Stars Falling [Book 2]

Chapter 10 - One Month Later

Tegan didn't know where the time went. One minute she was offering to pet-sit Christian Lu's beloved dog and the next she was packing his things up to send him back to his owner. It just wasn't fair. The four weeks Tegan spent with Wicked had been the best. The two had become inseparable, creating happy and unforgettable memories together. Tegan may have spoiled the Canadian Eskimo a little bit but she couldn't help herself. He was so adorable. He listened well and treated everyone with such love and care. Tegan couldn't overlook his exceptional behaviour and treat him averagely.

The walks they shared helped her get through the whole Scott Trevor situation. He had to be back in the city by now. Four weeks had passed. He had to have left the States and Ottawa but he still hadn't bothered to send Tegan a single message. The rejection was consuming her, making her dread almost every aspect of her life. Tegan wasn't the kind of girl who waited around for a boy. She knew better than to get hung up over someone who didn't keep their promises. Deep down she knew Scott wasn't worth the trouble but for some strange reason Tegan couldn't bring herself to move on.

Wicked saved Tegan. He helped her stay sane. Sending a selfie-a-day to his owner also eased the pain. It was strange but Tegan and Christian Lu had become pretty close since he went to L.A. He messaged Tegan every single day without fail. At first, his pestering annoyed her, but overtime she grew to understand the attachment. Wicked was a very special dog. He kept Scott Trevor out of Tegan's mind and replaced him with Christian Lu. Not in a romantic way! Never in a romantic way! In a... oh-hey-he-can-be-nice-and-he-likes-dogs-too-and-I-don't-hate-his-guts-anymore-kind of way.

Tegan scratched her head as she gathered Wicked's chew-toys and piled them on her bed. Her onesie was thrown over her dresser.

The first time Tegan cried in front of Rhea was when she was trying to end things with her former boyfriend. The first time Rhea cried in front of Tegan was when she was planning to run away from home. It was back when they were both in college. Right after they met during their advertising class, they became close over a short period of time and went shopping. To commemorate their special friendship they bought a pair of wallow onesies. Ben & Jerry became their rebounds and movie night turned into teatime. Rhea and Tegan promised one another that if they fell into despair again that they would do it together, wearing those onesies and rebounding to Ben & Jerry.

The drama with the Monster and Aunt Mini was huge. Red Jensen coming back into Rhea's life was unpredictably ridiculous. Being used by FedEx Guy didn't help Tegan's situation and falling in love with her go-between didn't help Rhea's. There were so many reasons to wear those onesies and rebound to Ben & Jerry, but they didn't. Tegan had no time to wallow and it seemed like neither did Rhea. Both of them were so busy trying to be individually resilient, that they completely overlooked the onesies.

Two days ago, Tegan finally crumbled. Scott Trevor was never going to call her. It was over. There were no more words left to comfort her, no more walks to ease her pain with Wicked. Rhea couldn't soothe the headache away and Christian couldn't distract her with his opinions. Tegan was vulnerable and Christian Lu, as per usual, knew what buttons to push.

'Did you get my snap?' His message read.

Tegan responded. 'Yeah.'

'You didn't send one back,' Christian wrote.

'Sorry.' Tegan wiped the tears trickling down her eyes. Wicked was curled up on the floor in front of the television. A foreign drama droned in the background, a cute Korean couple staring deeply into each other's eyes.

'What happened? Wicked better be okay.' Christian sent another message.

Tegan typed. 'Wicked is fine.'