Page 4 of Being Us (Next Generation 4)

After my workout, I was wired. I took a shower, cleaned myself up and decided to see if I could get some sort of answer. From someone. But I couldn’t even call anyone in my club. Everyone had turned on me and I had no idea as to why. I wasn’t easy to get along with. I got that. But no one seemed to care when I was paying them to keep their mouths shut.

Before I could leave the apartment, Trigger hobbled toward me. He gave me a deep woof, resting his body weight against my legs.

“I won’t be gone long,” I told him, scratching behind his ears.

He woofed again.

I crouched, earning me a lick.

I chuckled, the tension resting on my shoulders easing some at the mere affection he was giving me. Kissing the top of his head, I ran my hand down his body. “You behave, alright? If you have a lady over, just put a sock on the door.”

He woofed again.

I stood and headed to the door when Trigger barked. I paused in my steps, staring down at him. He didn’t normally bark. Not loud anyway. It usually ended up being a deep sound, almost like a grunt because he didn’t have the energy for more. But this time, for whatever reason, he did.

He looked up at me with those golden eyes of his.

“What’s wrong?” I wished he could tell me. Something was off but I had no idea what he was trying to say.

Trigger slowly walked over to the door and sat, almost like he was telling me to stay home.

“I can’t stay home. You know that, Trig. I have to get answers.” I crouched back down, meeting him at eye level. “I need to get a better home for us.”

He snuffed, shaking his head.

“Sorry, buddy. Dad has to go.” I rose to my full height. He did the same and walked past me. Heading to the door, another bark sounded as soon as I placed my hand on the doorknob.

Looking over my shoulder, I found him with his leash in his mouth, wagging his tail. He hadn’t wanted to go for a walk in over a week. Something was up with him tonight.

“Alright, I’ll take you with me but if you cause trouble, I’m leaving you home next time.” I grabbed his leash and clipped it onto his collar.

He gave me a deep woof, nudged his snout against my hand, and wagged his tail.

My heart warmed over the fact that I hadn’t seen him this happy in a long time. He was hardly active anymore. He wasn’t even active when he first came to live with me. But over the past few weeks, it had gotten worse. I wished I could have known him as a puppy and saved him from the hell he had lived in.

“Let’s go, old man.” I opened the door and led him out into the hall before locking up the apartment. Not that it mattered really. I had nothing of importance in it now that Trigger was with me at my side. The apartment wasn’t my home but more of a cover-up instead. Just no one knew that unless I told them.

When we left the building, I gave the homeless man who was still sitting by the doorway, another wad of cash and started walking Trigger. Or more so, he was walking me.

“Hey.” I tugged on the leash gently. “What’s gotten into you?”

He tried dragging me, pulling me away from what, I couldn’t be sure. But for a dog with arthritis and other ailments, he was strong as hell.

“Trigger,” I said, my voice firm.

He stopped suddenly, sitting his butt on the ground beneath him, his tail no longer wagging. His ears stood up straight, his eyes locking on something. He was on high alert and I had no idea why.

This part of town was quiet for the most part. Surprisingly. Especially when other areas in the city that weren’t as bad, kept the authorities busy. No, this area was only bad during the day. It was like the criminals wanted to challenge the cops by keeping them on their toes and showing their faces. It didn’t make sense if you asked me.

Unsure as to what caught Trigger’s attention, maybe it was a cat, I tugged on his leash again. “Come. We’re going to visit a friend.” Although, I wouldn’t really call him a friend. He had been the only person I kept in contact with over the months I had disappeared. And the only person I trusted. Which was saying a lot. I didn’t even trust myself half the time, but this fucker wormed his way into my heart until he became like the brother I should have had. Truth was, my own brother had died some time ago. He got caught up with the wrong people, ended up in jail and was killed because they had found out he was gay. I despised homophobic assholes. Ever since then, if I saw or heard someone giving a person a hard time just because of their sexual orientation, I kicked their ass.

As Trigger and I continued walking toward our destination, I couldn’t help but listen to the noises around us. People milled about, going in and out of bars. It was still early in the evening. The sun had set about an hour before. A few cars drove up and down the street. A gunshot sounded off in the distance, followed by sirens. Trigger walked slowly, taking in everything around us as well.

“I don’t know what you can hear, buddy, but I’m not a fan of this nervous energy coming off of you,” I mumbled.

Trigger woofed.

I sighed.

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