Pack of Her Own

Chapter One Natalie Running my hands through the thick fur of the husky mix was usually enough to make me forget the woes of the world. Today it wasn’t working. “Oh, Lucy,” I said with a sigh, rubbing my fingers against the husky’s abdomen as her leg twitched happily. “I’m sorry, girl, it’s been a rough month.” That was putting it mildly. Couch surfing wasn’t great for getting proper amounts of sleep, and most of my days I did little more than sleepwalk my way around the clinic. Lucy grunted under my hands, and I realized I’d stopped petting her. With a huff, I continued, giving the big girl a wry smile. “Yeah, yeah. I’m on the job.” I worked around the thick cast on her front leg. I set her leg apart from the others, waiting on the boss lady. “Rory will be in here soon and we’ll take care of that leg of yours.” As if summoned by my words, the door opened and Dr. Lorelai Gale walked in, all smiles as she held up the tools she was going to need. “Found them! Let’s get started.” I nodded, still running my hands through the thick fur as my mind wandered. Rory was the one good thing, the one constant, in my life. If it wasn’t for her, things would only be worse. “Nat? Hey, Nat, you okay?” “Huh?” My eyes snapped up, meeting her worried glance. “Oh, sorry, Rory.” “You okay?” “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just tired.” She looked at me sympathetically. “The couch not treating you well?” “I’ve dealt with worse.” “Natalie—” “I really don’t want to talk about it.” “All right. Later then. Let’s get Lucy settled up.” A few hours later, I started turning off the clinic lights. Most days at the clinic I ended the day with a sense of fulfillment for helping all the little animals. Dogs, cats, and even the more interesting animals we saw occasionally. All of them filled my world with joy. Or used too. These days not so much. Not since everything happened with Misty. “Hey, you okay?” Rory leaned against the wall, watching me with those big blue eyes. We’d met a little over a year ago right after she took over the clinic from the old veterinarian. She was looking for help and took pity on a twenty-two-year-old college student who only ever wanted to help animals and gave me a job. We’d been close ever since. “No, no, I’m not.” I hung my head. I could feel the dam in my mind cracking. “Is this about she-who-should-not-be-named?” “What else would it be?” “She really did a number on you, didn’t she?” I shrugged. I didn’t want to talk about it. I pushed those thoughts and feelings away desperately. I couldn’t let them take me over, not now. Especially not in front of my boss. “It’s fine,” I mumbled. “I’m just…I’m not over it yet. It gets rough sometimes.” “Losing someone after eight years together can do that.” She smiled and opened her arms in an invitation. I stepped into her embrace and tried to stop the tears from flowing. “I don’t know what to do now. Where to go.” I held her tight. “I can’t keep crashing on your couch forever.” “No, I guess not. But you’re welcome as long as you need.” We parted as I gave her a small smile. “Thanks, boss. I needed that.” She clapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s go home. We’ll get takeout and make a night of it.” I nodded and followed her to the back of the building and out to her car. A peaceful night was exactly what I needed. And maybe, just maybe, I could spend the night getting drunk. That would be a good way to end what was quickly becoming the worst chapter of my life. * * * Rory drove us back to her condo apartment, a gorgeous two-bedroom that must’ve cost at least her firstborn child. We parked in the underground lot and took the stairs to the lobby to grab the mail. A single, thin envelope had been forwarded to her address for me and we went upstairs before I was willing to open it. “Motherfuckers!” The single piece of paper fluttered to the ground in four pieces. “What’s wrong?” Rory’s hand was a feather touch on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, storming around the living room. “They can’t do this! Not now!” “What?” “My student loans! They won’t pay for my next semester, so they didn’t admit me!” Rory’s face went white. “But you can appeal, can’t you? What happened? Why were they denied?” I stomped a foot on the floor, the bit of a tantrum making me feel a little better for only a second. “No! Because the mail system sucks and my deadline for appealing was three days ago!” She was smart enough not to stop me from pacing around the room, but it was clear she wanted to. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” Her words popped the balloon of rage that was growing in my head. Its deflation left me with nothing but weariness and shivering with a sudden cold. “It’s fine,” I said, my mind spiraling. Of course, this was happening to me now. Every time something was going good for me, life tore it all down. I shook my head. My grades were good, I attended classes, extracurriculars, and had a good relationship with my professors. I sank down onto the couch, face in my hands as I tried to push back the tears. They didn’t want me anymore. No matter what I did, who I was. They didn’t want me. Just like Misty. Just like everyone else. “Nat, hey. It will be okay.” Shoulders shaking, I felt her arm wrap around me, but I couldn’t even lift my head. I said nothing. It was only a matter of time before she left too. Or told me to leave. I mean, why would