Chapter 5

I woke up a little before school ended to see a glass of water next to the bed along with my phone and book bag. A thin blanket covered me, and the door separating the room and office was closed to give me privacy.

I pick up my phone to see texts from Daniel, Christine, and even Kylie.

Daniel: Come back

Daniel: Where are you?

Daniel: Kisses seriously, wtf happened?

Daniel: I’m fucking worried

Daniel: Mother of all things large and small, where’d you go?

Daniel: Why aren’t you in any of your classes?

Daniel: I’m going to the hospital

Daniel: Dammit, you're not here

Daniel: Are you still at school?

Daniel: What’s your address?

Daniel: I’m waiting outside the school. I’ll be here till I have football practice.

Me: I’ll be there

Christine: Kisses

Christine: He’s a dick; come back. 

Christine: Where do you go?

Christine: At least tell me you're okay.

Me: I’m fine. Thank you.

Kylie: Where’d you go?

Kylie: Daniel’s worried sick

Kylie: He just punched the guy

Kylie: Are you okay? You aren’t in class.

Kylie: Meet me with Daniel after school, please.

Me: I’ll be there.

The bell rings, and I head out, thanking Mrs. Green, and she nods, smiling at me.

I see Daniel pulling at his hair and Kylie trying to calm him down. “She’s okay, Dan,” I hear Kylie say, and Daniel looks up and we lock gazes. He runs over to me, relief washing over his face.

“Kisses, where did you go? I was so worried. I’m so sorry. I—Daniel starts rambling, and I start talking to shut him up. “I didn’t feel good, so I went to Mrs. Green. “I’m fine now,” I say, giving him a fake smile.

“Kylie and Christine told me what happened. You do know that’s not true, right? ” Daniel says, and I nod, smiling. “Yeah, now let’s go. “I miss Porsha,” I say, and we go to Daniel and Kylie’s car. Since Daniel needs to be back for football practice he’s just going to bring me with him so I can get my car. I’m going to the Green’s house after too so we all can do homework together.

The ride goes by pretty fast, and soon we are at the shelter, causing me to smile. “Hi Kisses, you brought friends? ” Kimberly says, and I nod, smiling. “Yup, hoping to adopt a certain someone today,” I say, my smile growing, and Kimberly looks at me surprised.

I walk over to Porsha's pen, and she starts wagging her tail when she sees me. I bend over and pick her up, bringing her outside.

I play with her a little while Kylie and Daniel watch from a distance so Porsha doesn’t get freaked out.

“You guys can come in now,” I say, sitting down and placing Porsha in my lap. She cowers into me when Daniel and Kylie come in but soon slowly gets out of my lap and goes over to them, sniffing them. This is progress.

“Try to throw the toy,” I say, and Kylie slowly picks it up, careful not to scare Porsha with the sudden movements.

Kylie gently throws the toy, and Porsha slowly walks over to it, picks it up, and brings it over to me. “Go over there,” I say, pointing to the twins.Porsha plops down next to me, just staring at them.

“Try putting your hand out, palm towards you,” I say, and they do so. Porsha looks at me, then them, then me again, and then slowly walks over to them, smelling their hands. She sits in-between them and slowly pets her. A few minutes after she relaxes a little bit, Kylie tries with the toy again. Porsha runs to it and brings it back to her.

I lightly clap, happy that she trusts them. “So? ” they say, and they nod. “She’s adorable and seems to be okay with us,” Daniel says, and I nod. “You’ll grow on her. “I started off like you guys,” I say, and they smile. “I think this might work,” Daniel says, and a huge smile spreads upon my face, tears brimming my eyes.

“Thank you guys,” I say, pulling them in for a hug, causing them to laugh. “She’s a sweetheart and will be in great hands during the day when you’re at school,” Kylie says, and the tears start falling out of my eyes, causing Bella to jump on me, making sure I’m alright. “Let’s get you out of here, Porsha,” I whisper to her.

We go through the adoption papers, and I’m officially the owner of Porsha. “It’s only 3, so let’s go do homework and have you and Porsha meet my parents,” Daniel says, grabbing my free hand and pulling me to his car.

“Mom, Dad. We have the dog and her owner here,” Daniel says, walking into the door. I have Porsha tucked under my arm and Daniel’s arm around my shoulder.

“I’m coming, honey,” I hear someone yell from the top of the stairs, and I nearly drop my phone at the sight of the person.

“Kisses, honey, is that you? “Mrs. Green,” also known as my mom’s old best friend Tara Green, says, and I just stand there; memories of when I, my mom, Tara, and Kylie would hang out at the park come flooding into my brain.

“You guys know each other? ” Daniel says dumbfounded, and I see a lightbulb go off in Kylie’s head. “That’s why you looked so familiar,” she says, smacking her head.

“It’s so great to see you, honey. How’s your mother? “I haven’t heard from her in forever,” Tara says, running down to hug me, making Porsha shrink farther into my side. “Yeah, she happens to do that,” I mumble, hugging her back.

“Is this Porsha? ” Tara says, and I nod. “Yes, but she has had a really bad history, so it takes a little while for her to warm up to people. “She’s still not 100% okay with Kylie and Daniel,” I say, and Tara nods understanding.

“Alright, Mom, we are going to go do homework,” Daniel says, giving me the look that tells me I’m going to need to explain everything to him. “Alright, you should stay the night,” Tara says to me, and I shrug, secretly wishing I could.

We make our way to Daniel’s room, and Kylie parts ways into her room to make a phone call. Daniel’s room is a typical football player’s room …. Not

It’s a crème color with a low-to-the-ground grey bed sticking into the center. It’s neatly kept and looks nothing like how I would picture it. Behind his bed is an action shot from one of his football games. The picture covers the whole wall and adds an amazing finish to the room.

“Woah,” I breathe out as Daniel throws himself onto his bed. “Not your average teenage football player’s room. I know. OCD will do that to you.” He chuckles, getting his books out of his bag.

“You can say that again,” I laugh, sitting next to him and getting my history book out of my bag as Kylie walks into the room.

“How the fuck did I forget that? “Kylie,” she says, staring at me, and I shrug.

“I forgot about Kyl.” I chuckle, and Daniel stares at us, realization flashing across his face.

“No fucking way. You’re Kylie’s childhood friend. “You’re the one who I had a huge crush on,” Daniel says, wide-eyed.

“Wait, what? ”Kylie and I both gasp at the same time.

Well, shit.