Cole glances up at me. "You wanna pet him?"
I nod, and he moves a little to the side so I can squat in front of the cage as well.
"Give me your hand." He reaches for my arm and then holds my hand so the animal can sniff my fingers.
When the dog starts to lick my skin, I laugh softly. "That tickles."
Cole lets go of me, and I scoot a little closer to pet the dog’s head like he just did.
"What’s his name again?"
"The staff calls him Buster."
"Where’s his owner?"
"He doesn’t have one."
I look at Cole, who is watching the dog. "But where will he go as soon as he gets better? He has to have a home, right?" I get sad at the thought of Buster being like me.
"He’s going to an animal shelter," Cole explains, also reaching out to scratch the dog.
Silently, we’re petting Buster, who has crawled forward a bit and rested his head on my legs after I sat down on the floor.
"Can’t he come with us?" I ask quietly at some point because I think it’s terrible that he doesn’t have a home.
Cole’s voice is harsh as he answers. "No."
"Why not?" I turn my head to look at him, the first tears coming to my eyes. "You took me with you, so why not him, too? He’s all alone and?—"
"I saidno."
"That’s not fair." I look back at the dog who returns my gaze. His brown eyes watch me faithfully and kindly, and it breaks my heart to leave him here.
"Life isn’t always fair," Cole explains tonelessly. "Come on. We’ve got to go. They’re about to close."
"I’m not coming. I’m staying here with Buster." All of a sudden, I’m incredibly angry with Cole. I just don’t understand why he doesn’t want to take the dog to live with him. It seems heartless to me, and even though I don’t want to see Cole like that, it’s exactly what I’m thinking of him right now.
"Goddammit, Sophie…" He stands, sighing loudly. "You can’t stay here. Now come on."
Angrily, I rise and face him. "Just leave me here. You sure seem to find that easy with him."
Cole looks at me with dark, thunderous eyes as a muscle in his jaw twitches. "He’s adog. You’re a human. That’s totally different."
"Oh yeah? And why is that?"
At that moment, the woman comes back into the room. "Is there a problem here?" She seems worried, but neither Cole nor I even look at her.
It feels like hours pass before he averts his eyes, curses softly, and then looks at the woman. "No, there isn’t. We’re leaving.Now." His voice leaves no room for argument.
My anger makes me completely headless, so I walk past him and the woman and leave the room and then the building. When Cole comes out a moment later and unlocks the truck, I get in without a word and look demonstratively to the right and out the window.
I’m not so stupid that I would run away again. Especially because I promised Jules not to do that. But I don’t want to talk to him, either. Cole is silent as well, so there is an oppressive atmosphere in the vehicle throughout the drive back to his place.
After we arrive and go upstairs, I head straight for my room, ignoring his calls. Instead, I close the door behind me and lie on the bed.
I have no idea why he, of all people, triggers these strong emotions in me, but I’ve never been as angry in my life as I am with Cole right now.
SEVENTEEN
