BooksBarbecue
Back 3 a.m.
Chapters (67)
  1. :01
  2. :02
  3. :03
  4. :04
  5. :05
  6. :06
  7. :07
  8. :08
  9. :09
  10. :10
  11. :11
  12. :12
  13. :13
  14. :14
  15. :15
  16. :16
  17. :17
  18. :01
  19. :02
  20. :03
  21. :04
  22. :05
  23. :06
  24. :07
  25. :08
  26. :09
  27. :10
  28. :11
  29. :12
  30. :13
  31. :01
  32. :02
  33. :03
  34. :04
  35. :05
  36. :06
  37. :07
  38. :08
  39. :09
  40. :10
  41. :11
  42. :12
  43. :13
  44. :14
  45. :15
  46. :16
  47. :00
  48. :01
  49. :02
  50. :03
  51. :04
  52. :05
  53. :06
  54. :07
  55. :08
  56. :09
  57. :10
  58. :11
  59. :12
  60. :13
  61. :14
  62. :15
  63. :16
  64. :17
  65. :18
  66. :19
  67. 3:46 a.m.

I feel a light touch of my forehead and open my eyes.

“Hey, buddy,” I whisper.

Lassie gives my eyes a couple licks, then takes a step back. He is smiling ear to ear.

“Looks like somebody got lucky.”

Meow.

“A fox? Or the cat was a fox?”

Meow.

“An actual fox. Wow, good for you. I didn’t even know that was possible.” I want to smile, to laugh, but even the slightest movement sends a bolt of lightning down my spine. I exhale deeply.

Meow.

“No, I’m not okay.”

Meow.

“Yes, the bed would have been more comfortable.”

Meow.

“I need my phone.”

I can see my left arm on the table in front of me. Though I can’t feel my right arm, I think it is dangling by my side.

I try to remember where I left my phone. Is it on the kitchen counter? The couch?

Lassie jumps over my head. I feel scraping. A moment later, he comes back into view. He is pushing my phone toward my hand with his nose.

It’s too soon to get excited. The phone hasn’t been charged in over a day. It had a full charge when I last used it, and it wasn’t like I made any calls or used any data in the last twenty-three hours. There was a chance it still had some juice left.

I slowly start trying to move my fingers.

Nothing happens for a long minute.

Finally, I get my index finger to twitch. Three minutes later and all my fingers are slowly beginning to wake. Lassie nudges the phone under my hand. I hit the bottom button. It flashes on.

Thank God.

I hit the button on the side for voice command and ponder calling 911. I don’t. I bark, “Call Ingrid.”

The phone rings.

Goes straight to voicemail.

“End call.”

My phone beeps. I’ve never heard the sound before and I’m guessing it means the battery is almost dead.

“Call Pops.”

The phone rings.

He picks up on the second ring.

“Hey Sonny B—”

“Listen,” I interrupt. “My battery is about to die. I need you to come over. Bring your back pills. Hurr—”

The phone dies.

::::

My dad lives twenty minutes away. Plus, he has a bad back himself, so I don’t even know if he can get out of bed. But it only takes fifteen minutes until I hear heavy clomping in the hallway, then a loud thud as my front door bangs open.

I forgot I left the door cracked open for Lassie. Speaking of whom, he jumps off the table and runs to greet his bestie. I hear the two thumping around in the living room wrestling.

If you Googled “Bromance,” a video of these two idiots might pop up.

“Settle down, you morons.”

They don’t.

Ten seconds later, my dad enters.