Page 36 of The Ampersand Effect

Tobin followed Anchor to the van as she shifted the final kennel to the edge, ready to lift. Together they wrangled it through the doors into the bathing area. The volunteers were still busy with the other dogs, and every tub basin was full. Anchor nodded toward an open patch of floor between the tubs and dryers where they could wait for an open tub.

They maneuvered carefully, Tobin walking backward, fingertips gripping the side of the kennel, moving in sync with Anchor as the dog inside whimpered softly.

Tobin’s left heel slipped on a puddle of water she couldn’t see beneath the kennel. She tightened her core, bracing her torso and trying to regain control as both feet struggled for purchase on the slick floor. The kennel shifted in her fingers, the dog inside letting out an anxious whine as its center of gravity abruptly shifted. The bark that followed was sharp and frustrated, forceful enough that the dog lifted its paws into the air. As the paws landed back on the bottom of the kennel, Tobin’s already precarious footing gave way to the lack of friction, and gravity became the only force her body recognized. Her legs split, splaying as she crashed to the floor—her low back exploded with a rush of searing heat that stole her breath.

Tobin yelled out, sweat immediately beading along her face and spine. She felt the burn of a white-hot poker in her butt, throbbing in time with her heartbeat. Her vision swam with bursts of black dots.

“Fuck!”

“Tobin!” Anchor crawled over, having also gone down in the chaos. “Where does it hurt? Oh my god, oh my god! What can I do?”

“Don’t touch me! Just… give me a minute,” Tobin said through gritted teeth, fighting through the pain. Lying flat on the wet floor, her chest heaved as she drew in tightly controlled breaths, careful not to move anything that might trigger another spasm in her back.

When her vision began to clear, she risked a deeper breath to steady herself. She wiggled her toes on both feet, and was relieved to feel the nervous connection between brain and foot working, with limited pain along the leg. She flexed her left ankle, also successfully.

Then she tried to extend her knee. The immediate pull along the back of her thigh sent a warning burn to the surface. She growled in frustration.

“I don’t fucking need this right now!”

“Tobin, I’m so sorry. Please tell me what I can do!” Anchor’s voice trembled as she hovered behind her, momentarily forgotten during Tobin’s self-assessment.

“I don’t think anything’s broken,” Tobin managed, her voice tight. “I’ve got an old compression fracture from my accident, and I think I just royally pissed off the nerves near it. I can feel everything— which is good—but I feel too much. My back, ass, and thigh are on fire. Throbbing and tight. I need some help getting up.”

Anchor scrambled to her feet, grabbing some towels to mop up the water around them before anyone else could take a spill. “Eli, can you get her other side? Maybe we can lift her into the chair?”

Tobin nodded. “Yes, hang on, though. Let me see if I can sit up on my own first. I think it’ll be less painful than if you move me.”

She slowly tested her movements, shifting carefully to gauge what her body could handle. Leaning left sent pain spiking through her spine, but leaning right brought a tolerable ache—a deep stretch rather than a burn. Cautiously. she used her arms to brace and ease herself upright. Her breathing stayed ragged but controlled, and the black dots in her vision finally receded.

Eli and Anchor lifted her slowly and eased her into the chair, then Anchor went to find the first aid kit. She clenched her jaw, swallowing the string of curses pressing against her tongue.

How am I going to get home?The thought hit hard, worry and fear colliding with pain as anxiety began to simmer under the surface.

“Here’s an icepack and some ibuprofen,” Anchor said, returning from her office down the hall.

Tobin accepted both silently. The ice dulled the heat and softened the ache, but the throbbing was persistent. Every shift, every breath sent a bolt of lightning searing down her ass and thigh.

“Tobin? Can I call someone for you? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?” Anchor’s voice trembled, her anxiety rising with each question.

Tobin shook her head. She didn’t need a hospital. She needed to take the pressure off her spine and coax her muscles into releasing their chokehold on her sciatic nerve.

Images flooded her brain—Grier’s confident fingers kneading into her forearm, reducing the tension to nil. Her body spasmed as she fought the memory, fought the sharp edge of both her pain and longing.We’re not friends. I can’t just erase the last week.

She’d spent days forcing Grier from her thoughts, combating the urge to retract her decision. She couldn’t crawl back—literally—and ask for her help now. Not like this. This was amoment of weakness. She could recover without Grier. She just needed to get home.

“Can you hand me my phone, please?” Tobin asked quietly. “I’ll call my sister.”

Harrow dutifully retrieved her at the rescue center, taking a ride-share out so she could drive Tobin’s SUV home. They agreed it would be the safer vehicle—Harrow’s small sedan would have required Tobin to contort her less than willing body into the seat. Anchor helped Tobin step up into the passenger side and offered her umpteenth apology before closing the door.

No sooner had the door shut than Tobin felt Harrow’s eyes on her. “Don’t even think it, let alone say it,” Tobin bristled.

“I said nothing.” Harrow raised her hands in mock surrender. “I can hear the gears churning in that head of yours. Stop

scheming.”

Harrow rolled her lips in, shrugged, and started the ignition. They drove in silence until the end of the driveway, where a speed bump discouraged drivers from cruising through the entrance. Harrow slowed, but couldn’t completely avoid the jarring nature of the bump. Tobin jostled in her seat and muttered, “Shit! Fuck! Gah!” as a bright spasm of pain shot through her, forcing her to inhale sharply.

“Do we need to stop and get anything?” Harrow asked gently, easing the vehicle onto the road.