Sweet Embrace: The Calling
Kody hooks up with an old friend and thinks more on the past. Gearing up for the next chapter!
Sweet Embrace: The Calling
~Part Three~
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Kody woke up after hearing the sound of the first passing car; the loud truck let out a loud crack as it continued to the end of the street. Kody shook wildly as the crack met his ears, forcing them to lie against his head. He licked his lips slowly; cringing as the salty aftertaste of tears filled his mouth. The taste lingered there, not wanting to let down; Kody lifting his body into a sitting position.
Minutes passed quickly as Kody gathered his thoughts about him; he had to actually get up and go today. Dustin would never have wanted him to just sit there because he was gone. Kody had been shut-down for nearly two days now, and it was really tearing his emotions out of his mind. It was time for him to face the world and let others know where he had been; someone was bound to be worried by now. If not, then at least he would be able to talk to people and try to share what was going on in his life.
Kody pushed himself onto his hind paws and walked over to the kitchen; grabbing a large glass from the cupboard. He stood over the sink looking at his now flush appearance in the window that stared back at him. Kody touched the side of his face wanting to know if it was actually him who was in the reflection; still unsure if he was himself since Dustin had left. Pouring water from the tap into the glass he gulped it down, the wetness seeming to fill him and wake him up fully; filling his thirst that had been forgotten for almost two days. Kody's stomach growling as the water filled it slightly; he needed to get something to eat and soon.
Kody picked up the phone that was laying next to where he had been sitting; opening it up to see the pale blue light of the screen flash back at him. The phone flashed madly with messages of missed calls and text messages that he had been ignoring. One of the calls from his friend Jennifer and the rest from other various people who obviously really needed to get a hold of him. He simply closed and opened the phone one time and the messages vanished; Kody knowing that he didn't really want to know what he had missed in the last two days. He started to dial Jennifer's number and pressed the send button quickly pressing the phone into his ear.
"Hello?" A barely awake voice offered as Kody started to speak to his friend; the one friend he was really concerned about. "Hi Jen, how are you?" Kody said in a happy tone that was laced with hurt. "I am fine Kody...how are you?" Jennifer responded quickly as if she had been looking forward to his call back. "I...I am alright Jen..." Kody tried to sound like nothing was bothering him, "Did you want to go catch a bite to eat?"
"I guess do bud...I will meet you at the Coffee House in twenty." Jennifer said as her voice seemed to go from concerned to very happy as quickly as it changed before. "Okay Jen...talk to you then." Kody said smiling as he closed the phone and trotted off to catch a shower and get ready.
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Kody pulled up to the Coffee House just as Jennifer walked in the door; she had actually been early for once. Kody laughed to himself as he found a spot to park in; one that was almost near the back of the parking lot. He turned off the engine and put his keys into his pocket; opening the car door and slipping out into the warm air. Kody walked up to the door to the Coffee House just as an anthro tiger was walking up; Kody opened the door for the tiger and walked in behind him. He looked around slowly trying to pick out Jennifer in the large group of people; finally spotting her at the counter ordering her usual coffee and biscotti. Kody walked over to her slowly as he watched the mix of anthro creatures and humans as the talked; there voiced in a blur above the room. He finally reached the counter and ordered himself a large smoothie and two scones.
"So how are you doing pup?" Jennifer said with a giggle as she picked up her coffee and headed over to the closest table. "I am alright Jen...glad to actually get out around people again..." Kody said as he met her gaze with his own; nodding slightly and turning around as the barista gave him his smoothie. "What do you mean?" Jennifer asked Kody as he walked over to join her at the table. "It is nothing really Jen...I have just not been feeling well is all..." Kody countered quickly as he turned from her gaze; knots growing in his stomach now. "Alright pup...if you are sure..." Jennifer said as she took a sip of her coffee; biting off a piece of biscotti and savoring the rich flavor combination. "I am sure Jen...so what are we going to do later?" Kody asked the question following the German shepherd's example; sipping at the smoothie and taking a large bite of the scone.
"Whatever you feel up to...I don't have anything that I need to do today..." Jennifer offered as the two finished off breakfast. "Well I guess we can just hang out for a while." Kody said in a low and muffled tone that was almost completely drown out by the sounds of the packed Coffee House. "That is fine with me pup...I think that they are having some poetry readings in about an hour...do you mind just hanging here till then?" Jennifer said loud enough for almost the whole Coffee House to hear. "That sounds great Jen...that will give us time to talk about some things..." Kody said loudly as Jennifer had just done; his voice becoming almost a muffled blur at the end of his words. "Alright Kody, spill...I know something is wrong...what is up?" Jennifer said looking into the wolf's eyes eagerly; Kody knew that he had to tell her now.
"Well...it is about Dustin..." Kody said as his ears lowered again; choking on his words at the same time. "Yeah...he is in town right...where is he at?" Jennifer said as the Coffee House seemed to get louder; drowning the conversation. Kody lowered his head and stared into his smoothie; acting like he had not heard what Jennifer had just said. Jennifer shot Kody a glare that made him stare into her eyes; she put her paw on Kody's shoulder and asked him again. Kody stared at her trying to hold back a well of tears that was building in him. "He was here...and now he isn't coming back..." Kody said as he looked away again; Jennifer trying to check if she had heard him right. "Oh my gods Kody...I had no idea..." Jennifer tried to offer comfort; not asking about the rest of the story so that Kody would not have to cry in front of the people in the crowded room. "It is okay Jen...I will be fine..." Kody said as he got up and ran towards his car; jumping in and speeding off into the distance. He hadn't even thought about leaving his friend just sitting there. Jennifer got up and left the Coffee Hose; she frowned as she got into her car and drove off. She didn't want to bug Kody until he had calmed down; she knew better than anyone about needing space.
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Kody Pulled up to his house about an hour later; he had taken the long way around town in order to clear his mind. Dustin was gone now and he was still trying to accept that fact. Kody strolled into his house and turned on the lights and got into his bedroom. He pulled his tear stained shirt; heading over to the bed to fix the sheets. Kody laid his head down onto the pillow and started to think more on how he had just left Jennifer at the Coffee House alone. "How could I have been so stupid...she is my friend..." The growls and grunts of Kody cursing himself suddenly stopped; the phone ringing off the hook. He flipped it open and read the number to see who it was; his face filled with joy as he realized it was Dustin's work phone number.
"Hi baby!" Kody shouted as he answered the phone quickly; his voice filled with joy. "Hello...is this Mr. Evines?" A shrewd and emotionless voice said on the other end of the conversation; Kody's excitement dissipating instantly. "Umm...yes this is Evines...can I help you sir?" Kody offered trying to sound like he really wanted to help the person who was now starting to sound nervous. "I am afraid I have some unfortunate news Mr. Evines..." The voice tore into Kody's mind as he heard the demeaning words. "Well let me hear what you have to say...please..." Kody said as he sounded both anxious and hurt. "This concerns Dustin....you are the only contact on his list..." The voice now sounding like it did not want to tell Kody what was going on. "Yes," Kody offered. "We have just received news of a crash...they believe there were no survives...and the truck was licensed to a Mr. Dustin Fields..." The voice said expecting a response; Kody just sitting there trying to take it all in. "I will call you back with further details Mr. Evines...I will let you know as soon as possible if we can confirm this information..." The voice seemed to disappear as Kody grabbed his muzzle; holding back his whimpering while he was on the phone. "Thank you...at least I will know." Kody said trying to sound convincing; hanging up the phone and laying it on the desk.
Kody just laid his head into his pillow; telling himself that the man who called him didn't really know if it was Dustin. Kody tried to think positively as the pain crept into his chest; his breath quickening and his heart pounding. He was just going to have to wait for the man to call back. Kody could tell that he was staring to shake as he fell into a light sleep. "I know he is coming back...he wouldn't leave me like this..." Kody said softly as his eyes opened again; quickly shutting again letting him drift off to sleep.
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The phone sent out a loud ring that shattered the quietness of the still room. "Hello!" Kody said quickly as he picked up his phone; flipping it open without looking to see who was calling. "Hello...Mr. Evines?" The same mans voice echoed through the speaker. "Yes...this is he..." Kody offered quickly wanting to know what was going on. "We have confirmed our suspicions Mr. Evines...I am so sorry..." The voice said trying not to sound upset; knowing that the man at the other end of the conversation was really upset now. "Thank you...that is all I need to know right..." Kody said fighting back his tears until he was able to hang up. "Yes Mr. Evines...that is all for now...I'm sorry..." The voice offered a sort of apology; Kody saying a quick thank you and goodbye.
Kody now fell into tears; his paws grabbing his muzzle as his ears hugged his head. "Dustin...how could you leave me...I didn't even get to say goodbye..." Kody stammered through tears and gasps. He cried so hard that he never even realized he had fallen asleep. Waking up to see the whole bed was stained with tears. He went slowly to take a shower; wanting to calm himself with the water. "I am so sorry Dustin...I know you didn't mean to leave me...I..." Kody shuffled into the shower and shut the door; wondering what he should do. He had no idea how much death was going to hurt him; nor did he know what horrible things he was about to embrace. Kody tried to think positively; memories of him and Dustin together helping him to embrace Dustin's death the right way. He knew Dustin would want him to be happy; Kody just wasn't sure how to do it.
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Kody let the water fall on his fur as if it was washing the smell of his mate off. He scrubbed with all his might and let more water rush down upon him, but the smell of Dustin on him would not leave so easily. He finally gave up and turned of the water; walking into the cold room and drying his fur slowly. He had never felt more pain in his life; or at least none that he wanted to remember.
Once he entered into the bedroom he threw on some shorts and lay on the bed. He knew that he could not let this get him down forever, that is not what Dustin would have wanted. He grabbed the phone and called up Jennifer to talk to her again. "Hello pup!" A loving voice said on the receiving end of the call. "Hey Jen, sorry about earlier, just having a hard time, you know?" Kody said in a long phrase like he wanted to just forget what he had done and move on. "Don't worry about it babe, I just hope you are going to be okay." Jennifer offered in a soft tone. "I will, but hey did you want to go to Fallen Angels with me tonight?" Kody's voice said as it was masked in excitement. "Hells yeah, about eight then?" Jennifer said with a small amount of excitement building in her voice as well. "Alight, see you then!" Kody said as he pulled on his shoes. "Okay pup, it's a date." Jennifer said as she hung up the phone.
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