Page 76 of Center of Gravity

The girl kneeling next to him was crying and I could hear him whimpering. Bile rose in my throat as I sprinted for the car.

The girl looked up as I dropped to a crouch next to her, her cheeks tear-streaked and her breaths quavery.

“He’s not dead. I thought he was a squirrel, he was going so fast and—oh God. Did I kill him?”

I realized I still had my fucking keys and phone in hand, and shoved them both into the waistband of my running shorts.

Asphalt gouged my knee as I crouched down beside Winslow. I couldn’t see his hind end, just his head and a smear of blood. I didn’t know whether that was bad or good.

His eyes lolled toward me, wet and wide, and he whined. Heart racing, I carefully ran my hand along his trembling side. When he yelped, I pulled back.

“I should move the car. Should I move the car?” The girl was frantic, maybe sixteen, her eye makeup all over her face, a smattering of freckles across her nose.

“No,” I snapped. “Be quiet for a second.” She sobbed again as I got down on my stomach and looked beneath the car. Winslow wasn’t trapped, but one hind leg was badly mangled and there was a deep gash across his belly. “Fuck,” I exhaled. I rested my forehead on the pavement, taking a deep breath to steady myself and sending up a prayer to whomever was listening that this fucking miniature dictator I’d grown far too fucking fond of wouldn’t be taken from me. Then I reached out to pull Winslow to me as gently as I could.

His limp body dragged across the pavement, and I cradled him in my arms once I had him, crooning to him. “Okay buddy, okay. It’s okay.”

“Can you drive?” I asked the girl as I stood again. She seemed shell-shocked, and maybe later I’d feel bad about how abrasive I was being, but I was too busy panicking. She shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

I gritted my teeth. “Too bad. Get in the damn car and drive me.”

I found an emergency vet and read the directions off my phone, Winslow warm on my lap, panting and bleeding beneath the palm I tried to keep pressed to him.

“I’m so sorry,” the girl kept whispering as we drove.

We arrived after what felt like a century. I kicked open the door and edged my way across the seat, careful not to jostle Winslow too much.

“Do you want me to pay? I’ll pay!” she said, and started digging through her purse.

I gave her an aggravated shake of my head. “You should slow down, even for a fucking squirrel.” I didn’t wait to hear her reply before racing inside.

The willowy blondevet inside the animal hospital took one look at Winslow and left the room to confer with her assistant before she returned and said, “I’m taking him immediately into surgery.”

My brimming eyes spilled over and I nodded mutely.

She laid a gentle hand on my shoulder and leveled a direct gaze upon me. “I’m going to do my best for him. Jessica will take you back to the waiting room and I’ll come out as soon as I know something. All right?”

I nodded again and followed Jessica back out into the waiting room, dejected. I paced. I couldn’t seem to stop. There were a couple of other people waiting. A woman held a panting schnauzer with a bandage on its leg and there was a man seated with a cat in a kennel that was awfully quiet. The woman kept looking over at me as I paced. I glanced down and realized I was shirtless, streaked with blood and dirt, so I asked the receptionist for the bathroom and washed up as best I could. Then I made myself sit, but I couldn’t stop moving, bouncing my knee, fidgeting. The lady with the schnauzer gave me a sympathetic smile.

Forty-five minutes later, Dr. Patterson opened the door and gestured me forward. My stomach dropped and my breath hitched. It was way too soon to have a surgery complete. My expression cracked again as she pulled down her surgical mask. Instead of the grim sympathy I was expecting, she gave me a small smile.

“He’s going to make it, I believe. The gash in his stomach didn’t penetrate any organs. He will lose the hind leg, though.” Just when I’d started feeling more buoyant, I sank again.

“Will he be able to walk and run again?” It took me a couple of tries to get through the question.

“Of course.” She said, giving my shoulder another reassuring squeeze. “He’ll be as good as new. It’ll just take him some time to learn how to redistribute his weight and find his new center of gravity.”

I exhaled, my hand trembling as I wiped my eyes.

“I’ll be another couple of hours making the repairs and stitching him up, but you’ll likely be able to take him home in a day or two after we monitor him overnight.

I nodded, brimming with gratitude and returned to the hard plastic chair in the waiting room. Relief flooded through me and I felt as if I could breathe again. Until I remembered Alex and sat up with a start. The more I thought about it, the more the morning didn’t make sense. Why had he reacted the way he had? For all he knew, Sean might have been another professional helping me out or just a friend visiting. I dug out my phone.

He didn’t answer until the fifth try.

“In case it wasn’t obvious, I’m not interested in talking to you right now.”

I was taken aback, confused, but I tried to keep my voice calm. “What is it you think was happening in my kitchen this morning?”