Welcome! This week we're writing to the prompt "number". I'm returning to Break My Heart this week. I hope you enjoy the story. Scroll down to return to the excellent Tuesday Tales authors and their stories. Thanks for stopping by.
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Deserted by his adoring public, his friends, the three women he’d been
sleeping with and even his mother, he had become a recluse. For a year, he hid
out, until his face ceased to be news. The surgery had healed well, but he
would never look the same. Sure, he still had the thick mop of black hair, piercing
eyes the color of the Caribbean Sea, and a body sculpted by hours at the gym.
None of that mattered.
He might as well have died in the fire. His life had crumbled
like burnt toast. There was nothing left, not even his beloved pooch. After
considering suicide, he allowed his dear cousin to talk him into returning to
his roots, where he’d be near her and could find peace and quiet.
So here he was and had no clue what the next step would
be. A sound coming from the long road that abutted his property alerted him.
People were coming. He ducked behind a small grove of trees and waited.
The car came up to the edge of his property and
stopped. A man got out from behind the wheel. Rick heard a scream from the
backseat.
“Don’t! Poppa! Don’t!”
It was a child’s voice. The man leaned into the car
and came out cradling a small dog.
“Sorry, son. We gotta. He needs doctoring and we ain’t
got the cash.”
Rick watched the man put the dog down on the lawn and
get back in the car. Another scream and a voice came from the backseat. Rick
couldn’t distinguish the words.
“He’ll be fine here. Someone’ll take him in. Hell,
son, he’s a dog. He can catch mice and eat ‘em. He’ll be okay.” The man got
back in the car and slammed the door. He rolled down the window. “Bye, Sparky.
You take care now.”
A young boy leaned out the back window, screaming the
dog’s name. The vehicle lurched forward and took off down the road –zero to
sixty in ten seconds. The boy continued to scream until the car was out of
sight. The small dog ran after it. Rick set out after him.
Finally, the dog collapsed, panting. As Rick got
closer, he could see the little animal was a pug. It lay on its side, chest
heaving, tongue lolling. As Rick approached, the dog whirled around. He pushed up
on his little legs and crouched, growling.
Rick stepped back. The dog held his ground, then
turned, looking in the direction of a vague mist of dust, left by the departing
car. The pooch twisted his head, trying to figure out where the car was, or at
least that’s the way it looked.
“Sorry, boy. Your number's up. They’re gone,” Rick
said.
The canine glanced back at him, then sank down, his
legs splayed out behind him, his chin on the road.
Awww, how sad. But I bet things improve for both of them.
ReplyDeleteoh my God. That poor little boy. How can a father be so heartless? The least he could've done was take the animal alone. I feel sorry for the pup, too, and your hero. Hopefully some good can come of this.
ReplyDeleteOMG way to break my heart. First of all, he was even abandoned by his mother? She's no kind of mother. Then, that poor little boy and his dog and the hungry family. Life can be so sad, and you did a great job of showing it. I hope he and the dog become best pals, and I hope the little boy gets to see his dog again.
ReplyDeleteOh, Jean...breaking my heart so early in the morning. Poor little pup - my heart is breaking. (Of course it's a pug - I love that!) I have a feeling these two will help each other heal. Great snippit!
ReplyDelete