“Hello?” Willow answered on the first ring. “Ailee?”
“Hi,” I said.
“Oh, my God, thank you for calling me back. Have you talked to Tyler at all recently?”
Something was in my throat, and I had to clear it before I could answer her. “No, I haven’t. I haven’t talked to him since—” Since he told me. “Um, not for a couple of months. I’m sorry.”
I could hear the tightness in her own throat. “Okay. Thank you for letting me know.” A pause. “If he does happen to get in touch with you…”
“I’ll let you know. I promise.” I started to hang up, but stopped before my finger hit the button. I lifted it back to my ear. “And, would you do the same? Please? Just so I know he’s okay.”
“Yeah,” she told me. “Of course. Thanks again.”
Later that night, I’d just gotten snuggled up in bed with the remote for the TV when my phone rang again. “Hello?”
“Ailee, it’s Willow. I found Tyler.” She broke off, and I could hear her talking to someone. “Sorry. I’m getting in a Lyft.”
“Is he all right?”
“I don’t know. He’s in the hospital. He’s been there since yesterday, but he didn’t have his card or his wallet, so they didn’t know who to call. He’s hurt. I’m heading there now.”
I threw off the blankets. “What hospital?”
“The one in Bellevue, closer to you.”
“I’ll meet you there.” I hung up the phone and threw on my clothes from earlier, adding a gray pullover hoodie over my jeans and pulling on boots that would keep my feet dry. Grabbing my coat and keys, I locked up and ran down to my car, my chin tucked to my chest in an effort to keep the constant rain out of my face. There was no way in hell I was waiting for a bus right now.
I hadn’t driven it in so long it took me a minute to figure out how to make it work. Or maybe it was just the panic rising inside of me, making my hands shake. I finally got the engine turned over and sent a heartfelt thanks up to the sky that it was full of gas. Somehow, I managed to tamp down my fears and concentrate on the road just enough to get me onto the highway without ramming into anyone.
Halfway to the hospital, I had a thought. If Tyler had been in the hospital, who was taking care of Snickers?
I changed lanes, heading to Seattle. It wasn’t until I was inside his building and standing in front of Tyler’s apartment that I realized I didn’t have a key to get in. “Dammit!” My fist came up, and I punched the door, hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. “Dammit!!” All of the fear and pain and loneliness bubbled to the surface, overwhelming me in its intensity. I leaned my forehead against the door and let the tears overflow. There was no denying it; I had feelings for him still. Big, huge, ugly feelings. It wasn’t just that I was lonely, because I hadn’t been lonely before he came around. I’d been just fine. As a matter of fact, I’d really enjoyed my independence. Something I’d never had before.
A glance up and down the hallway assured me no one had seen my outburst. I sniffed and wiped my face with my hands as I tried to get myself together. I wasn’t helping Snickers or Tyler by falling apart outside his apartment. Maybe I could find a manager or someone who would let me in.
I walked out of his building and went around the side. Luckily, the rain had lightened up to a fine drizzle again. Maybe there was a back way in. I could check his back-patio door first. One large fence line ran around the perimeter at the back of the building. It was old, and halfway rotted in a lot of places. I peeked through a hole in the slats about where I figured Tyler’s place was.
Snickers huddled beside the door, waiting for someone to let him in, trying to stay dry. “Snickers!”
He heard me, for his little head popped up and he zeroed in on my location. He barked a few times but didn’t leave his spot. Poor guy must be freezing.
“Hang on, buddy. I’m coming to get you.” I followed the fence line and found a gate with a padlock on it. “Shit.” I kept going through the muddy yard, being very careful not to think about the reason I was there. My focus was on getting to the dog, and only that. Once I had him safe and warm in my car, I’d think about the next step.
Around the corner on the opposite side of the building, I found a section of fence where a group of loose boards were just kind of shoved into the spot they should be, the top half leaning out toward me. With a good tug, they came free of the wet ground. It wasn’t wide enough for me to get through, but I was pretty sure I could get Snickers out if I could get him over here.
I started calling him, adding some whistles for good measure. It took a few tries, but I finally saw his little, brown body come inching toward me in the dim light of the streetlights behind me. “Come on, boy!” I called. “Come on, Snickers! You wanna come with me? Come on, big boy!” I kept calling until he was close enough to see who I was. “Come on, buddy! Come on!”
He came running then, stopping only for a second when he hit the fence before wiggling his little body through and out the other side to me. Whining happily, he jumped up to great me, coating the front of my pants with muddy paw prints.
“Hey, boy,” I greeted him as I pet his wet head and bent down for some puppy kisses. He was shivering from head to toe. “Come on. Come with me.”
I didn’t have a leash, but I didn’t need one. He followed me right to my car, jumping into the back of my Toyota like he’d done it a million times. He sat politely in the back, his little body shaking. I got into the driver’s side and cranked up the heat.
“Okay, let’s go see what’s going on with your daddy. We’ll grab you a snack on the way.”
Thirty minutes later, I pulled into the hospital parking lot. I cracked the front windows just enough to let in some fresh air and left my coat and some French fries in the back with the dog to keep him warm. I’d already given him some water. Not the healthiest meal, but the poor guy was starving. “I’ll be right back,” I told him. “Stay.”
Luckily, I’d found a parking spot pretty close to the door, so I didn’t get majorly soaked as I pulled up my hood and ran across the lot. Inside, I went to the information desk. My voice shook as I asked the nurse, “Tyler Hale’s room, please.” I had to spell his last name twice before she said, “Room 402.”
