This Thing Called Love: A Novella ✔️

Twenty-Four - Molly

It's been a long day.

I drag myself from the car and stagger to the porch, sifting through the keys on my ring. When the door swings open, Sonny's greeting me with a grin. I scratch his head before weaving around Mom's clothes, still sitting in piles around the living room.

The heels of my palms press into my eyes as I drop down to the floor, my back against the front of the couch. It still feels like a thousand knives are stabbing into my retinas. I should have taken the bottle of ibuprofen with me this morning, but that was the last thing on my mind.

"Hey, good boy. How was your day?" Sonny sits next to me and I circle my arms around his neck. His chin plants into my shoulder.

Just having him here is enough to lift my spirits. At least, a little. With the afternoon I've had, I'll take it.

"You won't believe my day," I tell him. The words muffle against his fur. "At least I can say I did the right thing. I finally confessed to all my lies."

Sonny licks the side of my face, as if he understands my admittance. We sit in silence, taking comfort in each other's company, when there's a knock on the door. Because of the familiar four-knock pattern, I know it's Willa Mae.

I can't find the strength to get up. "Come in," I call out from my spot on the carpet.

Willa Mae's face peeks inside. "Is this a bad time?"

I shake my head and lay my cheek against Sonny's neck.

When the door opens all the way, Willa Mae stills for a moment and takes everything in. Thankfully, she has the decency not to mention the mess, or the fact that it belonged to my mother.

She wanders inside and sinks into the chair across from me. "Bad day?"

All I do is nod.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

I let out a long sigh. "Maybe later. I'm too exhausted right now to think."

"Getting things off your chest might help," she says in a soothing voice. "It's never good to keep it bottled up inside. It'll only make matters worse."

Where do I even begin? So much has transpired in such a short period of time, my brain is still reeling from the commotion.

"Valentino woke up—which, of course, is great news—and there doesn't seem to be much damage. Nothing serious anyway. He basically took a nice long nap while I fell in love with his dog. Now, I'm sure it won't be long before I have to give him back," I say, pulling Sonny a little closer.

Willa Mae smiles sadly. "I was afraid this was going to happen. But there's nothing stopping you from getting a dog of your own. Maybe some time we can stop by the shelter together and take a peek around? Maybe I'll even adopt one, too! That way our fur babies can be neighbors, just like us."

"Yeah, maybe."

She gives another gentle push. "Is there something more on your mind?"

Her question is all it takes to bring back the tears. But this time, there's no stopping them from spilling down my cheeks. "I told Leo and his family the truth. There's no engagement. There never was."

"And how'd they take it?"

I shrug. "Valentino's parents took it better than I thought. I'm pretty sure they forgive me. But Leo—" My voice cracks. "Leo is so mad, and I can't blame him. He's transferring to Denver. I tried to stop him—I even had all sorts of help. Except...it didn't work. He's gone."

Willa Mae pulls in a breath. "Are you certain?"

I nod. "The damage is done," I say, wiping away a tear. "He flew out to Denver this afternoon."