Chapter Eleven Mateo
T he storm came in fast over the lake. I could hear it rumbling in the distance as I started my Monday class. But soon I was swept up in our discussion of Oliver Twist and how it was a story about perseverance and goodness in the face of adversity. That’s why, when there was an exceptionally loud crack of thunder, I literally fell out of my chair, taking several books with me as I hit the ground, and my chair flew across the floor.
By the time I recovered, I realized my computer was off and the condo around me was eerily silent.
The power was out.
“Bessie,” I called, pushing myself up from my chair. “Where are you?”
I was fine as the thunder boomed and rattled the condo. Rain hammered against the roof, but I wasn’t worried. Bessie on the other hand had probably stuffed herself under the bed in a fit of pure terror. She hated thunderstorms.
“Bessie?” I called. “Come on Bessie. It's not that bad. We can cuddle up and eat some treats if you want to!”
I figured that, of all things, would get her attention. I stood in the living room waiting for the sound of her timid steps coming down the hall. The rain continued to pound, and the thunder rolled again and again. But there was nothing from Bessie.
Clicking my tongue I headed for the bedroom. That's where she always went. If it wasn't under the bed, then she stuffed herself into the back corner of the closet. I wouldn't force her to come out, but I at least wanted to sit with her through the beginning of the storm. That was always the loudest part. Once the thunder stopped, she’d calm down and come out on her own time.
I went to the bed first, reaching under from the side I usually slept on. She had a little bed nearby that she sometimes pulled under there to snuggle with. However, she wasn’t there, and her empty bed was still beside the nightstand. I crawled around the entire bed, checking every nook and cranny that she could’ve possibly stuffed herself into. I even stopped to listen for her breathing. But there was nothing.
Next, I went to the closet and did the same thing. However, Bessie was nowhere to be found. At that point I was starting to worry a bit, and I made a thorough sweep of the entire condo. The last thing I wanted her to do was stuff herself some place dangerous or somewhere she couldn't get out of. Even with the rain, my sense of hearing was keen enough to let me know she was nowhere to be found.
It wasn’t until I got to the kitchen that I realized the sliding glass door was slightly ajar. I nearly slipped on the rain that had splashed over the hardwood floor. Reaching out, I stuck my hand through finding the screen was torn as raindrops pelted my skin.
My heart sank as I realized I’d made a mistake. The rain wasn’t that loud because it was heavy, but because I’d left the slider open to let in some fresh air and had completely forgotten. When the thunder cracked and the power went out, Bessie must have bolted and broken through the screen in a fright.
That meant she was outside, terrified out of her mind, and running as fast as she could from the storm.
How was I ever going to find her?
◆◆◆
“Are you okay?” Adam asked the moment I opened up the front door. “Your text made it sound like you were hurt or something.” He paused. “Why is your condo so dark?”
“The power’s out,” I replied, trying not to panic. “Bessie is missing.”
“What? Where did she go?”
“She’s afraid of storms and there was a giant crack of thunder, and she broke through the screen door, and I don’t know where she is.”
Adam placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I was panicking despite my best intentions. I grabbed his arm, looking up at him.
“I need your eyes, Adam.”
It was a desperate plea, and I hated that I couldn’t just fix this myself. But I needed someone that could spot Bessie if I was ever going to find her. I had horrific thoughts of her running into the road and being struck by a truck blinded by the rain. They’d never even know she was there. I couldn’t lose her though. She was the only friend I had in the entire world.
Adam’s grip tightened on my shoulders. “It’s okay, Mateo. We’ll find her. I promise.”
My chest swelled with relief. “Thank you, Adam! Thank you so much!”
“Come on,” he said, looping his arm in mine. “I’ve got the car. We can search faster that way.”
“Okay.”
Adam led me to the passenger seat, the pair of us getting absolutely soaked by the rain. I felt it running down my face and neck in rivulets as I pulled the door shut and slipped on my seatbelt. Adam joined me a moment later, even more wet than me. Rain pounded against the roof of the car and Adam turned over the engine. As he started to drive, the only thing I could do was give him directions and hints as to where Bessie might be hiding. I was completely useless in this situation. The moment the car began to move, I lost track of where I was.
“She’s probably going to have herself stuffed in some out of the way spot. A shelter to get away from the rain and thunder,” I said as we drove. “She probably stayed in the condo complex.”
At least, that’s what I hoped.
“We’ll search here first then,” Adam replied, patting my knee.
The rain continued to pour down and the windshield wipers squeaked as they flashed across the glass. Adam kept talking the entire time, so I didn’t have a chance to panic even more. He told me where we were and what he was looking at each and every moment. He only stopped when I pointed him toward a more precise spot in the landscape. But after two full passes of the complex, we still hadn’t found her.
“Where is she,” I muttered, twisting my hands in my lap. “It’s not like her to keep running off like this. Even in the worst storms she just stuffed herself under the bed. I don’t understand why she’s been so weird lately.”
“It’s okay,” Adam replied, placing his hand on top of my fidgeting fingers. “We’ll just widen our search. Besides, the rain seems like it’s slowing down a little bit, so that should help, right?”
It sounded exactly the same to me. But I smiled anyway. He was trying to cheer me up and keep me from losing my mind. It was sweet of him to do, I just wished we had a better reason to smile. I wanted Bessie back by my side where she belonged.
“I’m gonna take us out to the main road. Last time I found her, she was down by the beach. Maybe she went that way.”
I nodded. “Alright. Just go slow, okay? I don’t want to miss her somewhere… or worse .”
“I know she’s okay. Dogs are smart. Especially yours.”
The car thumped over a speed bump as Adam drove us up and out of the condo complex. I heard the clicking of his blinker as we pulled up to the main road. A single car swept by before we pulled out and started searching again. Adam went slow, making sure he could thoroughly search each side of the road. I, in the meantime, just sat there worrying until I was practically a ball of anxiety.
“There’s… There’s something in the road,” Adam suddenly said, his voice apprehensive. “It’s brown.”
“Brown?” My heart thudded hard in my chest. “Like light golden brown or dark brown?”
I was terrified of his answer.
“Golden,” he said at last, his voice barely above a whisper.
A lump rose in my throat, cutting off any words I might’ve said in reply. It couldn’t be her, right? It just couldn’t be. That dog was everything to me and I loved her more than I could say. She wouldn’t have gotten herself… hit by a car, would she? I couldn’t bear the thought of it.
Adam pulled the car to a stop, the rain still pounding against the roof.
“It’s raining too hard to tell,” he said after a few seconds. “Let me go look.”
I nodded, my bottom lip quivering.
Adam patted my hand and opened the door. The sound of rain suddenly doubled then was cut off as the door shut behind him.
“Please…” I muttered to myself, my hands twisting in knots. “Please let it be something else.”
Thirty agonizing seconds ticked by, each of them an eternity and more. When I finally heard the door handle click, I startled so bad I smacked my elbow on the door. Adam pulled himself inside and shut the door behind him, the scent of fresh rain filling the car. I looked in his direction, terrified of what I was about to hear him say.
“It wasn’t her,” he said at last. “Someone hit a deer recently. Maybe this morning.”
Tears welled up in my eyes anyway as I let out a gasp. My hands went to my face and I began to cry despite my best efforts.
“Hey,” Adam said, putting a hand on my back. “It’s okay. We’re gonna find her.”
“I know,” I choked, trying to force the tears back. “She’s just the only friend I have in this world. I can’t lose her…”
He simply gave me a pat, letting me have the emotions I apparently needed to have as he drove further down the road. After a minute or two I felt the car turn right onto a bumpy road. We must have gotten to Hardwood Beach. It wasn’t until we pulled into the parking lot that Adam suddenly brought the car to a halt. Without a word, he threw open the door and jumped out.
“Bessie!” he called over the pounding rain. “Come here, girl!”
Had he seen something?
Without hesitation, I jumped out of the car as well, throwing my door closed behind me.
“Bessie!” I cried. “Bessie!!”
A single bark echoed across the lot, cutting through the sound of the pouring rain. A moment later I heard paws crashing through mud puddles and over wet concrete. I crouched down, holding my arms out. Two seconds later a ball of wet fur collided with me knocking me onto my ass. My hands ran over the dog, feeling the harness and the long golden fur drenched with rain. But the moment she started to whine, I knew it was her and I began to cry again.
“Bessie!” I cried, pulling her into a tight hug. “You’re okay!”
She continued to whine, her entire body wagging thanks to her tail that wouldn’t stop. I pulled back for a moment, feeling her all over to make sure she wasn’t hurt before I hugged her again.
“God! You stupid fucking bimbo!” I growled through my happy tears. “Don’t worry me like that again!”
A pair of footsteps approached, and Adam’s hand joined mine on Bessie’s head. He placed his other hand on my back.
“Told you we’d find her.”
“Thank you,” I said, hoping the rain covered up the fact that I was bawling. “I never could’ve done it without you.”
“You know,” Adam smiled. “Bessie isn’t the only friend you have. I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I think we could be friends.”
I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down to my level, kissing him on the cheek.
“Absolutely,” I replied. “You’ve more than earned it.”
And if I had my way about it, I was going to show him just how much he’d earned.