Page 11 of Home Ice

"It is. I talked to him earlier."

I rest my hands on my hips and stare at her. "What did you do?"

She does her best to act shocked that I would even ask her the question. "Nothing. I just love nature so much, I can't wait to get out and be all in it."

"Mm-hmm. Well, you can wait two more minutes while I say hi."

"No, it's fine. I?—"

"Chloe!" Michael calls out from inside, and she cringes. It's so cute I have to fight back my urge to laugh.

"I think we should both go in and see Michael. Don't you?" I ask. She huffs out a breath and follows me as I walk inside. "Michael? It's Lily. Chloe is here with me."

She mutters "snitch" under her breath, and when I turn, she gives me the fakest smile I've ever seen.

Michael rounds the corner and pops a hand on his hip. "Chloe, if I didn't know better, I would think you were dashing off before you cleaned up your mess."

"But it's not my mess. It's Silver's."

"And who was staring at herself in the bathroom mirror for the last half hour while Silver dropped pieces of chewed up toy all over the house?"

Chloe gives a little stomp. Thanks to her boots, it sounds way more forceful than it really is. "I was doing my makeup. I had to get ready." Michael cocks his head to the side and quirks his eyebrows. "Fine. Whatever. I'll clean when I get back, okay?"

Michael doesn't move.

"Why don't we both do it before we go? I'll help," I say. "Sound good?"

"Not really… I mean, yes." She lowers her head in defeat and lets go of Silver's leash as she walks further into the house. I follow behind her and see why Michael is upset. There are pieces of stuffing and pink fur all over the bedroom and kitchen floors.

"Is this Silver's lion plushie?" I ask as I bend over to pick up something that could have been a paw. Or a nose. I can't really tell.

Chloe grumbles like she's just been forced to dig a well by hand in one-hundred-degree heat. "Yeah, it's his Roary. Things got a little out of hand when we played tug of war earlier. Then he wouldn't stop chewing Roary once he won."

This is beyond chewing. There are professional assassins who can't dismember a body as well as what Silver did to Roary. I look over at him. He's lying beside Chloe. His front paws are together and his head is resting on them as he innocently looks up at me. His eyes are so wide, I see the whites underneath them. How do dogs and teenagers always know how to put on the most innocent faces? "Is there a vacuum? You get the big pieces, and I'll suck up the small ones. Okay?"

She just looks at me and nods. Michael, though, steps closer. "You really don't have to do that," he says. "Her dog made the mess, so it's her responsibility."

"Honestly, I don't mind. Plus, I stopped after work and got us each a triple chocolate cookie from Ruby Snap. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we can eat those."

Beside me, Chloe gasps and breathes out a "yes!" as she kicks into high gear. Between the two of us, it takes only a few minutes before there's not a trace left of poor Roary. And after we both say our goodbyes to Michael, we head out to my car. Silver doesn't hesitate before hopping into the backseat. I wondered earlier if taking him for a ride in a strange car with a strange driver is a mistake, but he sits right down and stares out the window. His wet nose leaving trails on the glass.

"Is Silver good in cars?" I ask as I buckle up.

Chloe rolls her shoulders. "Dunno. First time he's been in one since I got him."

"How did you get him?" I turn the radio on low as I pull away from the curb in case she doesn't want to talk about it. I realize now that I know almost nothing about this girl's past. Just because I see myself in her doesn't mean that she's the same as me. Maybe her family had a reason to—I stop myself before I even finish the thought. There is no reason in the world for a family to give up on their fifteen-year-old child. But I know from first-hand experience that doesn't stop some of them.

"He kinda found me. You know Silver's Bar on 700 South? I slept behind the building for a few nights when I first came to town. One morning when I woke up, he was curled against me, and he hasn't left me since."

I don't know if the story is more heart-breaking or heart-warming. "Why sleep behind the bar? There's a hostel just a couple of blocks away. You didn't even have enough money for that?"

She twists in her seat to face me. "Maybe a couple nights. But I couldn't. I didn't know how they would react to me being... you know."

I do know. Hanging a rainbow flag and even having a non-discrimination policy are good signs, but it doesn't mean that a place is truly safe. And that must be even more so for a fifteen-year-old who has nowhere to go. "Yeah. So, Silver because you found him behind the bar?"

"Because he found me there."

I nod and keep driving. It doesn't take long before we get to the park. There are dozens of people around us, jogging or walking their dogs or just lying on the grass. Chloe holds Silver's leash tight as we walk to the lakeside pavilion. Then she ties it around the leg of a picnic table. "You know, when you said we were going to a park, I expected something a little more..." She waves her hand, searching for the right word.

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