Page 27 of Otter Heart
My heart sank as I realized I’d made a mistake. The rain wasn’t that loud because it was heavy, but because I’d left the slider open to let in some fresh air and had completely forgotten. When the thunder cracked and the power went out, Bessie must have bolted and broken through the screen in a fright.
That meant she was outside, terrified out of her mind, and running as fast as she could from the storm.
How was I ever going to find her?
???
“Are you okay?” Adam asked the moment I opened up the front door. “Your text made it sound like you were hurt or something.” He paused. “Why is your condo so dark?”
“The power’s out,” I replied, trying not to panic. “Bessie is missing.”
“What? Where did she go?”
“She’s afraid of storms and there was a giant crack of thunder, and she broke through the screen door, and I don’t know where she is.”
Adam placed his hands on my shoulders to steady me. I was panicking despite my best intentions. I grabbed his arm, looking up at him.
“I need your eyes, Adam.”
It was a desperate plea, and I hated that I couldn’t just fix this myself. But I needed someone that could spot Bessie if I was ever going to find her. I had horrific thoughts of her running into the road and being struck by a truck blinded by the rain. They’d never even know she was there. I couldn’t lose her though. She was the only friend I had in the entire world.
Adam’s grip tightened on my shoulders. “It’s okay, Mateo. We’ll find her. I promise.”
My chest swelled with relief. “Thank you, Adam! Thank you so much!”
“Come on,” he said, looping his arm in mine. “I’ve got the car. We can search faster that way.”
“Okay.”
Adam led me to the passenger seat, the pair of us getting absolutely soaked by the rain. I felt it running down my face and neck in rivulets as I pulled the door shut and slipped on my seatbelt. Adam joined me a moment later, even more wet than me. Rain pounded against the roof of the car and Adam turned over the engine. As he started to drive, the only thing I could do was give him directions and hints as to where Bessie might behiding. I was completely useless in this situation. The moment the car began to move, I lost track of where I was.
“She’s probably going to have herself stuffed in some out of the way spot. A shelter to get away from the rain and thunder,” I said as we drove. “She probably stayed in the condo complex.”
At least, that’s what I hoped.
“We’ll search here first then,” Adam replied, patting my knee.
The rain continued to pour down and the windshield wipers squeaked as they flashed across the glass. Adam kept talking the entire time, so I didn’t have a chance to panic even more. He told me where we were and what he was looking at each and every moment. He only stopped when I pointed him toward a more precise spot in the landscape. But after two full passes of the complex, we still hadn’t found her.
“Where is she,” I muttered, twisting my hands in my lap. “It’s not like her to keep running off like this. Even in the worst storms she just stuffed herself under the bed. I don’t understand why she’s been so weird lately.”
“It’s okay,” Adam replied, placing his hand on top of my fidgeting fingers. “We’ll just widen our search. Besides, the rain seems like it’s slowing down a little bit, so that should help, right?”
It sounded exactly the same to me. But I smiled anyway. He was trying to cheer me up and keep me from losing my mind. It was sweet of him to do, I just wished we had a better reason to smile. I wanted Bessie back by my side where she belonged.
“I’m gonna take us out to the main road. Last time I found her, she was down by the beach. Maybe she went that way.”
I nodded. “Alright. Just go slow, okay? I don’t want to miss her somewhere… orworse.”
“I know she’s okay. Dogs are smart. Especially yours.”
The car thumped over a speed bump as Adam drove us up and out of the condo complex. I heard the clicking of his blinker as we pulled up to the main road. A single car swept by beforewe pulled out and started searching again. Adam went slow, making sure he could thoroughly search each side of the road. I, in the meantime, just sat there worrying until I was practically a ball of anxiety.
“There’s… There’s something in the road,” Adam suddenly said, his voice apprehensive. “It’s brown.”
“Brown?” My heart thudded hard in my chest. “Like light golden brown or dark brown?”
I was terrified of his answer.
