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“Do you know this man?” I shake my head as they continue to pull me away.
Outside is loud, so loud that my ears ring. When my teeth start chattering, I realize the adrenaline has worn off, and I’m about to crash. What I don’t expect is to be placed in the backseat of a police car as the paramedics roll my savior out of the bank. I lost my purse somewhere in there, and it has everything in it. Including the last of the money I needed.
It’s for a Pitbull at a shelter that’s about to be put down due to aggression after being groomed in a dogfighting ring. He’s huge, scared, and scarred. Very much so because nobody has given him a chance.
Three times a week, I visit this shelter to walk the dogs, play with them, or do whatever else I’m asked to do. When I met Blue, I was shaken at first—learning what happened to him and the way he lunged at the cage when I stopped in front of him. But slowly, I built his trust. He was supposed to spend the rest of his days at a sanctuary dedicated to dogs like him, but Blue refused to leave his kennel.
It was decided then that he would be euthanized. That’s when I started pushing past my fear and spending more and more time with him. First, by sitting outside his kennel and reading books to him, then once he began showing signs of interest at hearing my voice, I begged Pete, the man in charge of volunteers, to allow me to change his food and water bowls. We worked through that tenuous interaction, and eventually, Blue began crawling into my lap and offering me his belly.
Adopting him is costing me a fortune, with all the licenses and permits I need, but I finally have enough money. Or I did.
Banging on the window, I yell at the officer standing guard outside my door that I need my purse. Not just for the money, but everything I own—my keys, my ID, my phone—my whole life—is in there.
“It’s evidence now, ma’am. You’ll get it all back once it’s been processed.” The officer’s voice comes out monotonic. He probably repeats that a dozen times a week.
My parents are going to be livid. I’ve put all this money, my weekly allowance for the last six months, into Blue, and now I won’t even get to bring him home. Not that they’ll care about that. They don’t like dogs. Or animals in general.
Despite my dad being a wealthy criminal attorney, he’s very stingy with his cash, which I find hilarious considering that even though I graduated high school this year, he doesn’t want me to get a job or go to college. He just reiterates that it’s his job to take care of me. Whatever that means. All my friends have gone off to college, their parents thrilled to have them out of the house and learning to be adults.
Meanwhile, mine want me to remain dependent on them forever, it seems.
The ambulance leaves, sirens blaring, and I chew my bottom lip, worrying for the handsome stranger. He passed out a second after our lips met, so I didn’t even get a full kiss. It would have been my first, too.
I sit in the back of the car for what feels like hours, but when we arrive at the station so the detective can take my official statement, it’s only slightly after lunch. I’m so exhausted I could sleep for a week.
“Miss Chambers?” he prompts for the third time after asking me how I know my mystery man. “I already told you, I don’t know him.” I’m getting more and more frustrated by the minute.
“We’ve reviewed the footage; he was very familiar with you.” I can only shrug. I don’t know what they want me to say. I’d never seen him before in my life. “How do you explain his defense of you, then? The way he handled you?”
“I can’t. I don’t know what you want from me, I just want to go home.” My tears spill over now, hot and heavy, as they slide down my cheeks and plop on the table I’m leaning over. They wouldn’t even let me call my parents. “Can I have my stuff back now?” I’m being treated like a criminal, and when my father finds out, there will be hell to pay.
“Tell me how you know Adonis Lorde, and you’re free to go. With your belongings.” I smile in relief, and his eyes light up.
“Is that his name? Adonis?” It’s very fitting. He certainly looks like some kind of god—all dark looks, brooding features, and a muscley frame. “Well, I met him today, seconds before the robbers came in. He grew angry when the one guy got rough with me.”
“And felt you up,” he points out, and I feel sick. I’ve been trying to forget about that. There are bruises from where the jerk touched me.
“I’d like to go home now.” Crossing my arms over my stomach, I look away from the detective.
He sits, staring at me like I’m a bug under his microscope or something. Studying me as if I’m a science experiment when all I want is to get Blue and go home.
“All right, Miss Chambers. You can go for now, but don’t leave the city. I’m going to have more questions for you.” I don’t know what for. He seems more interested in how I interacted with Adonis than the actual bank robbery.
Quickly leaving the room, I’m handed my belongings as I rush out the front of the police station. I’m not even sure where I am as I step into the sunlight. The summer sun warms the air, heating me despite how cold I feel inside.
All eyes appear on me as I begin walking towards the first bus stop I come across. I don’t know where it’ll take me, but anything has to be better than here. I feel so… violated after that interview. I know from my father that what I just experienced was a light interrogation. There was no interview happening there.
Fishing out the few dollars in change I have, I get on the arriving bus and take an empty seat before pulling out my phone to let the shelter know I’m still coming and beg for them to wait for me. I was surprised my three hundred dollars—the final adoption fee—was still in my wallet. I expected it to have gone missing. Not all cops are good, and some people can’t resist taking what doesn’t belong to them.
From San Bernardino, it takes nearly an hour of bus riding to get to Riverside, where the shelter is located, but I’m finally there. Covered in dry blood that raises the staff’s eyebrows and a thick sheen of sweat covering my flesh, but I make it just in time.
Thankfully, the paperwork has been filled out for weeks, and they’re happy to provide me with the leash, collar, and muzzle I’ll need to take Blue home. I hate the muzzle, but it’s part of the agreement I made. If I’m taking him out in public, he has to be wearing one.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” Pete asks me one final time as he hands me a bag with the rest of my paperwork.
Scratching Blue behind the ears, he sits quietly at my feet. “Positive.” I grin as we leave. It takes a while before the dog becomes comfortable with all the noise and the number of people around us, but he doesn’t lunge at anyone. He growls and barks, which is scary enough, but he always listens when I call for his attention. I think it has more to do with the bag of kibble-sized treats I feed him when he gives me his eyes.
Training Blue has been challenging and rewarding in a way I’ve never experienced. We still have a lot to learn about each other, but as long as he’s willing to put in the work, so am I.
