Blue:
It wasn’t that I was angry with him. I wasn’t even keeping anything from him. I was just…fed up? Was that okay to admit? I was fed up with playing babysitter to a bloke who had spent most of his life as a mutt. Okay, so he had helped me out of a few tight spots, but the fact that I had spent so long worrying about him the day before, and for him to not even show a slight piece of gratitude? That wasn’t okay. That just made him like every other sodding bloke I knew.
Which was why I was walking at increased speed towards Tabby’s house; at least there I could be rude to her brother without offending anyone. But…the joke seemed to be on me. Tabby’s house looked decidedly empty. I sighed; where else was I going to go? Why was avoiding home suddenly so damn difficult? I had always seemed pretty adept at it in the past.
Stupid Bruno; ruining the way my life went.
Slumping against the locked door, my eyes stared vacantly out over the almost empty street. The world seemed so dead today. What had happened to everyone going out at the weekend and getting hammered? They all seemed to be taking a break from it all.
Leaving me to spend my day with my resident freak. Excellent.
It wasn’t like he could be grateful for me trying to get him better, could it? No, he just had to take it for granted; cracking jokes like it meant absolutely nothing. How many other lads had I looked after whilst they were ill? If it had been anyone else, I’d have gone in there with a fishbowl on my head and the oven mitts on to avoid infection!
He was just a moron, I decided bitterly, storming down the street with no clear direction. My shoes scuffed against the dryness of the concrete, sending small puffs of dust spiralling up to meet my knees. The air smelt stale, a harsh edge that cut against my nose almost painfully.
What was going on?
“You haven’t asked enough questions,” someone said from behind me. Frowning, I glanced over my shoulder. A woman, with long dark red hair was standing in the middle of the pavement, blocking my path. Pale skin shone otherworldly, her lips a bright, bright red. The curled into a sort of smirk as she took a step towards me, her long dress billowing in the sudden cold wind that seemed to have crept up on us.
Oh Christ, the only nutter on the street had managed to escape on a day that I was out of my own. Fuck my life, man.
Instead of answering, I started to walk the way I had been going, speeding slightly to avoid a conversation with the weird creepy lady. She chuckled to herself, as though this was some massive joke.
Like I said – nutter.
“You haven’t asked him why he’s the way he is.” For a moment, it felt as though the woman was hissing in my ear, which I then deemed impossible considering that I’d left her behind. “You haven’t looked at this properly.”
What was this? Conscience-come-to-life day?
“Get away!” I shouted, voice rising several octaves as I spun on my heel. But there was no-one there; my only audience was a brick wall. This was mad; there had definitely been someone talking in my ear.
Something grabbed my hair, forcing me to my knees. A yelp of pain travelled up my throat and erupted out of my mouth, echoing loudly around the empty neighbourhood.
“He’s running out of time!” the woman – though where she had gone, I hadn’t the foggiest – screeched loudly, the invisible hand twisting painfully in my hair. “If he doesn’t come without a fight, then it’s a fight we’ll give him!”
Her words made no sense; just meaningless noise throbbing through my sore head. But my vision started to cloud as the hand got tighter and tighter, several smaller hairs parting from my scalp. I’d been in fights. I’d had my hair pulled. But this was too much; a burning-like sensation passed through my body as everything began to haze.
“Tell him,” she breathed. “Tell him, he can’t hide forever.”
And everything disappeared.
***
When I resurfaced from the black out, the sky was dark and the stars had come out to play. In the moment it took for my memory to come flooding back, I was dimly aware of the streetlights glistening down on me, and the soft rush of breath that could be seen billowing from my mouth in the cold air.
And then I remembered.
I remembered the threat, the pain and the confusion that had come with the woman. The woman who had shouted so clearly about someone I should be “handing over”. And it didn’t take a genius to work out who she’d been talking about.
Who else could be running out of time?
Whatever he had done, and whatever he was going to do, I was going to make sure that Bruno got grilled. Because if that was going to happen every time someone came looking for him, he had another thing coming.
But who on earth could he know? I thought to myself as I darted down the street, he was a dog for most of his life!
Then it struck me.
What if Bruno had had a family? I mean I hadn’t even questioned his existence! Was that not just a tiny bit strange? That I had believed and taken him in so readily? He was this strange and unusual creation, and it had been completely overlooked in…in what? In…lust? In confusion? Whatever had happened, my reaction to Bruno hadn’t been completely my own – I could see it now! I could see it so clearly!
Whatever that woman had to do with Bruno, he knew. He knew and this whole being a dog thing was just some clever way of diffusing the tension.
“Bruno!” I shouted, storming up the stairs. “Bruno, we have a lot to talk about!” My door was thrown back, and Bruno’s face appeared, ashen looking and scared. He hauled me through into the room and shut the door quickly, pressing himself against it as though trying to keep something in.
“What’s going on?” I demanded, squaring up to him. “Because I have just been assaulted by someone who was looking for you!”
Bruno’s face grew whiter, his eyes glancing over me quickly as though to assess the amount of damage.
“Are you okay?” he asked, moving closer. I found myself backing away into the corner, looking up at him fearfully.
“Tell me what’s going on, Bruno,” I said, looking him in the eye. “Tell me now.”
He bit down on his lip, averting his gaze and focusing on the floor. If he didn’t tell me now, he was going to end up with that lip of his split. The baseball bat lay discarded in the corner, the light glancing off of it innocently.
What I wouldn’t give to pick it up now and swing it straight at his ba-
“Okay,” Bruno choked. “Okay, I’ll tell you.” He stared at me, his eyes suddenly bottomless. “But you’re not going to like it, Blue; I promise you that.”
It was okay.
I didn’t like peanut butter either.
I would just have to deal with it.
“Hit me,” I muttered.
So he did.
_______________________________________________________
Sorry to keep you waiting! Here's the next chapter! I don't actually see this story having many more chapters, to be honest :/ there could be a few...but it all depends whether I want to draw this out for everyone. So yeah...I'll consider it :L
So, next chapter will have everything explained...and then the next few chapters will be...dealing with the consequences.
thanks for reading :)
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He Was A Dog When I Left, I Swear!
Humor"I can't really remember much before I was four," I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. "Four seems to be where I stop." He nodded, digging his teeth into his lower lip as he stepped in front of the window, as if to protect us both from someone lookin...
