Chapter 12

When I finally reached the apartment, I stormed in through the door out of breath and panting. For the second time that day I was responsible for making Eros and Echo jump away from each other, however this time I saw Eros's mouth open indignantly to tell me off, something about a tie on the door and what the hell was wrong with me. She clamped it back shut, though, after taking in the fact that I was carrying a dog she had never seen before.
I looked directly at Echo for probably the first time ever.
“Help her.” I held my arms out and she rushed forward with a little gasp and lifted the dog from me with a gentle ease that made me feel guilty for every unkind thought I had ever had towards her.
From there everything kind of happened in a blur. Eros, Echo and I took the dog in Echo's snazzy little Volvo to the veterinary clinic where she worked. Since I didn't have any money to cover the admittance costs or the actual treatment, Echo took responsibility for it all under her name and took care of all the financial stuff. She was a serious life saver that day, and I almost wanted to puke because of all the horrible things I've wanted to say to her or to Eros on behalf of her.
The three of us waited in the “waiting room” for any news of her, Echo stretching her rights as a secretary to sneak back and forth to check on the progress. She'd return with little phrases like “underweight”, “rehabilitation”, “fracture” or “internal injuries” and we would sit a while in silence until the actual vet came out and let us know what all they would and wouldn't be able to do for her and that they would inform us tonight if the conditions changed. We weren't supposed to expect her to be able to recover any time soon because there was more wrong with her than we could tell from the outside.
Technically, since we weren't her legal owners (and it struck me then how absurd it is to claim yourself the owner of any living thing rather than the guardian, and how maybe if we were all appointed the guardians of animals instead of the owners as though they're as inanimate chairs, people wouldn't confuse their worth with, well, the worth of chairs.) we didn't have to take her home if we didn't want to. We could just as easily turn her over to the clinic or somewhere else where they would try to adopt her out for a while until it didn't happen and they “put her to sleep.” I didn't particularly care for either option, and knowing that there were people out there who not only chose it but did so out of laziness rather than practicality and need made my blood boil. There was nothing I could do for the animals that had died just because people decided it was too annoying to take care of them, but I would be damned if that happened to her. I was busy thinking up names for her when I realized that in order to keep her, I would have to go through Echo first.
I almost wanted to name the dog Eros, then.
They were lounged into each other, Eros stretched across two chairs and her head resting in Echo's stomach. Echo had her arms over her possessively. There was nothing else that we could do there that night because the dog had to stay for more treatment, but something hanging in the air felt unresolved. I knew what it was.
“I can pay you back if you let me keep her.” I said suddenly, looking at Echo. “I will.”
“I know.” she said with a warm smile.
We all stood at virtually the same time and walked outside to her Volvo. We rode back to the apartment in silence.
During the silence that sets when a car full of people is left idle while waiting for said people to make some sort of parting gesture, I looked from the backseat into Echo's eyes from her rear view mirror.
“Thank you.” I said quietly. “I'm calling her Phoenix.”
Echo smiled at me and I awkwardly climbed out of her vehicle while she and Eros made their lovey-dove eyes and said goodbye.
When we were inside and Echo was on her way home, Eros and I were sitting in our room on our beds across from each other. I was stroking Tanner absently, lost in thought when Eros startled me by speaking.
“I wonder what made that guy want to hurt her so badly...” Eros asked into space. She clenched her fists. “Maybe she bit him.” she answered herself.
“Whatever happened, she didn't deserve that.” I spat, nauseated by the memory of the sickly looking city dummy. “I had an idea of what I should do to that guy, and if I ever see him again, he'd better hope-”
“I love it when you do that.” Eros said with a quiet laugh.
“Huh?” I was completely bewildered.
“When you act like you've got a mean bone in that little body of yours. You're not fooling anyone, so you may as well give it up.” she smiled teasingly at me and I felt myself growing red.
“He was a huge creep... he's lucky I don't carry a blade like Dyce does.” I said defensively.
“You would never use it.” Eros said, peering deeply into me the way she used to before Echo had come along. I didn't answer because I knew she was right. Instead I merely sighed.
“Do you think that I could get the money back to Echo from The Garden?” I asked, changing the subject. I wasn't sure how to act with her staring at me like that. It halfway excited me and halfway made me miserable.
“There would have to be something in it for her. You know that.” Eros answered, biting her lip. “Maybe if you just explained...”
“Yeah... maybe...” It was doubtful but worth a try, I supposed.