Portal House - Chapter 2
A Walk, Not A Drive
I noted the pressure in my chest, alongside the emptiness of hunger. I’d feel worse if I didn’t eat before medicating, and everything I needed was in that house.
“Where are you going?” Gary asked, bending the screen away from the kitchen window.
I dangled my keyring in response, looking across the yard at my sedan.
He sighed, failing to jam the window up. “Do you know if any of these are unlocked, or should I just break one?”
I shook my head, knowing he’d just keep trying, because that’s who he was. “Seems like a waste of energy,” I muttered, fishing my earbuds out of my pocket. I was detecting a pattern.
The calm beats trilled out of my earbuds as my heart pounded. I stopped walking, seeing movement in the passenger seat through my windshield. Did I see it, or was I just too shaken?
Last night, I assumed Gary had locked the door and gone to bed before I got home. The chair had moved from the side of the door where he liked to smoke, but only by a few feet. I could have imagined that, or he could’ve moved it himself. Three nights ago, he’d left his lighter sitting on the chair. As I was opening the door, I didn’t see it, but I definitely heard the lighter clatter to the ground. This was the first time I’d seen something moving around in my car, though. If I really did see it.
A robotic voice startled me out of my thoughts. It cut off my music, saying, “Low. Battery.” I sighed and put the earbuds back in their case. I pocketed both the case and my keys, looking over my shoulder.
“Do you want to take a walk? Maybe if we kill a few minutes, things will calm down by the time we get back.”
Gary was crouched down, frowning as he peered into the dark kitchen. “Yep, I’m coming.” He walked faster than me, straight to my car.
“A walk, not a drive,” I called out, unhooking a spare leash from the chain link fence. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to tag along.”
He jogged past me and opened the gate. “The kitchen lights are off now, by the way.”
“Aw, look at her tail,” I said, ignoring his observation. Our old mutt had her reddish-brown tail tucked so far between her legs that it looked like part of her belly.
“Poor Ruby, you look almost as scared as I feel,” he said, kneeling in front of her to kiss the top of her head. Ruby always calmed down when she was around him, and she tolerated me well enough.
I snapped the leash onto her collar once her tail started wagging, then handed it over to him.
“Changed your mind about driving?” Gary asked, still walking at a brisk pace. I looked at my car, giving it lots of space as I walked past.
As I opened my mouth to speak, Ruby let out a low growl. Her hackles raised slightly as her eyes fixed to my car. “What do you think?”
I reached down and gave her leash a little tug to snap her out of it. She snorted, turning her attention to the drying spaghetti sauce smeared on my pants as we reached the edge of the driveway. Gary glanced back at my car, then shook his head.
To Be Continued…
This one was also awesome. :)