I felt the embarrassment creep up my skin as I stared at the pile of liquid by my feet. It had been a long time since I had vomited. The last time was when I was told that my father had died. It wasn’t something I did often and certainly not something I enjoyed. My head shot up and I stared at Kyler, who was looking at me with a strange look plastered on his face, one could almost say it was akin to pity or maybe worry.
“You ok, mouse?” he asked, abandoning the dog and rising to come to me. I shot my hand out, trying to gesture for him to stop.
“The dog, Kyler, the dog,” I said, pointing at the crate with the helpless creature inside. “Make sure the dog is ok. I’m fine.”
I shot over to where the paper towels were, taking a handful and some disinfectant and started wiping away the bile splattered on the floor. The whole time my mind lingering on the beautiful boy and the scars scattered on his skin.
20
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
Kyler
I wanted to run to Maddy. I had this profound need to hold her and make sure she was ok. But she stood there, stoic, halting my movement. All I could do now was watch her from the corner of my eye as she used the stark white paper towels, wiping away the barf on the cold brown tile floor. The puppy whimpered softly, the sound of a small creature that wasn’t sure who to trust or run to. I wanted to crush the skull of the fucker who did this to him.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I said, tearing my eyes away from Maddy and concentrating fully on the small dog. That was what I was here for, the helpless, and as much as Maddy had a moment of weakness, helpless she was not.
The small dog looked up at me, his eyes haunted and worried, his body constantly shaking. I understood these dogs the most. The hurt ones, the damaged ones, the ones that had nothing and no one in their life. I wanted them to know they had me. He put his small ears down, and I swore under my breath when I saw it. It looked like it had been ripped off unevenly.
“What happened to him?” I asked Linda, the middle age woman that had been working at the shelter for as long as I had been coming here. She was the first adult I had trusted in a very long time. A kind woman, with a soft voice and flushed cheeks.
“His owner was arrested for dog fighting. The bastard had been doing it for years. There were a few others there, but they were rabid and huge. This little one was so scared that when they went to catch him he just whimpered and relented. It’s almost as if he has given up, Kyler. Like all he wants now is to die. I knew if anyone could help him, it was you.”
“Hey, buddy.” I went to pull out a treat from my back pocket and the dog ran back right into his cart, completely frightened. When he saw what I was holding, he moved his head slowly, cocking it to the side as if asking me some secret question. “It’s ok, buddy. This is all for you,” I said, extending my hand. Like a miracle, the small dog padded over to me, sniffing my hand before he lapped at the treat and started eating it, never taking his eyes off of me.
“You really have a way with them,” Linda said, a small laugh escaping her. I turned to check on Maddy and she was smiling at me. A smile so wide that I think she could charm the sun to come out at night. I reached out my hand towards her and she walked over to me, making my dead heart beat again. “Come say hello.”
“Hi there,” she said, so softly that it came out as a gentle whisper. I couldn’t help but smile at her. The puppy came closer to us, his small head nuzzling up against Maddy’s hand.
“Looks like you have a way with broken beings too,” Linda said. “I knew there had to be something special about you for Kyler to bring you here. You’re the first person I have ever met that Kyler knows. He barely even talks to any of the staff here.”
“I’m glad that his sour demeanor isn’t just targeted at me,” Maddy said with a small laugh as she glided her fingers through the puppy’s fur, who was now curled up in her arms. “He’s really sweet isn’t he?”
I couldn’t tell if she was talking about the puppy or me. I hated that a little piece of me hoped that maybe the little mouse could someday…
“Ready to head back?” I interrupted the love fest, swiping the puppy from her lap and letting it lick my cheeks eagerly before setting him on the floor.
“Until next time, little guy…” Madison stood, smiling at the tottering animal. Next time. I wondered what I’d gotten myself into, inviting her to my special spot. “What are you thinking so hard about over there?” Madison shook me from my thoughts of her.
“Nothing important.” I stepped around her, waving once to Linda before pushing out of the doors and into the cool night.
Chapter 21
“I am an invisible man. No I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allen Poe: Nor am I one of your Hollywood movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids, and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, simply because people refuse to
