Page 73 of The Incredible Ordinary

I give the dog another look. “I’d say home, but I actually think it’d be better if we started with a vet.”

Rory eyes me silently. Seconds tick by. I feel like I’m on trial. Like this moment matters more than others.

If he trusts you with this, things will take a turn for the better. If he trusts you, it’s a step in the right direction.

He nods.

The sun isup by the time we finally make it back home, and we’re all running on fumes. I send Rory upstairs and tell him to put Dog, as he’s been christened for now, into the spare bathroom. I suspect he won’t. No, Dog will most likely end up in Rory’s room, and we’ll all get fleas or lice or whatever else lives in the fur he has left now that the vet is done with him.

I sigh and rub my hand over my face while I lean back against the wall.

Jordan gives me a small smile. “You should probably go to bed.”

“Probably.” I narrow my eyes at him. “How are you so… up?”

I keep yawning, but he doesn’t even look that tired. He has the energy to smile, for crying out loud.

“Years of practice,” he says. “I became immune to lack of sleep that one time they handed me an infant in the hospital.”

Even so, I should let him go home now.

“Do you want to go get breakfast?” I ask.

His grin widens as he takes me in. “You sure you’re up for that?”

I can feel the look.

“No,” I say. “But let’s do it anyway.”

He laughs. “Lead the way.”

MILÁN

How’s Dog doing?

Hiding in Rory’s room and behaving like I’m transporting him to execution every time I take him outside for a walk while Rory’s at school. All the barking and whining is probably him calling for help.

Lol. Your neighbors must love him.

There is a chance we’ll be kicked out sooner rather than later.

I have a spare bedroom.

My brother finally figured out we have a dog.

Umm… It’s been five days.

He’s been pulling thirty-hour shifts. Stumbled into the bathroom, still half-asleep while Dog was sleeping there. I don’t know who screamed louder, him or the dog. Rory and I are currently getting a lecture about what a huge responsibility a dog is and how we should have discussed it first as a family.

Texting during a lecture? You’ll be in so much trouble.

My phone vibrates,and I pick it up with a yawn. On the screen, there’s a photo of Theo sleeping on the couch with a carton of Chinese food tilting precariously in his hand.

I smile while I quickly open my photos and send back the one I took earlier of Rory sprawled out on the living room carpet with Dog dozing off by his side, all four legs in the air. Jordan texts back immediately.

Who would’ve thought soccer practice could be this exhausting?

Chasing after a thief really takes it out of you. I don’t think Dog is allowed back into the stadium. I’ll pay for that ball, btw.