I straighten up, adjusting the strap digging into my shoulder, and after checking out, start my walk back.
It’s a little less than a mile from the grocery store to my duplex. Plenty of time to question every life choice I’ve ever made and mentally draft all the fabulous things I’ll doifmy father is somehow found innocent. Part of me wants this whole saga wrapped up with a neat little bow so I can slip back into the life I was bred for. But another part... Well, she’s not so sure.
It’s not that I don’t want my luxuries back, please, Lord knows I do. A car for one would be amazing right now. But losing everything the way I did, my so-called friends included, does something to a girl. One might say I’ve gained perspective. Annoying, unwanted perspective, but still, it’s a perspective. Even if the view from rock bottom sucks.
I’m in a weird mood. For four straight months, everything has been the same shade of miserable. But today didn’t entirely suck. It wasn’t great, but even I have to admit that there were tiny moments that feltalmostnice.
Almost.
I’m not having a full-blown identity crisis... yet.
For some reason, Emma, Callie’s best friend, pops into my head. A conversation we had at Callie’s baby shower comes with it. The advice she gave me, that was uninvited and filled withsomething that sounded a whole lot like pity, replays while I make my long walk alone, the air beginning to feel colder as the sun drops in the sky.
“Some of us like it here. I hope someday, given the new situation you’ve found yourself in, that you will too. Otherwise, Tris, it’s only going to get worse for you. You have a chance to rebuild. You have a lot to say about my wealthy best friend, but I don’t see any of your old ritzy friends here volunteering to take you away. Maybe you should think about that and ask yourself why.”
Umm, duh, because I was a bitch. Most of the time, I still am. The difference is that before, I could get away with it. Money, privilege, and a last name that opened doors will do that for a woman. Now? Well... rebuild?
“Ha, yeah right. As if anyone would ever let me do that,” I mutter to myself, rolling my eyes so hard that if my mother were here, she’d comment something about them rolling out of my head. But the second the sarcastic words leave my mouth, a sharp bark cuts through my pity party.
I stop mid-step.
Another bark. Higher this time, excited. Instinctively, I turn and spot Ellie tied to the fire hydrant outside the Turtle Bay Fire Department, tail wagging like I’m her favorite person in the world. It brings a smile to my face and instantly warms that cold, empty spot in my chest.
“Hey, Ellie! What are you doing out here?”
My mood lifts thanks to her as I crouch down and shower her with well-deserved affection. I rub her fluffy black and brown ears as she wiggles, tail still going. I’ve always loved animals, even if I’ve never had one. Not because I wasn’t allowed, but because I wasn’t an idiot. With how much I traveled, it would’ve been unfair to drag a pet in and out of airports and hotels like some accessory.
Growing up, my dad used to take me to this ranch in Florida every now and then. Some kind of horse rescue, Little Bird Ranch. I loved the horses there. Dad even offered to buy me one once, but I couldn’t imagine owning something and never getting to see it.
“Oh, Princess. We can pay someone else to take care of it while we’re away.”
I hated that idea. What’s mine is mine, and even as a child, I knew a horse could never be. Now that’s not even an option.
“What the hell are you doing here?” a gruff voice snaps from above me.
Absolute dread fills me as I slowly lift my chin, already bracing myself for his specific blend of rudeness, whichsomehowcomes with the sweetest dog I’ve ever met. But when my gaze finally lands on Levi, I’m temporarily stunned.
Oh.
The homeless look was definitely more fitting for the guy’s personality, but he has apparently decided to join the land of the groomed. Standing in front of me now, his beard is trimmed, not too short, but enough to show he actually does have a jawline, a nice one at that. And his sandy brown hair is now cut shorter on the sides and longer on top.
Well,damn.
This look shouldn’t work, but even I have to admit, it does. If I didn’t know him, I’d say he looks handsome.If I didn’t know him,and if he wasn’t glaring at me. But unfortunately for me, I’ve met him, and I’m not impressed.
Not impressed at all.
“Someone needs to teach your daddy some manners,” I whisper to Ellie, loud enough so Levi hears me. I stand, dusting off my knees and brushing a leaf off my thigh. “Why is she outside all by herself?”
His jaw ticks, like my existence irritates him before making a noise somewhere between a grunt and a growl. Charming.
“What kind of dog is she, anyway?” I continue, intentionally cheerful. “I thought maybe a German Shepherd at first, but she’s too fluffy. Like... aggressively fluffy.”
I smile down at Ellie, deciding to ignore Levi’s poor people skills since he ignores my questions, and pet her head. She begins nudging her wet nose at my bag. Pretty soon, her paw is scratching at the bag too, with the kind of determination I used to reserve for online shopping. That’s when I remember the biscuits. The horribly shaped, questionably edible biscuits.
“Oh, do you want a treat?”
Her whole body wiggles like happiness is trying to escape through her tail.
