Page 58 of Between Us

“Pillows!” Shawn shouts and throws the stack at me.

“Here, Blake, let me wra—”

Grabbing the wrap out of Mikey’s hands, I cut him off. “I’ll do that, my man. You go make some popcorn and choose a movie to watch with your brothers. You’re on lockdown for the rest of the night.”

“Lockdown?” he spits back at me. His entire body flinches, and he grimaces like he’s never heard of a punishment before. Which you can hardly call a movie night.

“Mikey,” Blake scolds. “I can call your parents and ruin their night out, but you’ll probably only get in more trouble.”

He makes a bratty face in her direction as he turns on his heel to the kitchen. Shawn reluctantly follows him, but Luke climbs into the spot I vacate next to Blake. Sitting across from them while I wrap Blake’s ankle, I’m mesmerized by the sight in front of me. Luke doesn’t hesitate for a second before he nuzzles his way under her arm and looks up at her as if this is a normal occurrence.

We’re both silent as he recaps the earlier events that lead to Mikey’s grand idea. I’m not really paying attention as I get toward the end of the fabric, but Blake’s low, worried question instantly pulls me back.

“Wait… Luke… you guyshidZippy?”

“Yeah, of course we did. If you saw him, it would’ve ruined the prank.” He shrugs, unconcerned. “I guessyoukinda did that anyway though.”

Her sharp eyes cut down to him quickly as I snort in amusement. Except once her eyes meet mine, I know something’s really wrong. All the color has drained from her face, even the pink tint from her pain and embarrassment earlier. “I forgot about the G.D. dog, Adrian.”

Sitting up straight, I ask the kid, “You have a dog?”

“Yeah! Zippy! Momloveshim.”

Nodding, more so to keep myself calm rather than because anything’s actually okay. “Where is Zippy?”

“In the attic.”

“What?” Blake screeches, eyes wide in panic. She moves to get up, but I place a hand on her thigh before she can. “Mikey!” she screams at the same moment he runs back into the room.

“Wha—ohshit!” The memory of his family pet must dawn on him because he runs past us. Blake’s body twists to watch him sprint up the stairs chanting ‘oh shit, oh shit,oh shit’ repeatedly. When she whips back to me, she’s stunned into silence but frantically gestures to the stairs.

“Okay I’ve got it. You three stay here.” Jogging toward the stairs, I call back, “Help Blake elevate her foot!”

“You’repositivehe’s okay?” Mrs. Paulson asks for the fourth time. She’s clearly upset about Zippy’s injury, and I was warned how much she loves this dog.

Blake doesn’t seem to mind Erika as much as she does her mom Polly, but I definitely see some similarities between the two women.

Blake and I tried our best to come up with a story for both of their injuries without getting the boys in trouble. Proving that he’s a lot better of a kid than the town seems to give him credit for, Mikey admitted everything to his parents. From hiding Zippy, setting up the skeleton, and how the prank caused Blake to twist her ankle.

He’s grounded for a week, but he scored a few brownie points with me. And from the way Blake smoothed his hair while he was telling his mom about our evening, I’d guess he did with her as well.

“We’re pretty sure we located the spider that bit Zippy while he was in the attic. And there are no signs that it was venomous. He’s just having an allergic reaction. The Benadryl will help, and he’ll be able to get some rest.Butif you noticeanything, call the vet clinic.”

Blake scrunches her nose but doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t have to though.

That’s exactly what she was trying to avoid.

Looking down at the dog in Mrs. Paulson’s arms before moving her gaze to her husband, she nods toward the kitchen.

“Okay, boys,” Mr. Paulson says as he tries to round-up the three boys. “Tell Blake and Adrian good night, and we’ll wait for your mom with a snack.”

Each of the boys stop at Blake’s side and give her a big hug, offering another apology as they go. To my surprise, each one pauses for a quick second to give me a squeeze before running after their dad.

We look back at Erika at the same time. “I assume this would cost a couple hundred dollars at least if I take him to get it checked.”

Blake opens her mouth, seeming at a loss for words. It’s clear that Erika would feel the most comfortable with taking him in. And there’s a churning of guilt in my stomach at the realization that we made a somewhat big medical decision about her pet without her consent.

I glance down at Blake, trying to hide the avalanching feelings from her. I don’t want her to feel guilty for a decision we both made. She didn’t force me into anything. Iwantedto help this family if I could. Though maybe it was short-sighted.

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