Page 34 of Something Unavoidable

His phone buzzed to let him know it was starting. Then it buzzed more and kept buzzing. Izzy slowed to a stop, cringing as notification after notification popped up on the screen. He had missed calls and texts, emails, app notifications—the list went on. His stomach churned.

Sure, he’d maybe-kinda walked out of work without telling anyone where he was going—but it wasn’t like he’d been difficult to find. A text to Eli or Hunter would have solved the mystery. Unfortunately, his messages went way beyond the usual suspects. He had a missed call from his dad and a text from his mom. His mom never texted. She claimed she didn’tunderstand how it worked, which Izzy thought was bullshit. She was able to post on social media from her phone, so there was no reason she couldn’t answer a text.

It didn’t stop there. He had missed DMs from people he hadn’t spoken to in years. Not since the accident.

He knew Emma’s statement would be a big deal in one little corner of the horse world, but this was out of control. Didn’t people have anything better to do with their time?

The answer was no. They didn’t. Social media was a dumpster fire, and people loved to watch things burn.

He swiped the notifications away, refusing to think about them. He had bigger problems right now. Like figuring out how he was going to get out of here before Keegan woke up. He needed a ride.

As always, Archer picked up on the first ring. “Hey. Glad you’re not dead.”

Izzy winced. “Yeah. Sorry. It was… It was a day yesterday.” Understatement. “Um… I’m at Keegan’s. Can you guys swing by and get me?”

There was a long pause, then Archer said, “No.”

Izzy’s stomach dropped, and he wrapped an arm around himself to stop its fall. “What?” He coughed. Archer had never said no before. Not even the time Izzy had ended up an hour away in the city by mistake. “Why not? What’s wrong?”

Archer sighed into the phone. “Nothing’s wrong, Iz. But I’m not coming to get you. I’ve been at work for an hour already, and the roads are shitty. I’m not going to risk driving more than I need to.”

“But…” Izzy floundered. “What the fuck am I supposed to do, then? Walk?” His eyes burned, and his breathing sped up as he paced across the kitchen.

“Izzy,” Archer said, patient in that way he got when Alice was having a hard time understanding something. “You’re atKeegan’s house—which I’m not going to ask about because it’s not my business. Get him to drive you.”

Izzy was already shaking his head, even though Archer couldn’t see him. “Yeah, no. That’s not going to work.” His chest was getting tight. He shut his eyes, trying to focus. “Please, Arch. I’ll-I’ll do all your stalls this week. And I’ll buy you those new boots you’ve been eyeing.”

“Man… You hate stalls, and those boots are three hundred bucks. What the fuck did you do that you’d rather spend three hundred dollars than sit in a car with Keegan?”

“Does it m-matter?” Izzy asked, his voice cracking. He clenched his jaw. He couldn’t catch his breath. “Fuck,” he bit out. “Never mind. I’ll fig-figure it out.” He ended the call and dropped into a crouch, back against a kitchen cabinet. He pressed the edge of the phone to his forehead, gripping it hard enough that his fingers ached.

Fuck.Fuck.His chest hurt, and his pulse was pounding in his ears. He swallowed repeatedly against the bile burning its way up the back of his throat. He couldn’t breathe. His head screamed, and his leg ached something fierce. The room started to spin.

Just when he was sure he had no choice but to pass out, something bumped his arm. He tried to turn away but was followed by a warm, canine nose, then a wet tongue, swiping over his cheek. The weight of a furry body leaned into his side, heavy enough that he was forced to sit, then lie back as the dog—he wasn’t sure which one—crawled on top of him and stretched out, pinning him down.

Instead of feeling trapped, it was like having his own personal weighted blanket. Izzy dropped his phone, not worried about where it landed, and sank his fingers into warm, soft fur.

In response, he got an enthusiastic lick to the face that made him sputter and choke on a painful, wheezing laugh. Dammit,why did everything hurt so much? Was he having a panic attack or a heart attack?

He got another doggie kiss and was curious enough about which dog was loving on him that he pried open his eyes.

Everything was foggy until he blinked a few times and realized it wasn’t fog, but fur. Riley was sprawled on top of him, her white muzzle inches from his face, her blue eyes focused intently.

Izzy stroked a gentle finger over her soft ear. Her steady breathing was gusting against his face, and he did his best to match it. The vise around his lungs released in increments, eventually letting him suck in a full breath for the first time in what felt like hours.

“Good girl,” he murmured, despite the fact that she couldn’t hear him. He needed to say it. He’d never been so grateful to an animal before. Sometimes at the ranch, Ryan’s dog Milo would hang out with Izzy when he was having a bad day, but he’d never been so insistent about getting in Izzy’s space, and he’d never pulled Izzy from a full-on panic attack.

Izzy kept petting her, knowing he should get up and figure his shit out, but unable to convince himself to let go of the comfort. He’d only just managed to sit, leaning against the cabinets, when Keegan walked in, barefoot and yawning.

He stopped, looked at Izzy, then at his dog, then back to Izzy. “You know I have chairs, right?” he asked, bemused.

Izzy dropped his gaze to Riley. She turned her head and licked his wrist again in what felt like encouragement. “She didn’t give me much choice.”

Keegan paused, seconds ticking by, before asking, “Are you okay?”

Izzy shrugged. Then his phone, which had landed several feet away, began to buzz against the floor. He flinched.

Before he could decide what to do about it, Keegan scooped it up, glanced at the screen, then held it out to him.

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