Chapter 4
"Fang!" I shrieked, tears streaming down my face as I sprinted over to the truck that had slammed on the breaks, leaving dark skid marks in its path. "Fang! Please, oh my God! Fang!" My throat began to ache as I screamed his name, my vision blurring viciously. I couldn't see much but the glob of gray truck in front of me, but I didn't care. I had to see Fang, to make sure my precious best friend was okay.
"Max! Max calm down!" Iggy called but I couldn't, nor would I attempt to even as I slowed to a stop in front of the truck, looking around the sides. My mind was racing a million miles a minute as I struggled to catch a glimpse of him without actually looking under the truck. I was too afraid to look under the truck. What would I find? I wasn't sure, and that terrified me. "Max!" Iggy panted, yanking me away from the large vehicle as the man shoved his driver's door open and climbed out, slamming it shut behind him as he scowled at his tires before looking up at me.
Immediately, the angered look faded to one of sympathy as a pang of fury raged through me. "Was that your dog, Miss?" He asked quietly, pulling the university cap off his head, his wild brown hair partly stuck to his forehead with sweat.
"You," the word came out as a menacing accusation as I stalked towards him, the anger I felt undeniably radiating off of me in waves as I glared at him. "You ran. Over. My. Dog,"
"Ma'am, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to-" The college boy started, but I was too eager to wrap my hands around his throat and strangle him to let him finish the sentence. I let out something one would consider a battle cry from my mouth, further irritating my throat as I lunged forward, tackling the man onto the asphalt and pulling my fist back before thrusting it forward. The young man winced at the last second, causing my knuckles to slam against his cheekbone instead of his nose like I had planned, but there was still a satisfying yelp that made it worth it.
"You… son… of… a—"
"Max!" Iggy yanked me off the guy after only four more solid punches to his face, which admittedly looked crooked and bruised after just the punches, but still.
"I'm so sorry, sir, she-"
"I'm not sorry for anything! That dick just tried to kill my dog!" I yelled, turning on him once again as Iggy held his strong arms around my waist, keeping me from sprinting forward and destroying the man who thought speeding around corners was acceptable.
The college boy sat up and leaned against his truck tire for support as he pulled himself to his feet, groaning as he squeezed his nose to keep it from bleeding. "No, it's okay. I deserved that," he mumbled, looking over at me sadly as I flailed my limbs in every direction, trying to get Iggy's grip to loosen just enough for me to slip out of it. He wouldn't budge though, and instead left me to fight until my sobs and my fears caught up with my fury, slowly diminishing it along with all of my energy.
Before I knew it I had fallen against my friend in a heap of tears, choked sobs, and snot as I clutched onto his shirt and buried my face in his chest. I couldn't believe it. My worst nightmares were finally diving into reality. I hadn't even gotten to spend a full ten years with my amazing dog yet and at this moment, I didn't think I ever would. I desperately tried to compile a single thought into a sentence, but I couldn't bring myself to do so.
All I could do was think of Fang, and his gorgeously sharp-toothed smile, or the way he would sit in my lap and watch a movie with me, cocking his head to the side in interest as people roamed around the screen. I thought about the way he had our morning routine memorized and was ready to go before I had even blinked in the sunlight fully. I thought about how he woke me up in the morning, his slobber swarming over my cheek. What if he never woke me up again? What if our morning routine never happened again? What if there was no dog for Sam to be allergic to, no dog to chase the mailman into a heart attack? What would I do without my dog to cuddle with at night? I couldn't even imagine it. I didn't even want to think about it.
"We have to look," I spoke up after a long moment, my words cracking every other syllable with the painstakingly large amount of energy and strength it took to speak them.
"I know, let me do it though." Iggy volunteered, stroking my hair comfortingly as he began to loosen his grip on me.
'Iggy, I couldn't ask you to-"
"Max. Let me. I don't think I want you to see what's under there," he spoke, pressing a kiss on the top of my head before warily walking over to the gray vehicle. He glanced over at the college student who had shoved the hat back on his head and eyed me cautiously as Iggy dropped to his knees, bracing his hands against the rocky asphalt before lowering himself down as if he was doing a push-up and dropping all his weight at once as he looked under the truck.
For a long time he just laid on his stomach, staring at whatever lay underneath the truck. Seconds ticked by like hours, and minutes ticked by like days. It was excruciatingly painful to stand there and watch him lay there as rigid as a dead man. "Well?" I snapped out, hugging myself tightly as fresh tears began to swim into my vision, blocking me from seeing Iggy clearly as he pushed himself up onto his knees, but didn't stand completely.
"Max. Fang's not there," he spoke, his voice a confused jumble of wonder before he laid down to look under the truck again, then sat up, laid down, sat up, triple-checking whatever he saw before looking back at me helplessly.
"He's… dead?" I asked, my voice breaking hysterically as the tears silently trailed down my cheeks, the agonizingly painful discovery falling over me all at once. He was dead. Fang. My dog. My pet. My best friend. The one thing in this world I cherished abruptly ripped out of my arms by an idiot who drove too fast and turned too recklessly. I didn't know how I could ever continue on with my life without Fang by my side to lick my hand and reassure me, or to bark at the nightmares until they fade into wondrous dreams.
"No. I mean-" Iggy began, but a weak groan cut him off. I blinked, turning to the man who had hit my dog, but he only shook his head, indicating that it wasn't him.
"What was that?" I asked out loud, speaking the question we all wanted an answer to.
"Max," a voice whined weakly, sounding raspy and sluggish. My eyes widened as I looked around, only to find that Iggy, College Boy, and I were the only ones within earshot. The one who had run Fang over also looked shocked to be hearing voices, his head whipping around as he tried to pinpoint who had said it. However Iggy didn't look confused, or curious at all. He just looked scared.
"What?" I asked, turning to him. Wondering if this was some sick, elaborate joke he had created.
"Max, there's someone—" He was cut off by the olive-skinned hand that reached out from under the truck. I gasped, stumbling backwards as the hand stretched into an arm that connected to a shoulder, which connected to a neck.
By the time the olive-skinned boy poked the upper half of his body out from under the truck I was already sobbing again. His hair was a midnight black, just like Fang's coat, and his eyes. His large, curiously happy puppy dog eyes bore into my own brown ones with the kind of love only an animal could feel for a human being.
"Max!" He exclaimed happily, scrambling out from under the car onto all fours, then looking down at himself oddly.
"Uh… what's going on?" The college boy asked, looking down at the naked teenager that had just crawled out from under his truck. The naked teenager that had gorgeous dark brown, almost black, eyes.
Fang's eyes.
