Devil's Fate

Last Resort

Mike glanced at his watch. He had promised to put his books away so he and Chester could lay in bed and watch a movie before they went to sleep - without him accidentally falling asleep in the middle of it the way he had the last time they tried. Study time before finals was running out. There was only a few days between him and the first of many tests, and Mike was determined to finish the semester with all A's. As long as his exams went well, it would be smooth sailing into the spring.

He only had a few more minutes before Chester would be out of the shower, and he decided he would go ahead and take Cheese out before it was his turn in the bathroom. He stuck a pencil in his book to hold his place and set it on top of his notebook on the coffee table, then stretched his neck side to side. It was stiff from being bent over his books all afternoon. Maybe I can get Ches to rub it a little bit. The idea brought a smile to his face as he stood up, and immediately Cheese looked up from where she was on the carpet, gnawing on her stuffed cheese toy. "Hey girl, you wanna go outside?" Mike asked in his puppy voice.

The terrier was on all fours in a flash, her tail wagging frantically. Mike laughed at her while he put her harness on. "You're so silly. We were just outside not too long ago," he told her, standing up with the leash in his hand. He stuck his head around the corner and hollered toward the bathroom, "Ches! I'm taking the dog out!" The two of them waited to hear Chester yell back "ok!" and then they were out the front door.

It always surprised Mike how fast time passed when he was studying. It was twilight, and the lights in the apartment courtyard were already coming on. He scooped Cheese up and held her under his arm as they took the stairs quickly, then set her down on the grass as soon as they were on the ground floor. She took off across the grass and Mike followed behind, letting her stretch her legs. He needed to move, too, so he didn't mind. They went around the side of the building and Cheese trotted up and down the strip of grass until she was ready to find a place to pee.

Mike could hear voices in the courtyard when they came back. It was typical of the college campus for people to be out and about at all hours, and at first he didn't give it a second thought. Cheese was sniffing out a great spot and Mike was ready to go upstairs when he heard his name. He looked over, squinting in the dim light, to see Matt with a woman, her long dark hair in a ponytail.

"Mike!" Matt called again, motioning for him to come closer. "Perfect timing, man!"

Mike glanced down at Cheese, who was finished peeing, and took a step over toward the couple. He was halfway to them before the unknown woman in yoga pants and a tank top turned his way, and he gasped. It was Talinda, and Mike knew instantly that something wasn't right. There was no reason for Talinda to be on the USC campus, which meant she had to be looking for Chester.

"Do you know this chick? She's asking about your apartment, and Chester, but I've never seen her around. I didn't want to send someone your way if you guys are like, a secret, you know?" Matt raised his eyebrows and looked from Mike's stunned face to Talinda's impatient expression. There was no doubt this woman was on a mission, and Matt wondered if maybe she was the girlfriend or even the wife that Chester kept in Echo Park. Now that would be something else! Matt couldn't wait to see what would happen.

"Yeah, I know her." Mike was exasperated at the way Matt was hanging around, obviously being nosy. "Thanks for being cautious, but we're good." He turned his attention to Talinda quickly and said hello.

"Oh, Mike, good," Talinda said in a hurried voice as she took the few steps to him. "I tried to call Chester but he's not answering and I couldn't figure out which apartment was yours." She looked around quickly, scanning the apartment buildings. They all looked the same. "I really need to talk to him," she added, almost as an afterthought when Mike didn't say anything. It was about that moment she looked down and noticed the tiny brown terrier she recognized. Chester had no lack of pictures of her on his phone, and he proudly showed them around Score's office to anyone who would look. "Oh, the dog. Guess that means he's here." She looked back up at Mike with a short impatient smile. She'd had enough of wandering around the massive campus. She needed to see Chester.