Violet's Pov:

I learned very quickly that it's hard to write with a rabbit in your lap, and not for the reason you think.

That night I brought Woody home, I take him into my bedroom and I lock my door for when my dad gets home just in case. Couldn't risk any chances, not only for Woody but myself included.

I set the little cage on the floor and looked around my room for where I could keep him considering the little cage was only temporary. I have this little desk that sits under my window. I never use it to write for some reason and its mostly used as a step stool for escaping out my window, but I don't really need it for that. With all the practice I've had I could practically jump through it at this point. So I slide the desk across the floor so it's closer to my bed and away from the window.

Then I clear all the clutter from it that includes pens, markers, and some loose sheets of paper. I throw those into the desk's drawer for the time being. Then I grab the cage and set it on top of the desk along with my baggie of ESA stuff.

I take Woody out of the cage and take off his vest so he doesn't have to wear it twenty-four seven. I set him on my floor for a minute and just let him hop around. Then I took all of my ESA stuff out and sorted it out. I grabbed my lanyard and placed it on my door handle so I would always know where it was. Then I took another one of my ID cards and grabbed the house keys that I had in my backpack. I didn't own a car so I didn't have car keys that I could hook it on. Lastly, I took the third one and slipped it into my phone case so I'd always have one on hand no matter what.

I took the little metal tag out next and clipped it to Woody's service vest. I know I could have put one of the little ID cards into the tag holder on the vest, but I was thinking I could make like a little patch or something with Woody's name on it and stick it in there. That way if I ever got asked what his name was I could just point at the name tag instead of writing it down. And although the ID cards contained all that information, the writing was a bit small.

Once that was done I sat the harness aside and pulled out the papers that talk all about therapy animals and their purposes and benefits that they provide for people. It was actually quite interesting to learn about, but something stuck in my mind above the rest. Apparently, when you spend time with animals this chemical called Oxytocin, otherwise known as 'the cuddle hormone', is released in your brain and it helps you to feel calm and relaxed. I thought that was pretty cool.

After going over the informational stuff I placed them back in the bag. Then I pulled out my official certificate and looked it over.

This certificate confirms that Woody has been properly registered with the ESARA by Violet Knight as an Emotional Support Animal as of October 12, 2019

I couldn't help but smile at the words printed on the front as I read it over and over again. I looked at the rabbit that was over by my closet door checking the place out. I was really glad he was here. It would help keep my mind off of the dangers that lurked inside my house. Now maybe tonight I'd actually get some sleep...hopefully.

I put the certificate back into the bag and I set the whole thing on my bookshelf so it wouldn't get lost or damaged. That's when I heard the front door open and slam shut a few seconds later. I knew what that meant and it caused me to tense up for a minute. I looked at my door as if I was waiting for it to be forced open at any second. I knew it was locked, but paranoia kept me alert.

I scooped Woody up from off the ground and grabbed my black and white journal and a pencil from my backpack. Then I sat cross-legged on my bed with the rabbit in my lap along with the book. I wasn't going to let this bring me down. This weekend had been one of the best that I've had in a while. Despite a few hiccups that occurred along the way I was actually really happy with the way everything turned out.

So I turned to the next new page and started writing about everything that had happened. From the whole McDonald's incident, Clem reading my papers, about the note she left me, and all the way to getting surprised with Woody today. However, I didn't get very far. Maybe about two to three paragraphs before there's this crunching noise and I realize the rabbit is chewing on the paper from my notebook.

He didn't get that far before I pushed his head away from the book, but now there's clearly teeth marks at the bottom of the page. I shrugged it off and kept writing. I got to the part where I start talking about how I woke up to Clem's apology letter sitting on the bed, and that's when Woody starts at it again.

He chews on the corner of the page which gets me to smile because I find this amusing. But before I know it he grips the corner and pulls which causes a large chunk of the page to rip. He chews on the end some more before he gives another tug and rips the corner of the page clean off.

I don't even stop him because I keep silently giggling at his actions. I didn't know rabbits liked to chew on paper unless that's just a Woody thing. Looks like I'm not going to be able to write with Woody anymore or at least not when he and the paper are level with each other.

He just sits there and continues to eat the piece he's ripped off. He hasn't really damaged any writing I've done, just taken the ending of the last sentence that I've written. So I pull the paper from his mouth and set it aside. I'll have to tape the two pieces back together, but having the corner tore off can be used as a reminder to my first night spent with Woody.

I smile at the thought and I honestly don't care that he tried to eat my work. So instead of continuing to write I grab my phone and hold Woody in my arms and I snap a picture of the two of us. That's going up on my wall once I get it printed.

I set my phone back on my bedside table to charge and I just sit with Woody in my lap. I continue to pet him for quite a while which I think he enjoys because he hasn't moved since I started. I stroke his ears, but I think I hit a sensitive spot or something because his ear twitches and he gives a shake of the head which causes me to giggle.

I look over at my alarm clock and see that it's close to ten-thirty, which is considered early for me, but I think I actually feel kind of tired for once. Maybe he really has helped me to relax even in the short amount of time he's been here. I think maybe having something to take care of and protect has given me something to keep my mind off of everything else so I don't have thoughts of panic and fear constantly bearing down on me.

Plus I know I have to get up early tomorrow and I don't want to show up to school all run down again. As funny as I think it would be to see Louis getting chased down the hall by an angry Ruby because she thinks he neglected his job, I really don't want to get him in trouble. I owe him after everything he's done for me, after everything they've all done for me.

So I get up and place Woody back into the carrying cage and close the door. It's not much, he at least has a little blanket to lay down on in there, but it's just for tonight until I can move everything else into my bedroom. I'll probably have to have Louis drive around back an I'll need to bring everything in through the window. I won't be able to bring it through the front door or else my dad will see it and probably blow up on me again. And I probably won't be so lucky again with him leaving the house.

That's another thing I'm concerned about. I already leave early enough for school that I won't run into either of my parents in the morning, so I can just leave with Woody through the front door tomorrow. But on my way home I may actually have to start coming in through my window in order to keep him a secret from my dad. I'd prefer not to have to do that, but if it means life or death for the rabbit or me I'd rather not dance with the devil.

So after the rabbit is put away I change into some pajamas and I finish writing about what happened this weekend. Once I'm done with that I set my notebook down on the floor, take off my glasses, and turn off my bedroom light. I still laid awake for a little while because I still feel a little on edge being back in my house. I don't like the idea of leaving both of us defenseless and I find myself listening for the slightest noise of danger, but I never hear anything except for the faint noise of the TV in the living room whenever a loud scene occurs.

I'm pretty sure I laid in the dark for roughly two hours unable to relax enough. I don't even realize that I've actually fallen asleep until I hear my alarm go off at five-thirty the next morning. I feel my heart race at the noise as I look around my room to see if anything's wrong. I quickly look at the door afraid I'll see that it's open, but it's still closed and locked. Then I turn to the carrying cage on my desk to make sure it's still there, but it is.

I take a breath of relief and allow my heart rate to come to a slow. "Everything is fine, we're both okay. Nothing happened."

Now that I can rest easy knowing my room wasn't ransacked last night, I'm actually excited to get to school so I can show the rest of my friends Woody. Even though Louis has probably sent everyone about fifty text messages about it already.

I quickly get ready and throw everything in my backpack that I need. I also grab a hand towel so the rabbit has something to sit on and stick that in my bag. Then I take Woody out and clip his service vest on him. I sling my backpack over my shoulder, grab the rabbit, then before I leave my room I slip my lanyard over my head.

I stop in the kitchen and grab a snack so my friends don't have a conniption fit thinking I'm going to resort back to not eating. Then I'm out the door and on the sidewalk before either of my parents are up, just the way I like it.