I was mentally scratching my head when suddenly Chucky's body tensed. His ears twitched, and his nose turned toward the house.
A moment later, he took off at full speed toward Erika. She was crouching near the front entrance holding something in her outstretched palm. It looked suspiciously like a breakfast biscuit.
When Chucky dove for the biscuit, she scooped him up, biscuit and all, and dashed into the house, slamming the door behind her.
Wordlessly, I stalked up to the door and twisted the doorknob. It didn't budge. What the hell? I tried again. Nothing. I hollered through the door. "Hey! Erika! The door's locked. Let me in, alright? "
A moment later, the door flew open. Erika stood with insanely messy hair and Chucky held tight at her side. "What!" she screeched, barely keeping a straight face.
I glared at her. "Is that supposed to be funny?"
She grinned. "Yeah. Totally. Wasn't it?"
Probably on any other day, it would've been. Today, not so much. "You know," I said, "I'm really not in the mood for this."
"Oh c'mon," she said. "I rescued your dog, didn't I?"
"He's not my dog." I jostled my way inside and slammed the door behind me. My feet were numb, and the rest of me was only slightly less miserable. I looked down to see clumps of dirt lodged between my bare toes. "Stupid flower beds," I said.
I trudged into the living room, leaving a trail of dirt behind me. Just great. I mentally added floor-cleaning to my to-do list. I sank onto the front sofa and buried my face in my hands.
Erika flopped down on the recliner across from me. "That was your biscuit by the way."
I looked up. "Yeah. I figured."
"Want half of mine?" She held out a white paper bag.
I gave it a dubious look. "Does it have bacon?"
"Sorry."
"That's alright." I waved the bag away. "You go ahead. Eat. Honestly, I'm not hungry, anyway."
She reached into the bag and pulled out the biscuit. "Rough night?" she said, unwrapping it and taking a bite.
"You have no idea." I glanced over at Chucky, settling into his favorite basket. If only I had a basket. I'd probably never come out. I returned my gaze to Erika. "So what are you doing here?" I said. "I thought you were heading back to State."
"Yeah. I'm on the way now, actually. But I couldn't find my dorm key. You haven't seen it here, have you?"
I groaned. "Oh crap. I'm sorry." I vaguely recalled seeing a strange key last night while rushing around getting ready for work. "I meant to call you, but…" I shook my head, not sure where to start.
So I started at the beginning and kept going.
When I was done, Erika sat in stunned silence. I'd just told her everything that had happened since I'd seen her last, starting with the so-called kidnapping attempt and ending with everything Lawton had told me during the walk home.
Her mouth hung open. "Andallthis happened since I saw you last?"
I nodded.
"But that was only last night."
"Tell me about it," I said. "So now, Lawton wants another chance. But I'm not so sure."
She laughed. "You liar."
"I'm not lying," I said.
"You are, too. You're totally nuts for him."
