Nameless // Van McCann

5. And You Were Worried

"Go on," I encouraged him.

"A friend of mine told me he'd take care of my dog but fell through at the last minute. My flight is tomorrow morning and I can't find anyone to watch him on such short notice. All the daycares nearby are booked and the next closest one is over half an hour away."

Oh no. No no no no. I love dogs but his chihuahua is something else. His dog came from the pits of hell. Cookie is by far the ugliest dog I've ever laid eyes on with bulging eyes and his tongue permanently out. I hear his dog barking at all hours of the day, even at 2 AM. A few days is fine but two full weeks? Fuck no.

"Uhh...lemme ask Bondy," I said slowly. Deep down, I was hoping Bondy had the courage to say no. We shared a mutual dislike for the dog. Cookie could care less what we say about him but Neil is sensitive. "Bondy?" I called out.

"Yeah?" Bondy poked his head out of his room.

"Neil's at the door. He has a huge favor to ask of us." Bondy made his way towards the door.

"Hiya Neil," Bondy greeted him, smiling.

"Neil's going on holiday for two weeks. His friend said he'd watch his dog but fell through. He was wondering if we could watch Cookie for two weeks," I explained. I turned to face Bondy, silently pleading with him to say no. Bondy cleared his throat, obviously not thrilled about it either.

"Can't you put him in daycare?" Bondy suggested.

"I called and the ones close to home are booked. There was one that was open but it's half an hour away. Please...I leave tomorrow morning. He's quite easy to take care of," Neil pleaded.

Bondy and I eyed each other, willing the other to say no but none of us made a move. We were silent for so long that Neil cleared his throat for an answer.

"Sure. Why not?" Bondy finally replied and I kicked him, disguising it like I was shifting my weight from one foot to another.

As upset as I was, seeing Neil's face light up like a Christmas tree made it worth it. He doesn't have a lot of friends. He literally only has two friends on Facebook. His mum and his brother, and I don't think it's by choice. Neil asking for help is a huge accomplishment so I tried to hang onto that. We're being a good neighbor.

"Thank you so much! You have no idea how worried I was! I'll go over how to take care of him."

We've only been to Neil's flat a handful of times; we tried to avoid it if we could help it. The way he decorates his flat is interesting to say the least. Everywhere you look, there's a photo of Cookie. His flat is literally a shrine for his dog. Speaking of the devil....

My eyes rested on Cookie who was in his bed, watching us. He's seen us enough to know who we are but as soon as we make a sudden movement, he'll jump towards us and start barking. Neil went over his food and feeding schedule, how often he needs to be let out, and so on. Having Bondy with me was helpful because I wasn't going to remember everything but it seemed easy enough. We decided to let Cookie stay the night at our flat since neither of us wanted Neil at our door 6 AM the next day.

Figuring fresh air would do me good, I decided to take Cookie out for a walk after dinner. I needed something to distract me from thinking about Liv. Cookie's tiny legs carried him quickly. He walked enthusiastically stopping here and there to smell everything. There weren't many people around which was a good thing because I didn't want to deal with him lunging at people and apologizing on his behalf. He took too long sniffing a patch of grass so I gently tugged at the lead to get him to move on. We managed to walk a few blocks before I decided to turn around.

There was a man we were going to cross paths with. To save myself the trouble, I decided to carry Cookie in my arms. He protested by wriggling in my arms but I held him tight, not wanting to let go until I passed the man. As we got closer, Cookie's ears perked up and he bared his teeth at the stranger, growling. It wasn't until we passed him that Cookie began barking.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. I shushed Cookie but it was no use—he wouldn't listen.

"It's no problem," the man replied, smiling.

He was dressed in black and tipped his hat lower to cover his face as he passed me. I kept glancing back at the man. For some reason, he gave me an uneasy feeling but my mind was making things up. I put Cookie down and we continued our way back home.

The walk seemed to tire Cookie out so he retreated to his bed, making several rounds before finding a comfortable spot to lay. I could hear him sigh and he closed his eyes. Since Bondy was watching the telly, I figured it was okay for me to take a quick shower and get ready for bed.

My hair was still damp but I let it air dry. As I put my clothes away in the hamper, I noticed my phone screen light up. Curious, I tapped the screen to wake it up and saw that I had a text.

Liv: *Hi Van. Would lunch on Saturday work?*

She actually replied. I can't believe it. I wanted to respond right away but decided to wait as I didn't want to seem too eager. In the meantime, I decided to tidy up my room and bring the empty mugs to the kitchen sink to wash. Bondy was gently stroking Cookie who was sound asleep.

"Little guy is knackered," Bondy said softly. "Where'd you take him?"

"I walked a few blocks down Rucker and turned around," I answered, rinsing the mugs and placing them on the rack to dry. I shook my hands to get rid of the excess water and dried my hands on the towel. "Liv finally texted back. Asked if we could do lunch on Saturday." My voice was calm but deep down, I was about to burst from excitement.

"And you were worried," he replied.

"Yeah, I was. Thanks for your help."

"You're welcome. Best of luck."

There was no telling if it'd go anywhere but it was a start. It was unusual for me to go in blind since I'd never ask a girl out without looking her up first. It made me anxious that I'd have to come up with questions to ask her but luckily I had a lot to ask. Does she have any hobbies? What does she like to eat?

"Don't forget to take Cookie out one last time before bed," I reminded him. Bondy looked down at Cookie.

"But he's sleeping."

"If he pisses on the floor, you're cleaning it." Bondy shook Cookie awake who woke up with a start. He didn't seem pleased but I wouldn't be either.

"C'mon, let's go to the toilet one last time, yeah?" Bondy asked gently. Cookie didn't budge so Bondy grabbed the lead and picked him up. "Gonna take him out. I'll be back."

I watched as he grabbed his cigarettes and stepped out. In the meantime, I was alone. I got my phone out of my room and read the text again. It was a simple text but why was it so difficult to reply? After spending too much time thinking, I finally settled on a response.

Van: *Sound. Do ya have anything in mind?*

I turned my phone off and got ready for bed.

-

Note: Thanks for bearing with me as I write more parts. Nameless will be updated on Fridays. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading! :)