“You don’t have to say anything,” I tell her. “I’m just happy you like him. I have all his things in the car. Food, bed, toys, leash, stuff like that. He’s only six weeks old, so this is the first time he’s been away from his mum.”
I searched online for days until I found him. He’s a cute little guy. I bought the same breed as Larry, a long-haired German Shepherd.
“Thank you. You have no idea how much I needed this. How much I needed you back here.” I’m pretty sure I’m fucking beaming when she says that. She gets up on the tips of her toes and plants a small kiss on my cheek. My heart is singing. “I need to give him a name,” she says making me chuckle nervously.
“No need. Going on past experience, I took the liberty of already naming him.” She looks up at me again, slightly narrowing her eyes. It makes me laugh. “No offence, but you kind of suck at that.”
“I do not,” she replies, playfully nudging me with her shoulder.
“His name is engraved on his tag.” Looking down, she grasps for the heart-shaped medal attached to the pup’s collar. She starts to laugh. I feel my smile grow when she reads it out loud. I couldn’t help myself. The name I chose is brilliant.
“Larry Junior,” she laughs. “I love it, Carter. It’s perfect.”
••••
It took a bit of convincing, but I manage to talk Indi into having a shower and getting dressed. She needs to get out of the house. While she’s getting ready, I head over to see Mum. I take Larry Junior with me. He’s an awesome little guy. If she didn’t want him, I definitely would’ve kept him for myself.
Indi and I end up going out for lunch. Nothing fancy. We go to our usual burger joint, but get the food to takeaway. Indi couldn’t bear to leave the puppy at home so we brought him with us. We take Larry Junior, or LJ as he’s now affectionately known, to the park for a picnic. First picnic I’ve ever been on, but fuck me if I didn’t enjoy it. I’m realising that it doesn’t matter where I am. As long as I have Indiana by my side, I’m happy.
As the day goes by, Indi becomes more like her old self. We both laugh as LJ bounces around and barks at everyone and everything. It’s nice to see her happy again. She’s even opened up a bit about what happened with that dick, Mark. I struggled to keep my temper at bay as she explained everything.
Not only did he leave her stranded so far from home, but he left her with the four hundred dollar restaurant bill, and basically fired her from her job. One thing is for sure, I need to get my hands on that fucker and teach him some damn manners.
She confessed he’d left a few messages on her phone the next day, but she ignored them. I’m happy about that because he showed his true colours in the end. No amount of grovelling can make up for that.
I get the impression she’s upset about the breakup, but more so by the way it came about. I don’t blame her. What he did was a low act. He never should’ve left her like that. I’m pretty confident she’ll get over him quick. I’ll make sure of it. If I have my way, she’ll forget he even exists. For the first time in my life, I truly want this. I want her for myself. I want to own her, possess her, and be able to call her mine.
There’s no talk of us over the course of the day, but I’m cool with that. We need to rebuild our friendship first, and she needs to get over that wanker. I don’t want to be her rebound. If we do end up getting together, I want the timing to be right. I certainly don’t want it to be when she’s still hung up on someone else. It’s going to be all or nothing.
After dropping her and LJ off at home later that afternoon, I head back out. I want to spend some time with my mum tonight, but there’s one stop I need to make first. I’ll never be able to sleep if I don’t get this off my chest.
Pulling up outside the building, I take a deep breath to try and calm myself down before going inside. To be honest I’m anything but calm when I push through the door. I’ve been stewing on this all day.
The reception area is empty, so I make my way towards the room where I presume he’ll be. I don’t even bother knocking. “Oh God,” he mumbles when he looks up and sees me standing in the doorway.
“Sorry, but not even God can help you now,” I say stepping into the room and locking the door behind me. He swallows nervously, taking a step backwards. As much as I’d like to kick his arse right now, that’s not why I came. Messing with him is much more fun.
“You … you can’t just barge in here,” he stammers.
“I can do whatever the hell I like,” I retort taking another step forward. He raises his hands in front of him as he retreats another step. I follow suit and take two more steps. He’s cornered. The first thing I notice when I get closer is his black eye. It brings a smile to my face. The swelling’s gone down, but it’s a beauty. Compliments of Ross I presume. Maybe I should give him a matching one. Fucker. He deserves it after what he did. Anything could’ve happened to Indiana after he left her stranded like that.
When he realises I’m not going away, he squares his shoulders and stands tall. It doesn’t intimidate me in the slightest. He can act like he’s not affected by my presence, but he is. His trembling hands and the uncertainty on his face says it all. It wouldn’t surprise me if he pisses his pants. Fucking coward.
“You owe Indiana four hundred dollars,” I state in the calmest voice I can muster.
“Excuse me? I don’t owe her a damn thing.” I beg to differ, arsehole.
“Are you going to hand it over, or am I going to have to come and get it myself?” I take another step towards him, letting him know I mean business. He owes her a hell of a lot more than money, but it’s a start. Knowing Indi like I do, she probably doesn’t even want the money back, but I’m going to get it for her. After everything he’s done, she should at least get reimbursed for that.
“Fine,” he says as he reaches for his wallet in his back pocket. “I’ll give you the money and then you can leave. If you don’t, I’ll call the police.” I chuckle at his reply.
“You really think they’re going to show up after the way you treated Indiana?” He inhales a sharp breath as the colour drains from his face. He knows I’m right. There’s no way they’ll be rushing over here after the way he treated Ross’ little girl.
He pulls the money from his wallet and throws it on the examination table in front of him. “There, now go.” I extend my hand, staring him down; I don’t need to speak the words, my look says it all. His shoulders slump and his hands shake as he reaches out and picks up the money off the table. The uncertainty in his eyes as he slowly approaches me has me smirking. Pussy.
When he’s close enough to put the money in my hand, he slaps it in my palm before taking a step backwards. I’m too quick for him though. Using my free arm, I reach out and fist my hand in his white coat, dragging him towards me.
“What were you thinking leaving her stranded at night on her own?” I seethe. “Anything could’ve happened to her.”
“I was hurt … angry. I didn’t really think.” Is that all he’s got? His piss poor excuse makes my fucking blood boil. Reefing him closer, I growl in his face. “Please don’t hurt me,” he begs like the motherfucking sissy he is. Shoving the money in the pocket of my jeans, I hold him in place with my other hand.
“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t?”
“Because I’m sorry I left her there. I’ve sent her a few messages, but she didn’t reply.”
“You think a message is enough after what you did?”
“I’d go around and tell her to her face, but her dad said he wouldn’t hesitate to put a bullet in me if I went anywhere near her.” That statement has me smiling. “If I could make it up to her, I would.” Like fucking hell.