EIGHTEEN
“Little Pet, where are you?” Daddy calls out.
I look in front of me at my kennel. Daddy and I were taking a nap on the couch, but I snuck off when I woke up while Daddy was still asleep.
He hadn’t been holding onto my leash, and at that moment, I was grateful.
I wanted to try something, and I knew that if Daddy was next to me, I wouldn’t be able to do it.
I would run right back into his arms and tell him that I was no better and needed to stay by his side all the time.
Which wasn’t all untrue. I didn’t want to leave his side, even if I thought that I was a little better. But I needed to see if this was true or not.
I look over at the couch where Daddy is starting to get up, and a slight panic goes through me. It is now or never. Without thinking, I crawl into the cage and shut the door, pretending Daddy isn’t in the apartment.
No fire alarm sounds in my head, and I slowly let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. Maybe I am fully better. If Daddy needs to leave for work, I will be perfectly fine in the apartment.
“Nora!” he yells. “What are you doing in the kennel. Who put you in there? How did you get off the couch without me waking up?” He fires off the questions as he runs toward me. “Talk to me, Little Pet. What’s wrong? Why are you in there?”
He picks me up before I can say a word and holds me close to his body. He walks over to the couch and sits down, making sure we are facing each other.
“Nora, talk to Daddy. Why were you in the kennel by yourself? Who closed the door? he asks.
“I was curious whether I would be okay or not,” I whisper. “It’s been a week since you put the leash on me, and I just wanted to check how I was. I didn’t think you were going to wake up so soon.”
“What would have happened if you weren’t okay?” Daddy asks. “What were you going to do then?”
I open my mouth but quickly close it. I hadn’t thought about that. Curiosity got the better of me, and I didn’t think of anything else.
“What then?” he asks again. “What if I was so tired and didn’t wake up to you yelling out my name? What if you had hurt yourself while you were in there?”
“Then the people watching the cameras would have sent someone?” I whisper as more of a question.
He shakes his head. “We do not rely on them. What if they were taking a break since they knew I was in the apartment with you?”
“I didn’t think of that,” I mumble and look down at my lap.
Clearly I made the wrong choice. I’m starting to regret it now.
“Shhh, you’re okay. Next time you want to try something like this, just talk to me. We can discuss it. I don’t want you getting hurt because I wasn’t awake or didn’t know about it. I just want you safe.”
“I know.” I sniffle. “I’m sorry.”
Daddy pushes my head into his chest and holds me close, running his hands up and down my back as we sit in silence. How could I have been so foolish to think that I could do this without Daddy?
“I’m really sorry. I knew you were asleep and wanted to try it, since you wouldn’t be close, and I wouldn’t rely on you,” I mumble into his chest. “I should have thought about it more, but I was worried that if I thought about it too much, I wouldn’t actually be able to do anything.”
Daddy runs his hands through my hair and takes a deep breath in, not saying anything.
My heart aches, and tears run down my face as I wait for him to speak. “I really am sorry. Next time, I will think through everything.”
“No. Next time, I want you to tell me about it so we can talk through it together. If you want to try something like this, I can inform the guards watching the camera and walk out of the apartment so they can keep a close eye on you. Next time, you talk to me before you think of anything else, understand?”
I nod, and Daddy pulls back slightly so we are looking at each other.
“Words, Little Pet. I want to hear words on this one,” he reminds me.
“Yes, Daddy. I will talk to you before I think of anything else. I promise,” I reiterate. “I just couldn’t help but let the curiosity win. Then I heard your voice, and I knew that I had to try it out before anything could happen.”
He sighs and pushes my head back against his chest. “It’s all okay now. Let’s just sit like this for a couple of minutes and calm down.”
I close my eyes and take a couple of deep breaths as he runs his hand up and down my back, almost like he is trying to reassure himself that I am here. Did I do the same thing and make him panic so much that he is not going to want to let me go? That wasn’t my intention.
“So what was the result?” Daddy finally asks. “Has anything changed?”
“I didn’t hear the fire alarm, but I don’t know if that’s because I knew you would find me soon since you were waking up,” I mumble.
He hums.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“It’s okay, Little Pet. I promise I am not mad at you. I was just really scared that something happened to you while I was asleep. My first thought was you had gotten taken without me noticing,” he explains. “But everything is okay. You are in my arms, where nothing can happen to you.”
“I promise I won’t leave your side unless I ask you first or you say something,” I say.
“Good.”
“I love you,” I softly say.
“I love you, too.” He kisses the top of my head.
I snuggle into his chest and let out a sigh of contentment. Everything is so much better now that I finally believe he isn’t going to take me back to the space station.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks as he kisses the side of my head.
“Life and how good it is,” I whisper back. “I never thought I would get used to you doing everything for me, but here I am, loving every minute of it.”
Daddy smiles down at me. “I told you you’d get used to it. Daddy was right.”
“Thank you for buying me,” I whisper.
“I would do it over and over again if it meant I could be with you,” he whispers. “Now, what do you want to do?”
“Just snuggle with you,” I mumble, and Daddy wraps his arms tighter around me.
My life is pretty amazing.