by Mia Castile
I began to freak out. “Help!” I yelled in my loudest voice. I turned and ran. They snarled, and I heard them chasing me. I could hear the main one growling my name. I ran as fast as I could. If I could make it to where people were, I would be safe. If not, I might have to get a tetanus shot and some stitches, or worse. I didn’t want to think about or worse. I ran. It was a good city block before I heard him. I’ll never forget the relief I felt.
“Hey,” and then I heard one of the wolves yelp in pain, then another yelp. I slowed and turned around. There was a blond-haired boy standing between me and the wolves. He wore jeans and a hunter green letterman jacket. He had a German Shepherd with him. It was growling at the two wolves left. The other one had run away in fear. The boy swung a board wildly. The dog leaped and bit into the neck of one of the wolves. Again I heard a yelp of pain as the wolf struggled to free itself. The boy swung again and hit the second wolf in the leg. It snapped back at the board and jumped on him, but it was too late. He swung again and hit it in the head. That was all it took. The wolves freed themselves and ran away. The boy and his dog ran up to me. He was tall and had strong features. His eyes were crystal blue. It looked like the wolf had scratched him across his cheek.
“Hey, sweets. Are you all right?” he asked between his heavy breaths.
“I think so. Were they saying my name?” I looked past him to the direction the wolves had run, still trembling.
“I don’t know what your name is.” He beamed a brilliant white, perfect-teeth smile. I didn’t answer him. I didn’t know if I should answer him. He must have sensed my unease because he added. “I’m Benjamin. You can call me Ben, and this. . .” He put his hand on the head of his dog that stood there with its eyes fixed on me. “This is Boss.”
“I’m Ellie.”
“Yeah. They were growling your name.” I smiled a nervous smile at his observation. “Can we walk you someplace safe?” It was dusk now.
“I’m just a block up this way.” I pointed in the direction of my apartment. We walked the rest of the way in silence. What could we say? When we reached my apartment building door, I noticed his scratch was bleeding. “You should come up.” He raised his eyebrows and surveyed me.
“You’re bleeding. You should come up,” I added nervously as I pointed to his scratch.
“Lead the way.” He held his hand toward the door.
We walked up the stairs. Boss got ahead of us and then waited for us at the landing of each floor until we reached our front door. I opened it, and we went up the final flight of stairs. Finally, when we were in my living room, I felt safe. On the coffee table was a note from Gideon. It read:
“Ellie,
I had something to take care of. I will be home soon.
Love you,
Gideon”
“Would you like something to drink?” I asked, as I removed my sweater. I went to the fridge to get myself some tea.
“Whatever you’re having.”
“Is your dog thirsty?”
“Probably, if you don’t mind.” I fixed two teas and one bowl of ice water.
“Have a seat. I’ll get what we need.” He sat down on the couch and Boss lay down on the floor in front of the coffee table facing him. I gathered the alcohol, cotton balls, and Band-Aids from the medicine cabinet. I thought I heard voices in the living room and hoped Gideon was home and safe. I felt uneasy about him being out alone after I was almost attacked, but as I returned, Ben sat there quietly looking out the window to our rooftop. His eyes followed me as I walked in front of him and sat down on my knees beside him on the couch. His gaze burned through me as I wet a cotton ball with alcohol. I leaned in to him. “This might sting a little.” I rubbed the cotton ball over his scratch as gently as I could. He winced in pain, but his eyes never left mine. It was a little unnerving.
“What were you doing out there by yourself?” I was relieved he took the first step toward conversation.
“I was coming home from work. It’s not like it’s late. It was seven o’clock.” Why was I defending myself? I was almost attacked.
“I understand. It’s just not safe for a good-looking chick like you to be out alone.” I rolled my eyes at that.
“I don’t think those wolves, or whatever they were, were chasing me because I’m good-looking. Which I’m not.” At this, Boss perked up his ears and raised his head from the floor. He must have sensed the annoyance in my voice.
“You are good-looking and vulnerable. It’s a good thing Boss and I came along when we did.” I put the last Band-Aid on.
“Hey, we just met, and I don’t want to argue with you. What I should be saying is thank you for protecting me and walking me home.” I cleaned up the trash. “I’ll be right back.” When I threw it away in the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was unharmed, safe, and home. I took a deep breath and went back to the living room. Benjamin was putting his jacket back on, and Boss was standing by the stairs. I walked to them. I leaned down and put my hands around Boss’s face and scratched under both of his ears. “Thank you. You were very brave this evening.” I kissed his head and stood up. Ben was standing there beside him. “Thank you again.” I extended my hand to him, and he shook it. I walked them down to the door and returned to the couch to wait for Gideon to get home.
Chapter 6
It was after two a.m. when Gideon made it home. I was asleep on the couch, cuddled up with a throw blanket. I heard the key in the lock. It woke me up suddenly. Gideon was trying to be quiet, but he still stomped up the stairs. He was holding his shoulder. His clothes were dirty and torn, and his head had been bleeding. I jumped up and rushed him over to the couch.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know; it was the weirdest thing. I went over to see Moriah. I decided I was going to tell her that I liked her. We’ve been talking a lot lately, and the other night when she came over, she told me she would be lucky to have someone like me for a boyfriend. Then she hugged me at the bus stop. I thought maybe this was my chance, and she was giving me the signals. I walked around town for a while trying to figure out what I would say.” He paused; I smiled to encourage him to go on. He’d liked Moriah since the beginning of last year. At that time she had a boyfriend who went to the private school. They broke up before the mid-year, and Gideon and the girls had become inseparable. They had happily included me in their friendship. “But I didn’t make it. There were these three mangy wolves that chased me. And they almost got me. I remember one jumped and bit me on my shoulder, and that’s how my jacket was ripped. I knocked him down, and then there was a bright light. I couldn’t see anything.” He paused like he was remembering something. He was silent for a few minutes like he was watching it intensely all over again.
“Go on, Gid.” I broke the silence to encourage him. He looked at me like he didn’t recognize me. Then his eyes registered and his gaze softened.
“I don’t remember.” He looked away. “I woke up bleeding from my forehead, and I was lying completely naked on top of my clothes. I dressed and came home.” I got up and went to the bathroom and got the first aid supplies again and took care of his wounds. As I bandaged him up, I recounted what had happened to me. I told him how the wolf had growled my name. I told him I’d have been in worse shape than he was if Ben and Boss hadn’t shown up to help me. I helped him take off his shirt, and we both examined his shoulder. We could see the teeth marks. The skin was more bruised than broken. He wasn’t bleeding at all. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into my chest. He hugged me around my waist. “Gideon. We have to be safer. All we have is each other.”
“I know,” he said.
Chapter 7
The next morning I woke up and went to check on Gideon. He was tying his tie for work. I looked surprised.
“You’re going to work today?”
“I have to, kid. The rent is due in two weeks, and we only have half right now.” He pulled me to him and hugged me around my shoulders.
“
I get off work at four. Moriah and Selah are coming over for dinner around six.” I looked a little concerned. “Don’t worry; I’ll be here in plenty of time to help. We did say cookout, right?”
“And at sunset you’ll take Moriah on the rooftop to watch it set and tell her how you’ve been in love with her for two years. She’ll say she feels the same, and you will live happily ever after,” I smiled.
“The ever-hopeless romantic,” he laughed. “Now I really have to go.” He kissed my forehead and headed for the front door.
I decided to clean if we were having company. After two hours and a spotless apartment, I went to my room and gathered my laundry. Then I went to Gideon’s room and gathered his laundry. I found quarters in his tip jar and sorted the laundry into four loads. I put them in two laundry bags Nancy had included in our care basket. There was a laundromat one block from our apartment. I put the quarters in my purse and grabbed the detergent, bleach, and softener. I was ready to go. I lugged the bags down the flights of stairs. Outside, the sun was bright. I was glad I had decided to wear a pair of cut-offs and a tank top. My hair was pulled up in a messy bun. Already sweaty, I sucked it up and walked to the laundromat. After I loaded the machines, I finally got to sit down at a table in front of the big storefront window. There were some magazines I flipped through as I waited.
“Sweets?” I looked up from my article about Hollywood’s super couple and how they make their relationship work and saw a familiar face. It was Benjamin. He had taken the Band-Aids off. The scratch looked almost healed. It was much better than the night before.
“Hey, there. Are you feeling better? Where’s Boss?” I smiled my greeting.
“He’s outside.” I looked, and there, tied to the bike rack, was Boss sitting contentedly watching us.
“What are you doing?”
“Laundry,” I stated the obvious.
“Yeah, I guess you are. Do you want some company?”
“Sure, what are you out doing today?”
“I was taking Boss for a walk. We live in a neighborhood nearby.”
“Really? What school do you go to? I’ve never seen you at mine.”
“I go to a private school with my brother. He’s a senior, going to college next year on an athletic scholarship.”
“My brother’s a senior, too; all he’s talking about is college.” He smiled at my comment.
“College is one thing of many things he’s got on his mind. He’s the captain of our soccer team. We’ve got state finals in a month. We both have a lot of responsibilities at home. It’s just us and our mom.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It’s just me and my brother.” I explained our situation to him. I also told him about Gideon and how strange he acted the night before.
“I haven’t been that scared in. . .” I paused to think. “I’ve never been that scared.”
“I hate to admit it, but I was scared too. Those wolves were bad-assed.” We both shivered, looked at each other, and chuckled. He stayed with me while I folded. Once the laundry was separated, he offered to help me carry the bags back to our apartment. We went to where Boss was lounging by the bike rack. He jumped up almost smiling at us. Ben untied him, and we went back to my apartment. By that time it was almost four. I told Ben to make himself comfortable while I put Gideon’s bag of clothes in his room and my clothes away. I went to the bathroom and surveyed myself; I was a mess. I quickly jumped into the shower. I got out and dressed in sandals and a plaid sundress. I dried my hair as I sprayed my cologne and did my makeup. I could multi-task when I needed to. When I finished, Ben and Boss were on the rooftop and I joined them. Boss ran and jumped up to me. His paws reached my forearms. He licked my cheeks. I couldn’t help but giggle. I knelt down and put his paws on the ground and patted his head. “My heroes.” I smiled at both of them.
“So I’ve heard.” Ben looked toward the voice at the door of the apartment. I turned around and saw my big brother standing in the doorway with a loose tie and his sleeves rolled up.
“Gideon, this is Ben and his dog Boss.” I walked toward him but motioned to Ben and Boss. Gideon smiled.
“Nice to meet you.” Then he added, “Hey kid, the apartment looks great.”
“So does your laundry,” I grinned.
“Have I told you how awesome you are?”
“Only all the time.” We all laughed, and Boss barked in agreement.
“I’m going to get ready for company. Ben can you stay for dinner?”
“Um, yeah, sure. I’ve just got to call my mom and let her know,” Ben said in a surprised voice.
“We are having some friends over already,” I chimed in. “Come with me; you can use my phone.” I led him into my bedroom, and Boss followed. I handed him my phone.
“Boss doesn’t leave your side, does he?” I asked, as I sat down on my bed. Boss jumped up on the bed and lay his head in my lap.
“It’s not my side he’s not leaving.” He chortled more at Boss than me. Boss sighed and nudged my arm to pet him. “He can be a bit clingy.” He chuckled as he dialed his phone number. He sat down on the bed beside me.
“Hey, Mom. Yeah. Yeah, Boss and me are at Ellie’s house. Ellie, the girl from last night. I know. I know.” I could hear he was getting annoyed. “She and her brother invited us to dinner. I’ll explain later. OK. . . OK. . . OK. I love you. I’ll call when we’re leaving. Uh-huh. Oh-Kay. Bye.” He hit the end button and looked over at me a little embarrassed. “She’s a little overprotective.” He paused. “And, she’d like to meet you soon.” Boss’s ears perked up at that.
We were having hot dogs and hamburgers. I’d bought some potato salad and baked beans. Ben and I began to make a salad. Gideon emerged from his room, sparkling clean, smelling so good and looking great. He wore a plain white t-shirt with a plaid button-up shirt over it, with long shorts, short socks, and his sneakers. He went out to the rooftop and started the grill. Boss went outside with him.
“So I’ve met your brother. When do I get to meet your boyfriend?” Ben winked at me as he added the cucumbers to the bowl.
“Me first,” I joked.
“Well, allow me to introduce myself.” I smiled at him. He nudged me with his elbow. “I’m serious.” Even though the smile on his face said otherwise, we began to laugh. I nudged him back. We were laughing hard when the door buzzer rang. I walked down to the front door and answered it. It was Moriah and Selah. I rang them in and unlocked the front door.
“We’ll continue this conversation later,” he smiled, as I came back up the stairs.
A few minutes later, Moriah and Selah came up the stairs out of breath like they had been running the whole way up. They looked radiant in their identical sundresses in different colors. Moriah looked at Ben and her face turned white. He saw her at the same time and quickly asked to use the restroom. I sent him through Gideon’s room since it was closer to the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” I asked, confused. Moriah ignored me and quickly went out to where Gideon was.
“Don’t ask,” Selah replied, and she began chopping where Ben had left off. Boss came in and lay down in front of the coffee table. Ben returned quickly.
“Hey, Selah,” he smiled shyly. This was a side of him I hadn’t seen.
“Hey, Ben. How have you been?” she asked like nothing was wrong.
“Wait. You guys know each other?” I was so confused.
“Yeah, we’ve known each other for years. Our parents were friends when we were younger, and Ben’s mom made sure to keep in touch with us after our parents died. It was nice. Helped us remember our parents.” She smiled at Ben. He smiled back brilliantly.