Hello! I just wanted to update this one before I closed off for May because I don't think this one will make it to 100 by the end of April, so, I'll leave you for one month with a little cliffhanger.
Thanks to my reviewers!
divinedragon7, Horselvr4evr123, Slayer of Souls, Master of Procrastination, kpandron x2, katiesparks, dannyXsam-forever, HAlFa34, BlackDecember, Kuki Salazar, SliverstarsEbonyskies, Fantastic Bouncy Girl, XxFadedxMemoriesxX, Hakkyou Kuusou, nobody
Okay, I know I updated Dare You To Move yesterday, yet something's up with my emails. I can't seem to get any author alerts or review alerts. Anyone else having the same problem?
Under, Over
Chapter Three
Care
"We'll be back soon dear," Pam said, pulling her luggage towards the door. "A few days."
"Right," Sam replied, her hand fidgeting nervously.
She didn't know why she was so nervous. She'd kept loads of secrets from her parents before. Heck, for the most part, she didn't even talk to her parents (without it being forced or totally awkward). Then again…she felt like she was hiding drugs or some guy in her room.
The thought almost made her laugh aloud, but instead it came out as a short snort, making both her parents and her grandmother raise eyebrows, looking at her funny.
"Oh, I wasn't laughing at you…I mean, I wasn't laughing at what you said…I was off in my own little world…" She trailed off and felt her cheeks heat up.
Her grandmother cleared her throat. "Sam and I will be fine. We'll look through old photographs and start a scrapbook perhaps."
Sam would have laughed again if she was afraid of blowing her grandmother's excuse. Yeah, right. That was a downright lie. She knew that her granma was really just covering up for her and she reminded herself to definitely say thank you for the billionth time.
"Well, that sounds fun," Jeremy said, clapping his daughter on the back softly. "Pam, we'd better go before the plane heads off."
"Of course," she agreed. She kissed Sam on the cheek and then hugged her mother, her father doing the same. "Stay well, will you?"
"We'll be fine," her grandmother said again. "Go on."
"Bye!" the three called together as they exited through the door.
Sam didn't move, watching as their shadows retreated down into the garage. Finally after she heard the car doors slam, she turned to her grandmother.
Charlotte turned to her as well. "Where is he?"
"In my room. He seems okay besides his back leg," she told her.
"You definitely caught him off guard if you managed to hit his leg," her grandmother stated, almost laughing, but still making Sam feel worse. "Last night I called my friend Carla. She agreed to look up on him since she was a vet."
"Really?" she asked eagerly.
She nodded. "At least then you won't have to worry about nonsense heavy charges and the worry of getting any…shots for the poor thing."
"Eww…" She figured she had tortured him enough… "I'll go get him."
……………………
"He's a fine one isn't he?" Carla Hampshire said, ruffling his fur with her fingers. "Sweet too." He nudged into her touch and Sam leaned down, petting him softly.
"Can you help him?"
Carla smiled at both of them. "He'll be in good hands Sam, don't worry. In the meantime, why don't you have a seat?" She motioned towards the comfortable looking couch over by the wall. "I'll be back in ten minutes."
As she wheeled Pyro away in the small cart they'd brought him on, he gave her a lonely, withdrawn look that made Sam curl inside.
"He'll be alright," her grandma said, watching her rather than the dog leaving. "What about you? Is someone having some worry?"
"I feel terrible," she said. "I can't believe…I…hit a dog…and…"
"It was an accident…and it could have been worse, but it wasn't. He'll be good in no time, you'll see," she said, patting her arm. "Come on, let's sit down."
Her grandmother's friend turned out to be a very good vet with a private office at her own home. She was quite famous around Amity Park and fair with expenses. They were sitting in a large waiting room and the office was behind a large open window surrounded by pictures of dogs and cats and birds she'd helped.
Carla herself was a woman around her grandmother's age with a bright smile and crisp attitude, but nothing compared to her parents.
"Got off lucky…didn't I?" she joked, laughing shortly. "He slept next to me last night and didn't even move. I thought dogs were always excited whether they were hurt or not." That was part of the truth. She'd met some pretty…weird dogs. Cough, cough the green ghost dog that decided to lick her randomly, usually covering her with green, ectoplasmic saliva. She shuddered at the thought.
"Hmm…looks like you hit a good one then," Charlotte said. "He could already be trained."
"I've already named him and everything," she replied, grinning. "Pyro."
"That's lovely," she replied. "What are you going to do with him?"
"I was actually thinking about taking him over to show him off to Danny. Go for a walk in the park…well, that won't work…We'll do something…" She broke off at her grandmother's next look towards her. "What is it?"
"Sam…I know you…love animals…and you would do anything to care for him, but…" Her grandmother stopped a minute and Sam's heart began to fall. "You can't keep him."
"I know…" she said softly. What was wrong with her? She'd always been taught…and whether it was her parents' saying or not, she still respected it. If you love something…let it go. But she felt her heart rip into pieces; was she really in love with a dog?
At least this one you can talk to. She laughed. She could talk to a dog easier than she could her own best friend.
"What?" her grandmother asked.
"Nothing," she said, shaking her head and then running a hand through her hair.
"Look Sam, sweetie…I think we should find who he belongs to before your parents come back."
She nodded silently. Where would he go? She had two days to find out. And of course, Danny would help. In fact…if they didn't find an owner, he would probably see if he could keep him. She remembered how he'd always wanted a dog. He'd probably be surprised to know that she'd kept him overnight…in her bed.
"Here we are," Carla said, walking back in the room. Pyro was at her heels, now limping slightly, but walking.
Sam stood up excitedly and knelt down beside him, scratching his ears. "Thank you…" she said to the elderly vet. "So much, he looks so much better…"
"Oh, he wasn't that bad. Just a bit beat up. I gave him a painkiller for his leg. I wasn't going to bother with a cast. It's just bruised a bit. Close to a sprain, but fortunately not there. But, no rough playing for a few days," she instructed, sitting down beside him. "He's a good one. Hardly even flinched when I gave him a shot."
"Must not be afraid of needles," Charlotte joked. "That or…after getting hit by a car, he's used to pain…"
Sam managed to give her grandmother a glare and the two women laughed. She shook her head and ruffled the dog's fur. He made a lick at her hand, but she pulled away, teasing him and he jumped into her lap, making her gasp in surprise.
"He definitely likes her," Carla said. "Of course, the young ones usually like the younger ones." She laughed.
"How old would you say he is?" her grandmother asked. She looked up, waiting for the answer.
"Hmm…it's hard to tell with dogs. Sometimes they can be eleven and hardly show age. So energetic and full of life. But if I were to make a guess…I'd say maybe a little bit over two years."
"So that would be like, what, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen in dog years?" Sam kidded.
"Yep, pretty much," she said. "Now, if you want, I have some food and some other things…Are you keeping him?"
"No…" she replied, trying not to sound too disappointed. "I'm going to see if me and my friend can find his real owner."
"But if you have a few things for a couple days, that would be wonderful Carla," Charlotte offered.
"Sure thing." She bent down and pet him again and he wagged his tail, putting both paws across Sam's lap. Carla smiled. "I think he'll be in pretty good hands."
"I think he will too," her grandma agreed, giving Sam a smile.
Sam grinned and stroked the dog's head with her fingers. She'd take care of him until she had to give him up again. Until then…She hoped it would only become easier.
……………………
Sam eased onto the highway a half an hour later, Pyro riding shot gun beside her. She hummed to herself, watching just barely out of the corner of her eye as the dog made no effort to escape whatsoever or chew the armrests or seats or crawl back into the backseat. Instead, he'd curled up innocently on the seat, his tail wagging nonstop.
She reached over and whacked at his tail. He looked up at her with those big blue eyes and she laughed. "Such a good dog…Danny is going to flip when he sees you." He cocked his head to the side and it made her laugh again. "He loves dogs…Let's see…what was it he said…Of course, when he was under Ember's spell he pretty much told me everything I needed to know…I think he was five. Jeeze, what did he say…Oh, now I remember… 'When I was five, I really wanted a puppy, but my parents…" She laughed. "I had to shut him up. That boy was nuts…And not just for dogs…"
He whimpered and put a paw over his nose. "What?" she asked. She snorted. "Great…now I'm talking to a dog…I'm starting to sound insane. Maybe I should stop hanging out with Danny." She grinned wickedly.
He barked and then stood up on the seat, pawing the armrest her arm was resting on. "What?" she asked, leaning over and then pulling back before he could lick her nose. "Nice try."
Pyro stretched, whimpering at the same time and sat down again, staring at her, his head still cocked to the side.
"What?" she asked, shocked. "Don't look at me like that." She laughed at her own insanity and then pulled onto Danny's street, contemplating. "Are you hungry?"
He barked in reply and she cheered. "Me too. We'll head down to the Nasty Burger after--"
Her heart gave a small leap as she approached the Fenton home, spotting two police cars parked in the driveway. The windows that were usually open in the summer to conserve energy (an idea that she'd driven into them) were closed.
Pyro whimpered, staring at the house and seemed to read her emotions, his tail stopping its movement.
"What's going on?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper, feeling a chill cross her spine. She threw off her seatbelt and threw open her door, holding it open for him and he followed quickly. "Come on…" she said, rushing towards the stairs.
She jumped them three at once and ended up jumping the full extent. He was quickly behind her, but as she started to knock on the door, she thought about the dog and was reminded of the reason Danny couldn't have a dog. It was because of the Fentons' work.
"Stay here, okay?" she asked.
He whimpered, but then sat down beside the door. She knocked on the door once and then let herself in, something that Danny had told her to do since nobody really answered the door on weekends.
"Hello?" she called. "Anyone home?"
"Sam!" shouted two female voices.
She was instantly swarmed by Maddie and Jazz Fenton as well as a police officer. But her thoughts were on the Fenton woman, both of whom looked pale and stressed, almost scared.
"What's going on?" she asked. She looked around the room, spotting Jack, who was sitting next to another police officer on the couch, wearing an identical worried look. "Where's Danny?"
"We were hoping you could tell us," Jazz replied, her voice instantly changing.
"What?" she asked.
"Sam, right?" the police man asked, stepping up to her.
"Yes, what is it?" she asked, confused.
"When was the last time you saw their son?" he asked. "Danny?"
"We went to the movies just last night," she replied, feeling her heart lurch. "What happened? Where is he?"
"Danny never came home last night," Maddie said quietly, her tone grave.
"And as of last night then, he's missing."
Now you'll probably get some ideas, but I'm going to let you think what you want because you know how I love to mess with you guys…Please R&R!
Here's your sneak peek!
Chapter Four: Missing
"This can't be happening," Sam said, feeling like she was going to cry. "I just saw him last night…"
"So there was a ghost then?" Jazz asked, pacing the stairs. "Last night?"
"I should have stayed with him," she said, suddenly realizing what could have happened. "Jazz, what if that ghost hurt him?"
"Don't say that," she said, panicked. "Don't say that. He'll…he'll come home. He has to come home."
Lateraina Wolf
