Addison waited for a moment, but when Chauncey remained limp in her hands, she turned him upside down. “No fucking way!” she shouted, giving him a shake and then another. “Breathe, you blasted dog, breathe!” She rested on her haunches as she watched the water drain from his lungs, believing her work had been done, but when he still didn’t move, Addison was transported to a place she’d never been. A place called compassion, and suddenly nothing else in the world mattered to her except for the life of this dog.

Without thinking twice, she laid him on the deck of the pool and placed her mouth over his nose. After giving him a few quick puffs of air, she waited for what seemed like an eternity, but he still didn’t move. “You little bastard, you’re going to wake up! Do you hear me?” she said before covering his snout again and repeating the process. Seconds later, Chauncey snorted and sprayed Addison with his spittle.

The smile that spread across her face was the largest Addison owned, and picking up the shivering puppy, she cradled him against her chest. “You stupid dog,” she said in a ragged whisper. “You stupid, stupid dog.”

She sat on the floor, rocking back and forth as she tried to keep the emotions she believed proved her weak from appearing, but when she heard Chauncey’s tiny whimpers, everything Addison had locked away for so long...erupted.

The years of torment caused by a father who loathed her brought tears to her eyes. Honed by the neglect, she had turned herself into something unlikable and unlovable. Memories of nights spent in fear, and days spent hidden from his eyes filled her mind, and as each appeared more tears fell.

Chauncey let out another whimper, and she held him up, staring into his little dark brown eyes as she sniffled back her tears. The color reminded her of a man who she missed, and bowing her head, Addison sobbed for the loss of Robert Sheppard.

Steadfast at his funeral, her expression had remained blank, but in the damp warmth of her basement, her grief found its freedom. The only regret she had ever acknowledged was leaving her grandfather without saying good-bye, but it was a lie. Addison had many regrets, and for the next hour, they would choke her in the form of tears and wailing she could not stop.

***