When Storm Clouds Hover

57: Izzy - Guess who's back

As soon as her last HSC exam was over, Izzy called her dad to pick her up from school. She couldn't handle the celebrations. The past three weeks had been torturous. Sleep had eluded her for days and whilst she'd tried her best to study, her brain was full of memories, which she couldn't turn off.

Izzy and Dom had both agreed to give each other space over the exam period so they could focus but she missed him and felt mildly depressed. The formal was two weeks away and she wouldn't see him until then. Still, she knew she needed to get out of school and be with her family.

The house was quiet when they arrived home. Walking in through the front door without her mum being there to greet her was so painful and it never seemed to get any easier. The absence of Attila only added to Izzy's grief. His crazy jumping and barking would have been a most welcome distraction right now.

After a cup of tea with her dad, Izzy went straight to her room and fell into the deepest sleep. When she woke up, the lights throughout the house were off. She snuck her head around the door of Mia's room. Her sister was asleep, sprawled across the double bed with a pillow over her head.

Izzy put on her favorite pyjamas and snuggled up under a blanket on the couch to watch old episodes of America's Next Top Model. She wanted to not think for a while. She binged two seasons straight and went to bed.

The next day Izzy woke to the sound of silence. Mia and her dad had already left the house for work. She headed to the kitchen, reached into the cupboard for a bowl and poured a generous portion of coco pops. She had just sat down at the kitchen bench when her phone rang.

Mia's voice was breathy. 'Stay where you are Iz,' her sister said, in a flurry. 'I'm coming home. Be there in ten.'

Izzy barely had a moment to interceded. She hung up wondering what Mia was up to. She had just finished her breakfast and was sitting out the front of the living room in the sun waiting for Mia, when she felt her phone vibrate. She glanced at the message and smiled. It was a photo of a bunch of year 11's in muck-up dress. They were all laughing and seemed to be covered from head to toe in a white powder that looked something like flour. Dom was on Cole's back, with his arms out as if he were in flight. Em was there too. Izzy could see her in the back row of the photo between Tal and Tommo laughing hysterically. She tapped the screen of phone.

Izzy: 'You're a dag!'

Dom whizzed back with a red heart emoji.

Izzy put her phone on the coffee table and picked up a magazine. Her mind lingered on Dom for a moment. She was looking forward to seeing him. They'd been texting each other a fair bit, but they hadn't told anyone they were together. Izzy wasn't even sure that they were. They weren't putting a label on anything.

At that moment, she heard Mia's car pulling up in front of the house. Izzy wondered what Mia was acting so mysterious about. Usually, if she was going to be home for any amount of time, Mia would drive through the gate and park in the back yard. As soon as the side gate opened though, the mystery was solved. There was Atilla...their darling pup...sprinting across the lawn like a bullet in her direction! Izzy couldn't believe it. She collapsed onto the ground, and Atilla landed in her lap in a flash, wiggling and squealing. Izzy burst into tears with relief. Atilla was smiling his awkward little side smile that showed all his teeth and always made her laugh. She hugged him tight and didn't move until he had settled down in her lap.

Izzy looked up at Mia who was standing above them, smiling.

'I popped into the RSPCA on the way to work,' she explained. 'Someone had just brought him in. They hadn't had time to process him.'

'Thank you, Mia. Thank you! Oh, my goodness. I can't believe it!'

Atilla had been missing for at least three weeks, nearly four and he wasn't in a good way. He smelt bad, and Izzy wondered what he'd been eating. She picked him up and took him to the kitchen.

Mia put the kettle on. 'I can only stay for a minute,' she said. 'I've got to get back to work. They won't know what's happened to me.'

'They'll understand,' Izzy said. 'It's not every day, something this exciting happens to us.'

'Indeed.' Mia said smiling. They stood in the kitchen chatting while Izzy prepared a gourmet meal of leftover chicken schnitzel and broccoli for Atilla.

After Mia left for work, Izzy ran a bath for Atilla. His white fur had taken on a yellowish grey hue and Izzy had to really scrub him down, before rubbing him dry. Then he took off like a crazy spinning top doing zoomies around the garden. When he'd settled down for a sleep in his own bed, Izzy took a photo of him curled up under the blanky. She sent the picture in a group WhatsApp message, captioned: 'Guess who's back!?'

A second later, Izzy saw Dom's face flash on her screen. She swiped her phone to answer him. It was good to hear his voice.