the entrance to the shower in a clear request to come in. Pain radiates from my wrists as they bear my weight while I crawl over to roll it open. Dana walks in and sits under the water with me, blood that had dried onto her fur now rinsing down the drain in a stream of crimson.
I ignore it and wrap my arms around her neck, sobbing into her fur.
“Thank you.” It’s all I manage to choke out in a whisper through the tears, and she nuzzles her face into the crook of my neck. We stay like that for what must be ten minutes or so before I decide that a proper shower and rinse for us both is needed. I pull back andstroke the fur on her head, “Let’s clean off and get some answers, huh?”
Dana’s ears twitch and I stand carefully, wincing through the pain that lances within my limbs. Using one of the adjustable heads, I rinse her fur off first considering the vast amount of blood that coats it. Once she’s rinsed, I hobble gingerly out of the shower to the cabinet and grab an organic oatmeal body wash I brought with me in case I found any stray dogs or cats.
I was a magnet for them in California. By the time I lived there for two months I had already found homes for multiple.
It doesn’t take long to finish shampooing and rinsing her. Once fully clean, she pauses and glances at me. The hesitation and assessing look causes me to frown at her in confusion.
“What-” My question is cut off as Dana shakes all the water out of her fur. I squeak in surprise and then break out in laughter.
