This is redoubtably my favorite chapter so far. Quick! Find out the verdict...
One hundred and eighteen, one hundred and nineteen... one hundred and twenty seconds.
I look down and see only one line. I'm not pregnant.
I sit on the lid of the toilet seat, staring down at the test. I'm not pregnant. I didn't really think which outcome I would have preferred. I think back to the look the woman at the shop gave me, that condescending look telling me I'm too young, I am so young. Then I think back to how happy the idea of having Tobias' child made me... I cry.
I'm not sure if there tears of joy or sadness, I think they're a little bit of both. It's minutes later that my eyes dry up. I hear the door to the apartment open, it must be Tobias. I wipe my face to make sure there's no sign that I'm crying and step out of the bathroom.
I look over and the first thing I see are deep brown eyes, a little bundle of black and brown fur. The last time I saw these eyes they looked at me with a heartbreaking loneliness, now all I see is joy. He's sitting, panting with his tongue hanging out, it's almost as if he's smiling. I look up to Tobias holding the beautiful puppy on a black lead, he has the biggest smile on his face I have ever seen placed there. I look back down to the puppy and it lets out a happy yip. My eyes begin to tear up again and my legs give out my knees hitting the ground, the small pup is up in an instant as he runs to me and leaps into my arms.
I pull it back to get a better look, it's one of the most beautiful creatures I've ever seen. It's tiny tongue licks the tip of my nose and I laugh.
"Hello." I say through my chuckles and tears. It's fur is so soft, tail wagging happily. It lets out another bark, sounding more like a yip. I squeeze it tightly to my chest, careful not to hug too tightly, it nuzzles into my neck and licks my ear. I chuckle again.
"So, you like mum do you, little buddy?" Tobias asks as he walks over to us, kneeling in front of me. Mum? As I hold this little, furry baby to my chest I can feel it's heart beat rapidly from excitement. I may not be pregnant, but I just got a new baby.
I look up to Tobias and he smiles at me, I smile back.
"Do you like him?" He asks. Him, a boy. A little soft furry baby boy to call my own?
"I love him." I say, smiling wider. He wriggles a little and I set him down, he jumps so his two front paws are on Tobias' knees. His tail is still wagging happily as he stares up at Tobias and he stares down to the puppy.
"He's only 12 weeks old, but already pretty well trained. He's a Rottweiler, that's the breed of dog." Tobias informs be.
"Does he have a name?" I ask.
"Not yet." Tobias replies. I look down to the puppy, he jumps off Tobias's lap and does the same to me, looking up with a smile. I see a small tag attached to his Black collar, it has the dauntless flames blazing.
"Blaze." I say, still looking down at the pup, he barks at me happily.
"I think that's perfect."Tobias says, picking him up.
"Do you like that, Blaze?" He asks, he's met with an approving yip. Tobias and I both laugh. Tobias sets Blaze down and we stand. Blaze begins to sniff and disappears under the bed.
"I'm glad you like him." Tobias says, wrapping his arms around my waist as we both stare at where Blaze had emerged from under the bed, still sniffing around.
"I saw him yesterday, through a tarp. He looked so sad." I tell him.
"He doesn't look sad now." Tobias replies. It's true, he's a bundle of joy.
"Can we go show him to Christina?" I ask excitedly.
"Of course." Tobias agrees. He kneels down.
"Blaze, come."He says in an affirmative voice, Blaze stops what he's doing and races over to Tobias.
"Good boy!" He praises, rubbing his head. Tobias grabs the lead Blaze has been dragging around with him, but I pick Blaze up and cradle him to my chest so Tobias hands me the lead and we head out the door, our beautiful new puppy in my arms.
We walk a few doors down to Will and Christina's room. Will answers the door.
"Hey guys," Christina says, drying her hair with a towel as she walks out of the bathroom, I'm very glad to see that she is dressed. Blaze lets out a 'look at me' yip.
"Oh!" Christina gasps as she drops her towel and runs towards us. "A puppy!" She yells with excitement.
"Christina stop." Tobias says sternly as Blaze growls, the fur on his tiny little back sticking up. I can see he's pulled his mouth back to expose his tiny little fangs. She stops about a meter away from us, a confused look on her face and she looks to Tobias.
"Slowly, you shouldn't scream and run at a dog." He informs her.
"Oh, sorry." She whispers for some reason as she slowly makes the rest of her way.
"Hand out, palm down." Tobias instructs her. "Blaze, it's okay boy." He says in a much more positive voice, Blaze looks over to him and then back to Christina. She did as Tobias said with her hand and Blaze sniffed cautiously, after a few seconds he licks her and gives a happy yip.
"Oh, you are just adorable, look at you!" She says as she holds out her arms and I pass Blaze over to her. He's got his happy panting happening again. "Look at him!" She says to me with the biggest smile on her face.
"I know." I smile back. Christina snaps her head to Will who has followed Tobias' instructions and is now patting Blaze.
"I want one!" Christina pleads. Will chuckles.
"Let's go have a look then." Will suggests, Christina squeals handing Blaze back to me and running into the bathroom. She comes out seconds later with neatly brushed hair and a line of black around her eyes.
We all head down to the Pit where the pet shop is. Everyone that passes us stares at Blaze, almost all smiling, three people stop us to ask about him. When we get to the pet shop half of dauntless is there. It's much bigger than I thought. At the back is an entire 20 meter wall of fish tanks. On the left is a wall of enclosures full of kittens, to the right a wall with cages for the dogs. I'm glad to see that the cages are quite large, obviously the cage I saw Blaze in yesterday was just a temporary one. In the middle are several isles stocked with pet care items.
"Did you want a puppy or a kitten?" Will asks Christina. She looks over to the kittens quickly before heading to the dogs calling 'Puppy!" behind her pushing through the crowds of people.
"We're going to buy some things for this little guy." Tobias says to Will, who then goes after Christina.
Tobias leads us to the shelves with a large sign saying 'Dog Accessories' above them. There's toys, collars, bowls, food... everything we could need.
"How much did he cost?" I ask Tobias, suddenly interested.
"15 points." He answers. That's rent for the apartment for three weeks. It's not too bad though, Tobias and I both have high paying jobs after both ranking first in out initiate classes.
We stop in front of the food there's a few choices. I see a bag with a picture of a puppy that looks a lot like Blaze on the front, it reads 'Puppy: Large breed' seems to be what we need. I point to it and Tobias grabs a bag off the shelf. Most of the price tags are 2 points. I come across a stack of dog beds, I guess he could sleep on the bed with us, but he's so small if he falls off the side he might hurt himself. There all black, most of the store is. I find one that could easily fit two Blaze's on it and pass it to Tobias.
"You know he's going to get really big right?" Tobias asks. I didn't know much about dogs, but I'd seen some around. I'd never seen one like Blaze though.
"When he out grows it he can sleep on our bed." I say.
"You're going to spoil him ridiculously aren't you." Tobias says with a chuckle. It's probably very true.
We continue down the rows, Tobias has turned Blaze's bed into a bag of sorts, putting everything in it. We grab some toys; a rope, a ball, a little rubber bone and a little plush teddy bear that squeaks when you press down on its belly. We also buy a roll of bags made for picking up after him and some food and water bowls.
"I've fallen in love!" Christina calls out as she comes over to us. In her arms is a little black puppy, it looks a bit like Blaze but it's all black and a bit smaller. "Isn't she the most beautiful girl you've ever seen?!" She asks as she gets to us. Her pup tilts its head towards Blaze and sniffs, I move closer to Christina bringing the pup's closer together. They both sniff for a moment before Blaze breaks out in a smile. The black puppy yips and starts a happy pant.
"Oh, she's so cute when she does that!" Christina states excitedly. She is beautiful, but Blaze has stolen my heart already, he is the most gorgeous puppy I will ever see.
"They said she's only 13 weeks old, they called her a Labrador." Christina informs us. Will has finally caught up to Christina, a little out of breath.
"Stop running with the poor pup." Will suggests. Christina glares at him.
"She was meeting her new boyfriend." Christina says, moving her even closer to Blaze, he nudges her pups nose with his. I smile down at him and his new 'girlfriend'.
"What will I call you?" Christina says as she gives the little pup a little scratch on her tummy.
"You know I had another special girl in my life once," Christina says to the puppy, her face falls a little, "My little sister. Her name is Rose. You're beautiful, just like her." A tear falls down Christina's cheek. "Would you like to share her name?" She asks the pup, who yips at her. Christina smiles and looks up to Will, he wraps his arms around her and kisses her quickly on the temple.
"I think it suits her perfectly. Doesn't it Rose?" He asks the puppy, she yips again.
"I think Blaze and Rose make a very cute couple." Christina says with a teary smile.
Christina and Will shop around for Rose as Tobias and I head to the ridiculously long line at the counter, there's at least twenty people in front of us. We end up paying 14 points for all Blaze's things, I pay for them seeing as though Tobias paid for Blaze. We're heading out as Christina, Will and Rose get into the line; They'll be there a while.
We head up to the apartment and set up all Blaze's things. He loves the ball even though it's a little too big for his little mouth, he walks around with it stretching his mouth wide open. Apparently he has been taught to only do his business on grass, so we take him up to the courtyard above out apartment and surely enough he takes two steps onto the grass and I'm needing to use the waste bags.
There's tonnes of other dogs and cats in the courtyard. It's a rather large court yard - at least 100 meters square – there's plenty of room for all the animals to play. I'd say there at least 40 pups running around and maybe 20 kittens? It's surprising how well behaved they all are. I did expect it I guess, there were strict rules put in place, but it's a beautiful site to see all these pups and kittens playing together, Tobias and I make sure Blaze never leaves our sight. I must say he's a great conversation starter, I've had conversations with people I never knew existed. All the new pet owners are conversing, bragging about their new additions. There's such a range in the animals; big and small: mostly small – puppies and kittens, outgoing and timid: mostly outgoing – they reflect their owners, dark and light: mostly dark - it is dauntless after all.
As I look around I can see the happiness that is radiating from every being; human, dog and cat. It's fascinating the happiness a bond like this can create, all I know for certain is that as I look down at Tobias cradling Blaze to his chest all I feel is love.
Did you like it?! :D I loved it!
I'm going to be adding some pictures to my profile of Blaze and Rose :)
Fun fact #218 - I have a beautiful black Lab X named Blaze. I'll post a photo of him just in case you're curious :P He is my baby, very inspirational to the story... I remember when he was a puppy.. Argh, proud mummy I am, he's the closest thing i have to a child. Haha.
Small rant about myself - I love dogs! Everything about them, especially my baby Blaze. I volunteer at the local animal rescue, dogs are a very important part of my life.
Check out the pictures i'm putting up on my profile, they are so cute!
I hope you liked this chapter too!
-Kayla