Gym Buddies II: Epilogue
#10 of Gym Buddies II
Gym Buddies II: Epilogue
Two weeks later and I was already sick of grapes - the sight and taste of them. Dan had been sneaking them in so that I didn't have to eat the 'food' in the hospital. I loved him for being so thoughtful, but grapes? Really? He was such a cliché at times. I loved him for it, though - my brother was so sweet.
Thankfully it was my last day in the hospital. Walking out into the chilly wind was pleasant on my fur. I inhaled deeply through my nose and smelled the fresh air - cold and unsterilized - nothing like the hospital I'd been sat up in for the past fortnight. Dan placed my coat over my shoulders and smiled at me, holding a newspaper in his paw and patting me on the shoulder with the other. If we weren't out on the streets, I think he might have kissed me. I leant quickly in and stole a peck from his lips.
He blushed lightly, which made me smile. I ignored the chocolate Labrador that stared at us from the bus stop and made my way off with the husky.
We walked over to the car and I knew to go to the passenger seat. Dan had told me several times that I was still in no condition to drive, and truth be told I agreed with him. When we got in, I closed my eyes and waited for the rumble of the engine. It'd been a long time since I'd ridden in the car with Dan behind the wheel, but he caused the vehicle to murr perfectly. When no sound came for a moment, I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was rustling through the newspaper with eagerness.
"What are you doing, pup?"
"We need to eat," he said dryly, "so we need jobs. We can hardly go back to the gym for that trainer's position, can we?" I instinctively pulled my paw into my chest and ran my tongue along my gums. I still wasn't used to the feeling of not having teeth there, but I was glad that they'd stopped bleeding now. I looked down at the cast and glanced over the writing on it.
Most of it was made up of love hearts, which Dan had insisted some of the nurses who had taken a shine to me had left there. Whenever he told me this, however, his tail curled and he refused to look me in the eye.
"Is there anything in there, then?" I asked him, looking at the husky. Something was wrong. His golden eyes had turned a pale shade of saffron as he tried to make sense of what he was reading. "You okay?"
"Wh-What was Al's surname?"
I quickly racked my brain for it. "Mason, wasn't it? Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Al Mason. Why?" I tried to get a glimpse of the newspaper, and quickly saw that Dan's gaze was focused on the family announcements.
"He... he's dead."
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Okay, guys - you asked for it. :-) These two pieces might not be fully up to scratch, as I wrote them quickly after my computer decided to delete them.
I won't be uploading Gym Buddies III for a couple of weeks, but will leave you with a teaser to whet your appetites.
- SpeakingWolf
Gym Buddies III: Teaser
The service really was beautiful, just as many of the mourners had said. "He looked so peaceful," whimpered a fennec. Her husband gently wrapped his arms around her frame to stop her from causing a scene.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" a badger pushed in no particular direction. "With the sun being out and a cloudless sky... do you think he's watching us? Do you think he's happy?"
The fennec lost control of her emotions at that point and wept into a handkerchief. The husband rubbed her back and gave a comforting, "there, there."
"Do you think it's true?" a wolf dared. His fur was unkempt - not the right look for a funeral at all. His suit was also a little tatty - not to the point where anyone's glancing eyes would notice, but if someone took a detailed look, the untidy clothes would be hard to miss. "Do you think he... you know? Killed himself?"
"Roger! Don't say things like that," I heard someone hiss. But why hide the truth? He had killed himself - I knew he would. He was so depressed the last time I saw him. I wondered for a moment if that was the last time anyone saw him.
Glancing down at the simple metal urn of ashes, I sighed. My breath became heavy as I wondered about him in some type of afterlife. A paw comforted my shoulder, though I didn't bother to look up at whose it was. I didn't know anyone here anyway, so what would it matter? Instead, I thought over what I'd had trouble coming to terms with ever since I knew.
"He's dead. He's really dead."