My Life, in Ruins

My Life, in Ruins -Chapter nine-

   I got to Ian’s house twenty-minutes later and saw Butch in the window, barking at me. My hand shook as I put the key in the door and I closed my eyes, counting to ten before I had the courage to actually open it. Butch plunged out of the house, nearly knocking me over and dove for the yard. As soon as his paws touched grass he squatted and peed. I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips as seeing such a large dog like him squatting to pee. When he finished he stood up and covered up his pee with dirt like a cat would and then trotted around some more until he found another spot to pee in. I left the door open and went inside to find his stuff. His leash was hanging on a peg by the door and I found his food and water dishes in the kitchen on the floor. Now to find the dog food…there was half of a fifty pound bag left under the sink and a whole new bag of cookies next to it. I grabbed both of those and struggled out to my car.

Butch watched me with a curious expression as I shoved the stuff into my backseat and then went back into the house to find anything else that was his. I found a ball that was seriously chewed and a dog bed in Ian’s room and brought that out to the car too, satisfied with my discoveries, I locked the front door and opened up the passenger’s door for him.
“Come on Butch, get in.” I ordered.
He complied with my command and sat up to his full height, panting happily. I looked at him, unsure of what to do next, and settled for strapping the seatbelt around him for safety reasons. When my face got close to his he reached out with my tongue and licked me, which make me squeal and hit my head on the roof. Holding my sore head, I walked back over to the driver’s seat and then headed home. Boy would this be interesting.

Having Butch at my house wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. When I had first got him home I opened my door to let him in and then had to make two trips back and forth to my car to get all of his stuff. On the last trip I heard a horrifying scream from the kitchen/living room area and when I went to check it out I saw my mom standing on a bar stood with a drink in hand while Butch stood on top of the couch, sniffing all the interesting scents. I had to explain to my mom about dog-sitting him but she refused to get down until he left the room. After that, I brought him on a tour of the house, storing his stuff in my room, except for his food and water bowl, which went in my bathroom. Once I got comfortable around him, Butch proved to be a good distraction from the lack of Ian; in fact, he reminded me of Ian, which made me feel a hell of a lot better.

I filled his bowl up for dinner while I nibbled on a couple chicken wings mom had  brought home from Hooter’s and then I got a call from Ian. We talked for two hours and then he had to go and Butch had to go out. He was a better jogging partner than Ian; we went from my block to the local park, which I had always been terrified of jogging in by myself due to the high number of homeless people and druggies, and then took the park trail to a back road that eventually led to my house. When we got back we both sluggishly climbed the stairs. He collapsed in front of his water dish by the bathroom door and me on my bed; twenty minutes later I felt the weight shift as he joined me.
“No, down.” I ordered with no force behind it, I was just too tired.
Butch circled twice and then fell next to me, his head on my other pillow. I didn’t put up much of a fight though because it felt nice to have another body next to mine. He became my jogging partner and sleeping mate for the next four days. I was in the local pet store buying Butch some toys and bones, basically whatever he drooled on, when my phone went off. I quickly answered it because it was Ian.
“Hey.” I said.
“Hey,” He replied, sounding sleepy.
“What’s going on?”
“Well, grandpa passed this morning.”
“Oh, why didn’t you call?” I asked.
“We’ve been busy. Dad and mom made funeral arrangements and now we’re on our way back.”
I felt myself getting excited. “That’s great! Well, not the him dying part, but the you coming back part.”
Ian chuckled. “Yea, it is. I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” I admitted, which shocked me.
Him too apparently because he didn’t reply for a minute and when he finally recovered he asked.
“So what are you up to?”
“I’m at the pet store with Butch, we’re buying some stuff.”
“Oh really? You two bonding?” He joked.
“We are, actually. I think I might prefer sleeping with him.”
Ian faked hurt and then laughed. “I told you he was great.”
“You were right. So when are you getting back in?”
“How about I text you and let you know?’
“Alright. I’ll see you then.”
“Yes you will.” He replied and then we hung up.
I ended up having to buy nearly all of the cookies in one of the barrels because Butch stuck his face in it and started licking them. The cashier was a little grossed out but what could I say? The dog loved peanut butter cookies. When we got back I fed him, putting a few of his new cookies on top, and then went looking for my mom. To no surprise, she wasn’t home, and so I dug through the fridge for something to eat, finding a box of left overs from Hooters.
I dug into that while Butch ate and after the fourth or fifth piece I started to realize that they tasted funny. I threw the box down and washed my mouth out with water but as soon as both hit my stomach I had to run to the downstairs bathroom to puke. It was not pretty either nor did it feel good, hot sauce is not good the second time around. After getting all the spicy chicken out of my stomach I felt better. Instead of food, I grabbed a blue Gatorade from the fridge and went up to my room. Butch and I cuddled until I eventually fell asleep. A text woke me up.

>Home, come and give me a kiss!<

Ian! I jumped up out of bed and paused long enough to look in the mirror. I was a disaster! I pulled the brush through my hair and then took off any lingering make-up. Ian had once told me that he liked me better without it. After that I raced to the car with Butch at my heels, remembering only to grab his leash. We were at Ian’s house in ten and I was in his arms in two. He kissed my face and my neck over and over.
“God did I miss you.”
“Me too.” I replied, cuddling into him.
That was around the time that Butch demanded attention. Ian knelt down to pet him.
“Thanks for taking care of her boy.” He told his dog.
“Hey,” I protested. “I was the one doing the care-taking.”
“Whatever you say.” Ian joked.
“Oh and I accidentally forgot his stuff at my house.” I remembered.
“Now we have an excuse for him to come and visit you.” Ian replied.
When he stood back up we went into his house together. I said a quick “hello” to his family and then we were in his room. He was tired, I could see that, so we kissed for a few minutes and then fell asleep in each other’s arms.

School was a lot better with Ian there and I found myself touching him and kissing him whenever I got the chance to. I even got bold enough to not sit with the girls during lunch and instead sit with Ian, Jessica, and Ray at their table despite Priscilla’s glares; for some reason her bitchiness just didn’t affect me now, probably because I knew her secret; she was lucky I wasn’t spiteful or else I might just tell everyone. Cheerleading was brutal but only because I was literally living off energy bars, water, and Gatorade. Nothing else seemed to work with my stomach; the good news about that was that I lost three pounds and was now only 99½. My bases could feel the difference and you could defiantly tell the difference in my flying and tumbling. Ian wasn’t too thrilled about it though; he wanted me to eat, but I was fine, and besides, the food wasn’t agreeing with me so I didn’t want to push it.