Chapter 16 (Keefe's POV)
A/N: This chapter is kind of long because I had a lot to put in it. I was also writing this with the speech type thingy on google docs, so if the writing style is a little different, that will probably be the reason. Also, warning, you will probably want to kill me because of this ending. Happy reading...
Me and Foster agreed on 3:00. It's 2:58. I came 30 minutes early. I don't even know why. I begged Ro to drive me, but she said she would either take me on time or I had to drive myself. I just sighed and walked out to the fancy car dad gave me. I don't like it because dad gave it to me. Otherwise, it would be everything I ever dreamed of.
A familiar red car drives up and Sophie hops out of the front seat. My heart skips a beat. She looks kind of excited, and that just makes me more excited. She looks around frantically, and I start waving my arms like a maniac. "Over here, Foster!" I yell at her, getting a few strange looks. I don't really care.
Sophie looks toward me and smiles so big that my heart almost leaps out of my chest. She runs toward me and when she reaches me, she traps me in a hug that is so tight, I can't breathe. I don't mind for once. She pulls out of the embrace and looks at me from an arm's length.
"Hi." She says, smiling. "Let's go inside!" I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her through the crowd of people to the door of the pet store. "I almost forgot!" Sophie exclaimed. "Eda… Sorry, I mean, mom is letting me get a puppy!" "What type do you want?" I ask. "Hmm." Sophie says, glancing up at my amazing blonde hair. "A golden retriever." I smile. "Perfect." I say.
As I pull Sophie to the dog section, she seems to lean into my touch more than she did before. It seems like she's getting used to me. "Here we are." I say. Sophie looks at all the dogs. There are small ones and big ones.
"Wow, this is a lot to choose from." She says. "Hey." I say catching the attention of a nearby worker. "We were wondering where you kept your golden retrievers." "We got a new family of golden retrievers yesterday." The worker explains. "We have them in the back just so we can get to know them before we bring them out with the other dogs." "Cool." Sophie says, cutting me off before I can speak. "Can we still buy one?" "Yes." The worker says. "I'll take you to the back."
Before I can say thank you to the worker, he takes us to the back where the golden retrievers are being kept. We have to walk through where the other dogs are being kept and they surround us. The worker ushers us to keep walking through the dogs even though they're whining at our feet. Sophie looks kind of guilty, so I gently push her to give her support.
She smiles at me and my heart skips a beat. Focus, Keefe. You're not supposed to be thinking about how beautiful she is right now. The golden retrievers are being kept and the worker holds the door open for us.
When we walk through the door, we see at least 10 golden retriever puppies tackling each other on the floor. Sophie takes in the sight and I can tell that she is even more excited about getting a dog. She walks across the room, careful not to step on any dogs. I can tell she's having trouble with picking what dog to choose.
Then, we see a dog in the corner who is curled up in a ball. His siblings seem to have neglected him and don't want to play with him. I can tell that Sophie feels bad for him and wants to help him.
"That one." She says, pointing to the little dog in the corner. "I want that one." The worker looks at the dog and says, "Are you sure? That dog has been quiet all week. It doesn't play, and won't let anyone go near it. Are you sure you don't want a more playful one?"
Sophie nods. "I want him." The shopkeeper shrugs and hands the puppy to her. It wiggles in protest in the worker's hands, but when Sophie reaches out and grabs him, cradling him gently, he stops wiggling. "Ok." The shopkeeper says. "That would be $1,000." "WHAT?" Sophie yells, startling the puppy. "It's okay." I tell her. "I'll pay for it." She looks up at me and smiles, but says, "Are you sure? It's a lot of money." "My dad is rich." I tell her. "I'll be fine." I can tell she wants to protest, but she stays quiet as I hand the worker my credit card and he scans it.
On the way out of the store, I bought a carrier for the dog. After I buy it, we walk out of the store, and Sophie and I look at the dog. "What will you name him?" I ask. Sophie looks thoughtful as she thinks about it, but then she tells me. "Iggy. I don't know why I feel like I have to name him that, but I just do." As she tells me this, we make it out of the store.
We walk across the parking lot, and I tell her she can ride with me. She grabs the carrier from me and puts him in it. Right after she does that, she starts coughing really loudly. I grab Iggy from her. "Sophie, are you ok?" I ask, sounding very, very concerned. That's probably because I am.
"No." She tells me. "My throat hurts really bad. It has for a while, it's just never really become a problem un…" Before she can finish her sentence, she coughs again. "My… my throat… It's really sore." She says hoarsely. "I'll take you to the hospital." I tell her, when she starts clutching her throat like she can't breathe.
"Call… my… mom." She says. "Ok." I tell her, grabbing her phone. "Edaline." She says, coughing hard again. I press her contact that says 'Edaline' and call her. I tell her who I am, about the situation, and where I am taking her daughter. It's all a blur. I'm not even filtering the words like I normally do. I'm just telling her what I know.
She tells me she'll meet me at the hospital, and I hang up. "Come on." I tell Sophie. I help her into the front seat. Then I put Iggy in the back and run around the car to the driver's side.
"Hang on." I tell Sophie. When I turn to look at her, her eyes are swollen. Her beautiful eyes. I turn the keys and hear the engine roar to life. I back out of my parking spot and rush out of the parking lot. Once I'm on the main road, I don't even care about speeding. I just want to make it to the hospital before it's too late.