AN ok so I couldn't stop writing and did a second chapter while I was at it, totally worth ;) might even pop a third in there, since I am on fire~~ haha, remember to review and if you like it press dat follow button :D enjoy chapter 2, Why Him?
As he walked me to my work, the stupid little store down the road, he explained how he met Rose. He had saved her from an explosion at her workplace, at which I frowned. I wish she had been in there, why save someone like her? Ah well, not everyone shared my hatred towards rose, and I must say I didn't hate her for no reason, that's for sure.
'Why do you hate her so much?' the man asked me, looking at me sideways as if afraid of another lash out.
'Do you really want to know?' I replied, interested to see if he asked out of curiosity or because he cared, but I somehow knew it was the first reason.
'Mhm!' he quickly replied, nodding his head with a grin on his face. I'd never seen eyes light up as much as his did.
'It's not a nice story, especially I you think of her as an innocent little blonde girl. Shes far from innocent, which I learnt the hard way.' I replied sadly. The man looked at me, as if reaching out to me through his eyes, mentally hugging me. Well that's an image to remember. 'She stole the one thing I cared about at the time. You would understand, wouldn't you? Losing everything because of one choice, one idea that backfired. Well that happened to me. I had parents, and a boyfriend, fiancée then even. Hah. So long ago, that was. Not really, but it feels like ages. Time flies doesn't it?' I rambled. His eyes never left me, although I never looked at him I knew they didn't, I could feel his stare. 'She took that away, she was better. My parents loved her more than me, my boyfriend, well, uh…' I choked my tears back remembering that scene, it was that one moment that truly broke me. But it built me up too, it made me stronger than I ever was, or so I wish. 'He uhm… He chose her' he took my hand, as if he understood my pain. He couldn't understand it, he didn't know how important a moment in my life that was. But when he took my hand, I felt calmer. It was the first time I'd held anyones hand in a long time. A year maybe? Something like that. How pathetic, I wasn't even ugly! I hope…
'I'm sorry' he broke the silence, looking at the ground. What was he sorry for?
'It's not your fault, no need to be sorry for human stupidity' He looked at me strangely. Did I say something wrong? I don't know. I slowed down a little to have a better look at him. He had a leather jacket on, and big ears. Well I had a nickname for him now. Speaking of, I never got his name, did I? or did I forget again?
'Uhm, what's your name, actually?' I asked, tilting my head to the side, noticing his face change and his entire posture becoming big and puffed up. The giggle I was trying to hold in escaped me, men, they never change.
'Im the doctor, and you?' he almost lost his balance seeing the disbelieving look on my face. The doctor? That can't be. How was he here? He wasn't meant to be here. And why did he look like that? He looked so young and energetic, well, not young, but energetic alright. 'Do I know you? No no, do you know me?' I had to come up with something, and fast. He can't know. Not yet.
'I've read about you' I lied smoothly. Hopefully smoothly enough.
'Ah' he simply replied, nodding in understanding. But he knew she lied, oh he knew. Information about him was scarce at that time, and you'd only find something if you dug real deep. But he decided not to press the girl, she seemed shaken up as it as, though she was good at putting on a brave face. He could only wonder why she was so good at it, she could've fooled him, almost.
'I'm kate, by the way' I replied to his earlier question, looking around, seeing if I could maybe see a glimpse of Shadow as we were passing through the god forsaken park. I hate that park. Why did I take shadow in here, maybe if I didn't he'd still be here with me. Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't leave me too. I bought him hoping a dog would be more loyal than a human, I guess I was wrong. Again. I bit my lip trying to stay strong, it was a loss I couldn't bear to think about for long, in fear I'd lose my façade. The doctor looked at me, concern clouding his eyes, but I looked away quickly. I couldn't let him see me like this. It wasn't fair on him.
'What happened?' he asked, looking straight ahead. He knew Kate didn't want eye contact, she was proud of herself and him seeing her upset would only anger her, or worse yet, make her hate him.
'My dog ran away' I replied simply. The doctor nodded once more, and before I knew it we were in front of my work place. We bid our goodbyes and he shook my hand before turning around and walking off, his leather jacket floating in the wind. I let a small smile creep on my face. If only he knew.
The day at work was uneventful, though Mr. Doherty made a bit of a scene about out of date figs being sold. The old gramps, his heart was in the right place but his mouth was fouler than a fisherman. As a matter of fact, he'd be able to embarrass a fisherman. And of course I had to deal with him, I was he only one he'd even partially listen to. Never understood why that was, to be honest. The entire day I was thinking about the doctor, and what I knew about him. Most of it I did read, so I didn't fully lie. If you dig deep enough, you find anything, including the doctor. Oh the internet was wondrous, even in 2007. But one thing I could never not find was the long list of devastation that followed the doctor. He had seen so much trouble, so much death, and I thought I had it rough. Just goes to show, doesn't it? But one thing I never understood is how can he be so happy, even with all that happening around him? I guess he was never truly happy, just alone and torn by regret and guilt, living every day as if it were a battle, because it was.
In the meantime the doctor was roaming London, looking for something exciting to do. He had to talk to Kate again, he knew that. Why did Rose send him to her, and what did Kate mean by her initial outburst? Ah well, too much to think about while there are so many fantastic things to discover. But one thing never really left his mind. How did she know who he was? Sure, he thought, he'd left traces on earth with all his visits, but was it enough to make such a massive impression on people? Did they not like him anymore? If they didn't he'd just leave, let these stupid apes do whatever they wanted, they'd kill themselves before they'd even leave their own atmosphere. Stupid apes, he shook his head and continued his fruitless exploration, but nothing is truly fruitless to the doctor.
As soon as I finished my shift I nearly ran out of the store, a glimmer of hope in me that the doctor was there, waiting for me. Well, that glimmer died pretty quickly, as I realised I was alone, again. The walk home was slow, and sad, I had nothing to think about so I thought about everything bad that happened in my life. How pathetic, isn't it? A rustling caught my attention, and curious as I was, I had to follow it. I found a small pathway, small enough to not notice when you didn't want to see it but big enough to follow. After a few meters it stopped, the end marked by a drainage pit. Strange place to put one, I thought, as I heard a faint whimper from below the metal cap, and now I really had no reason to turn back. And I wished I had worked out more as I attempted to lift the heavy metal cap, in the end I resorted to simply spinning and twisting it, but I was just as out of breath after that as I was after the chase. Mental note to work out, I better write that down when I get home. Ah whats the point, ill forget anyways, I sighed in defeat. Once I caught my breath I climbed down the sticky steps, only to land butt first in sewer water, and promptly vomited. The stink was overwhelming, so bad that all the years I worked at a veterinary hospital I never smelt anything so vile in my life, and I just got to soak my butt in that. 'Great fun washing that out' I mumbled sarcastically. The whimper echoed through the tunnel, and I ran after it, ignoring the stench and splashes that occurred as best I could. Each whimper was louder, until I crashed into a reservoir and went for a swim. In a struggle to get out of the 'water' I swallowed a mouth full of it, that stuffs gotta be radioactive with how toxic it tasted. Well that's one of my troubles out of the way anyways, I thought grimly. Somehow I managed to climb out of the liquid, they added steps to it as if it was a swimming pool, interesting to think of but none the less sort of disturbing. As soon as I was out and stripped from my most useless layers of clothing I made my way to a shadow in the corner of the reservoir, the whimpering louder and more frequent. Oh poor Shadow I thought as I knelt beside the dieing dog. His leg was gashed open, blood flowing easily. 'Oh Shadow, shhh, its gonna be ok' I chanted, reassuring the dog, I'd like to think, but I knew it was to keep me from crying. I jumped as a hand landed gently on my shoulder, though I didn't turn to see, I was too afraid if I'm fully honest. Whoever did this to my dog could do it to me too.
'stand back' a male voice commanded me, and I obeyed, afraid of any harm coming my way if I didn't, but my eyes never left Shadow. No, I couldn't lose him again, not like this. I promised I'd keep him safe, and I failed. Again. A firm hand held me back as I tried to launch myself at my dog, protect him, save him. Only then I realised the man holding me wasn't bad. He wasn't there to harm me, he was there to help. 'I need you to stand back' he told me again, soothingly. Leather clad arms wrapped underneath Shadow, squeezing out a weak little whimper and heavy breathing from the black pup. My own shaking hand went to Shadows head out of reflex, and he responded to my touch, moving his head into my hand, craving for more. The doctor walked slowly, but with purpose, into one of the underground tunnels.
'Where are we going?' I asked for the third time now, fading out of my shocked state, but he wouldn't answer, he just kept on walking, petting Shadow as best he could considering. 'Is shadow going to be ok?' I finally asked, and then he turned around, tears welling up in his eyes. Oh. Oh please no.