Page 107 of Unravel Me

Mrs. Greene jumps to her feet, wringing her hands. “That was fast. You said it would be longer.” She smiles, but it’s shaky. “Is that a good thing?”

I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to be responsible for breaking her heart, for telling her that her best friend isn’t going home tonight, that she won’t be curled up at her feet, or resting her head in her lap.

I clear my throat and step toward her. “Mrs. Greene—”

Her breath hitches, and she presses her hand to her throat, stepping back. “No.”

Everything pulls taut, so tight I feel like something has to snap. There’s a lump in my throat making it harder and harder to breathe. “Pepper’s GDV was extensive and advanced. Her stomach ruptured from the pressure shortly after we began, and we were not able to save her.”

My eyes burn as I watch hers fill with tears, spilling relentlessly down her face. I blink my own away, press my lips together to stop the sob that wants to escape.

“She was not in pain when she went. We made sure she was comfortable and loved. She was not alone.” My voice breaks on the last word, and I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder.

“Rosie held Pepper’s hand all the way through,” Dr. Holmes tells Mrs. Greene. “We know this is a lot to process. Would you like a moment alone, or would you like a shoulder?”

“I…” She sinks down to her seat. “I don’t…but Pepper…she was fine last night. Just last night she was fine.” Her gaze is lost, fixated on the floor, but I’d bet she’s not seeing a damn thing. Her eyes start roaming, bouncing around the room, like they’re making sense of the news.

Like she’s realizing she just lost her best friend.

I do fine. IswearI’m doing fine, even as her chest starts heaving. But when her face crumples, when a sob breaks free and she collapses into herself, burying her shaking hands in her hair and crying out for her dog, something inside me shatters. I clutch at my chest, trying to claw the pain right out of there, and Dr. Holmes whispers a simple, “Go,” in my ear before she takes a seat next to Mrs. Greene.

And I go. I throw my clipboard down at the doctor’s station and burst through the double doors leading to the reception area. I rush past the stares and out the front door, into the warm September afternoon, and I run.

I run across campus, until I wind up at the same bench I fell apart at two weeks ago, when Adam found me here after I lost my scholarship.

And I do the same thing I did then.

I don’t want to, but I give in to the pain, burying my face in my shaking hands and letting it go.

Like I did right here on this bench in the safety of the arms of someone I loved and trusted, I fall apart.

CHAPTER25

FOREVER FAMILIES

ROSIE

Adopted.

There’s this silly part of me, this small child buried so deep down, who sees that seven-letter word scrawled across the animal cage and, every single time, without fail, actually feels…jealousy. Grief for a family I lost, and a second one I was never given a chance with.

It doesn’t change a thing about how excited I am for the animals going home to be with their forever families. There’s nothing I want more than for them to live out the rest of their lives in luxury.

Luxury is being surrounded by all the love you need to walk through life. It’s having someone to laugh with on the good days, and arms to hold you up on the bad ones. Luxury…it’s the people who make it all worth it. Every single day.

I’ve lived with luxury, and I’ve lived without it. I know which one I’d choose.

I pull Mittens from his den, snuggling him against my chest. “I’m glad you’re getting your family, Mitts.”

He crawls up my shoulder, clinging tightly to me as I walk through the shelter.

“It’ll be okay, buddy.” I smooth my palm down his back as I reach the room where his new dad is supposed to be waiting. “You’re going to love your new family.”

He makes a low, growly sound, like he doesn’t believe me.

I push through the door, stopping when I see the large, tattooed man inside.

Jaxon Riley, who I now know to be the Vancouver Vipers superstar defenseman, one of the NHL’s most notorious fighters, a gigantic playboy, and one of Adam’s best friends, smiles. “Hi, Rosie.”

---