Kylie and Ethan chatted amicably as they brushed their teeth and got ready for the day. "I"ll be at the studio this afternoon," Kylie said, "but I am free this morning. Do you have any plans?""I"m taking Pupu to the vet," he replied. "He needs to get his injections. Do you want to come?"
Kylie frowned and asked if Pupu was sick, and he explained that he needed to get his annual vaccinations. It was nothing to worry about. Hearing this, Kylie said, "You should let Stephen do it, then you won"t have to go to the vet!"
Ethan tilted his head and stared at Kylie curiously. As far as he was concerned, she was an adorable little fool. He ran his hands through his hair and said, "Stephen is not a veterinarian."
"If Stephen can"t do it, and you must go," Kylie said, "then I will go with you."
Pupu was a middle-sized dog, and he was usually quite brave. When they arrived at the animal hospital, though, it was obvious that he was afraid. His ears flattened to his head, he tucked his tail between his legs, the hair on the back of his neck stood up straight, and he began to p.i.s.s all over the place.
"Come on, Pupu," Ethan said in a pleasant voice. "Everything is okay. You are safe. I wouldn"t do anything to hurt you."
Pupu gave a low and sad sound and refused to go in. Seeing this, Kylie felt like laughing. Now she understood why Ethan had invited her to come. Obviously, when push came to shove, he couldn"t handle the dog by himself!
She stepped forward, knelt down, and began to pet her canine friend. "Don"t worry," she said. "I will be with you the entire time."
Seeing Kylie, Pupu relaxed a little. He slowly stood up but, the minute Ethan began to pull him forward again, he sat down and resisted. Even after Kylie took the leash, Pupu was still reluctant to move, and in the end, Ethan had to carry the dog in.
The minute they were inside, though, Pupu dug his nails into Ethan"s leg. Ethan cried out in pain and let go of the dog just long enough for him to jump up, run to the door, push it open, and escape. Kylie was on the other side, though, and as Pupu rushed past her, she put her hand on her leg and cried out in pain. "It hurts so much!" she howled. "Won"t somebody help me?"
Upon hearing this, Pupu froze. He was a loyal dog, and he loved Kylie. It was not in his nature to run away from Kylie if she was hurt. His ears stood up, and his tail wagged as he returned to Kylie"s side to lick her hands.
When Ethan came out, he saw how Kylie had tricked Pupu into coming back, and it made him smile.
Kylie slowly stood up. She looked at Pupu and said, "I"m injured, and I need to see a doctor, but I am afraid. Will you come with me?"
Pupu looked at her skeptically. She looked at the pet hospital and then back at Kylie.
Suddenly, in a moment of inspiration, Kylie began to moan again, as if she were still in pain. Hearing this, Pupu looked at Kylie in a way that said, "Follow me," and she led Kylie into the pet hospital.
While they were waiting in the waiting room, Pupu wagged his tail anxiously as he paced from wall to wall. Now that his concern had been transferred to Kylie, he no longer even needed to be on a leash. He would not walk away from Kylie.
When it was finally time for Pupu to get his needle, the veterinarian was surprised by his good behavior. He smiled at Pupu and said, "Pupu, you are much easier to deal with than you have ever been."
He looked at Kylie and said, "Until today, Pupu was our least co-operative animal. Today was his last chance. If it had gone bad, he would have been banned from this hospital!"
Pupu didn"t even growl when it came time for his second and third injection.
There was a ten minute observation period after the treatment was complete, and Kylie gave the leash back to Ethan and went outside to buy a bottle of water. Even though everything had gone well, it had been stressful. She"d had no way of knowing for sure if Pupu would remain calm throughout.
She was sitting on the bench when, out of nowhere, Laurence drove up to the curb and stopped his car in front of her. At the sight of him through the window, her heart began to beat fast in her chest. There was no reason she could think of that Laurence would actively seek her out – and yet he had!
The engine shut down and, when her father stepped out, she was surprised to see that he was crying. Not knowing what else to do, she offered him a tissue. He smiled, used it to wipe his face, and said, "Thank you."
"You"re welcome," she replied awkwardly. Not wanting to stretch the moment, she sighed and asked him what he was doing there and why he"d sought her out. Since she"d last seen him, he looked like he"d aged considerably. He even looked a little sickish, and she wondered if he might have been released from the hospital earlier than he should"ve been.
Laurence smiled pitifully and said, "Haven"t you heard the old saying – Family is who you go to when no one else will take you in?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Kylie asked him. "Are we family? That"s news to me!"
"I guess I had that coming," he replied as he walked over to the bench, she was sitting on. "I will tell you everything. If, when I am done, you still want nothing to do with me, then I will go away and never bother you again."
Kylie sighed and made room for him on the bench. She looked at him and said, "You have always had a flair for the dramatic, haven"t you?"
As Laurence"s story came to its conclusion, Kylie began to think about how she"d reply. Their relationship had started out very positively but, as she"d gotten older, things had become strained between them, and her sister had done everything in her power to push a wedge between them. In the end, there had just been no way for them to maintain any kind of relationship – and that was how things had stood for a very very long time.
After hearing her father"s story, she could see that a bridge could be built. The problem was, though, that after everything that had happened, she wasn"t sure if she wanted to build that bridge. She worried that once Laurence rebuilt his empire, he would no longer see any value in their relationship – or in her, as a person – and he would hurt her again…
"I can provide a place for you to stay," she said, "But I have one condition."
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