Page 93 of Friends That Heal Us
Crossing my arms over. “What happens if they’re not claimed?”
“We’ll try to find foster families for them, until they’re adopted. If not, they stay in the shelter until they’re adopted.”
“They won’t be euthanized, will they?”
She shakes her head. “Oh no. Utah is one of the lowest euthanizing states. Euthanizing only comes into play if there are medical reasons that are making the dog suffer.” She holds one pup in her arms. “But these little ones all look so healthy. Would you maybe be interested in fostering one?”
I nod. “Yes, of course.”
She smiles. “That would be great. If you can apply to foster on our website, we’ll call you after the five days and you can come pick one of them up.”
“Okay, great.”
I help load the mom and pups into their van and watch as they leave.
I’m sad that the dogs got dumped, but it helps me keep my mind off things about Vi. The dogs loved to play and kept me busy all morning. Maybe I need a dog to keep myself busy and my mind off everything.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
VIOLET
It’s beena week since Ezra left. I know we have made nothing official, but this felt worse than when I found out Rya and Zayn slept together. I didn’t know how to react while he was saying those words to me. My body didn’t know how to react. Instead, I sat there speechless, like an idiot. Even though we aren’t together, it felt like a breakup.
After Ezra left the house that night, I curled up in my bed and cried myself to sleep, and have cried every night since. I felt like I had lost the best thing that had ever happened to me. But yet I sit here still wondering what I should do. I hate how much I’ve been hurt and how it’s causing me to react.
I’ve been going through the motions of everything this past week, and keeping busy at the bakery has helped some. But not talking or seeing Ezra for a week has felt like a lifetime. Every day, I’ve tried to keep my emotions under wraps so Liv notices nothing off. The new bakers, Cami and Brianna, have only been coming in the evening, and it’s been a big help training them and keeping my mind off everything. But the moment I go home, arush of everything hits me. And once I go up to my room each night, I curl myself into a ball and cry.
“One vanilla latte,” I say loudly. I set the coffee down on the counter and shift back around to start on the next coffee order.
The lunch rush has been steady today, thank God. There’s been a handful of customers that have helped keep my mind busy today. Liv has been bouncing between the register and packing orders. Listening to the chatting of customers and seeing their smiles has helped me.
After washing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen while Liv cleans the front, I go out front and find Liv taking a selfie of herself in front of the windows. There are so many windows that a lot of natural light shines through and I don’t have to turn on the lights during the day.
I watch as Liv looks down at her phone after taking a picture, and I see her tap on her phone a few times.
“Are you sending that to someone?” I say, walking towards her. “Maybe a boy?”
She turns around with a big wide smile on her face as her cheeks turn pink. “Yeah, I took your advice.”
“What advice?”
Her head tilts. “To ask Jacob out.”
“Oh, I forgot I told you that. When did you ask him out?”
“At that party I went to. We hung out and talked all night, and before I left, I just blurted it out.”
“Good for you. See, that wasn’t so hard,” I say the words without even thinking; the second they leave my mouth, something twists in my chest.
Why is it so simple to tell someone else what to do, but hard to follow it myself? The situation is different but somewhat the same.
I hyped her up and pushed her to make the first move with the guy she likes. Yet with Ezra, I freeze. It’s like my advice bounces right off of me.
“No, it wasn’t. But I found it more nerve-racking because I was scared he would say no, and I would feel embarrassed standing there in front of him if he did. But then I thought, what’s the harm in a no? Life is short. If he doesn’t want to, that’s fine. At least I can cherish the moments we had together.”
Her words hit me even harder than I expected from the bravery of an eighteen-year-old.
Life is short.
