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Snow Dawgs

Chapter Five

By Roofles

I was still in Buddy's room when I got a knock on the door. I didn't know who it was. Buddy wasn't in here; the door was unlocked. I figured if it was him he'd have at least just barged in. I mean he did that when it WASN'T his room. I stayed silent as such, if they were looking for Buddy they wouldn't find him in here. Buddy would've jumped at the idea of answering the door.

Hopefully they got the picture.

I didn't want to be bothered. Feeling like shit as I was? I wasn't in the mood for company of any kind... I wouldn't put Buddy out though if he came in. It was still his room after all. I was just a nuisance taking up space. Being in dumps was the worse. Everything just brought you down, you constantly berated yourself over the smallest of things.

And I hated playing the victim. It sickened me. Which made this all worse.

The TV was on so I'm sure whoever was in the hall at least heard it enough to ask. "Doug?" From the other side of the door. Damn, my adoring fans have found me...

I really wasn't looking forward to this as I groaned a little as I adjusted my position on the bed to look less like a fat lazy slob that just got his ass plowed and more like a guy who was just taking it easy. Hey! It was my vacation; that's what I kept telling myself.

Besides.... No matter how many times I looked in the mirror above the dresser at my own reflection? The thought kept coming to my mind. "This was my choice. No one else." Somehow, to me, that made this both better and yet... made me sick to my stomach.

That I actually enjoyed what I had done. Hell! I loved it. I felt alive again after who knows how long. It was a nice refreshing change of pace from the dull stagnant life I had found myself in. It was time to face the music.

"It's unlocked." I half-shouted towards the door before Hunter could ask if I was in here again. He knew I was. The German Shepherd could smell me. He was just waiting for me to open the door for him. If I didn't say anything he probably would've left, never being one for confrontation. Just one of the many things I didn't like about him...

The German shepherd walked in after knocking once more, opening the door as if it were a bathroom stall. Trying to be polite? I couldn't be sure. His ears were back, tail dipped low. He didn't make eye contact at first. Hell, he didn't even look at me until the door was closed behind him.

"Occupied." I joked with a half-smile at him. It was a lame joke, I know. It was something I had done with him for a while now. The nostalgic factor alone at least sold it. Garnering me some much needed friendship points with him.

Hunter gave me a weak smile at that. "Hey." He greeted me with a small wave. Awkward much? "Can we... talk?" He began in the most cliché way possible. I did feel a bit vindictive towards him. Hunter would only ever talk when it was on his terms. When he felt like it. I wanted to tell him I wasn't in the mood. Still, I just needed to get this done with.

For once... he was the victim instead of him just thinking he was.

"Isn't that what we're doing now?" Ok, I was being a bit of a smart ass. My stomach gurgled, and I tried to hide the blush on my face. I rather not have him find out what just happened between me and that pit bull. Man, I felt full after that one. My ass was sore and even if the shower did hide the smell, it couldn't wash away the guilt I felt.

Which was strange. Auto and I had done it while we were dating. Duncan had been after I broke up. Maybe it was guilt for doing it with the pit bull? I wasn't sure. I didn't want to think about it, I wouldn't let myself. Not right now.

"Well... yeah. I guess so." Hunter nodded meekly and came a bit closer, standing there now. Wow. Could he make this anymore awkward. Hunter had that bad habit. Talking little. Coming closer. Talking a bit more and then just standing there. Did he want me to give him a hug or something?

"Have a seat, sheesh." I waved him over at the bed as I sat up a little more for him, pausing what I had been watching. Buddy had a bunch of youtube videos on his laptop hooked up to the TV and it was fun to scroll through them. Most of them were just random joke videos. It kept me entertained enough. Unable to browse the internet out here.

Hunter finally came on over. Looking over at me with big swollen eyes. Had he been crying? Or was he just giving me that droopy puppy dog look to make me feel bad? It was sort of... hard to tell with canines.

"You doing... ok?" He asked softly. It wasn't like I was sick. Is that why he thought I was in bed, in Buddy's room? Maybe it was best not to correct him about that actually...

"I'm good. I'm dealing with it all... in my own way." That wasn't exactly a lie. I just didn't tell him the full truth. Hopefully I wouldn't need to tell him the rest. Not now. Hopefully not ever. "You?" I asked, genuinely concerned. Despite what he had done, Hunter was my first friend out of the dogs. He was the one who introduced me to them all.

He wasn't a bad friend. He was just a terrible boyfriend. If it was possible, I would like to restore the friendship we had. I knew that was a fantasy. It was like asking for the cake and eating it too. It never worked out in the end. You could truly never be the way you were after dating someone. An ex would always just be that. An ex.

"I kind of... saw it coming. I'm sorry." Hunter blurted the apology out, blushing and folding his ears once more. It was always difficult for him to talk about his emotions. "About it all... I knew things weren't exactly going well. And I just..." Hunter bowed his head a little not looking at me now, twiddling his thumbs. "I've just been so busy and like..." He rambled on before just trailing off.

Hunter stopped and looked at me. With those big puppy dog eyes. My heart did go out to him. This was extremely difficult for the dog. Hunter just... wasn't this kind of guy. Not the kind of guy I needed. Someone that could actually have a real conversation with.

I decided, being the one in the wrong here, to throw him a metaphorical bone.

"Are you going to be the DJ then?" I asked, wanting to change the subject to a more positive tone. I was happy for him, really I was. I didn't blame his job for all this. Hunter just... needed to grow up. Maybe that had been one reason why the first person I ended up confining in was the oldest out of everyone here, Auto.

That made me pause, thinking about Auto. I hope I could correct this all before we left. I'd hate to have this bad blood fester between all of us. This was my choice. My fault. I would own that. I didn't want to break up what they had. This family. It was something I had been looking for and threw away for an easy lay.

Hunter nodded once. "I... I think so. I don't want to jinx it!" He got a little flustered. It wasn't too hard to get under his fur honestly. He seemed eager and happy about all this. That was good. I hoped it worked out for him. "I got a call this morning! I'll be one of the people their bringing in. I know I won't be like the star or main event... but this is really good publicity for me! Gets my name out there. Could open a lot of doors for me."

Hunter seemed to pick up on the idea I had started with and began talking to me about the details of the job in depth. He didn't get into any specifics, unsure of everything himself. It was enjoyable. We talked for a good hour. Or I at least humored him while he talked, Hunter joining me on the bed now with crossed legs; he was shoeless. The canines usually preferred to be when they could get away with it.

This reminded me of how we were back in the beginning. Just as friends. That was probably for the best. I rather have him as a friend than an ex. If I could help it... That "If" kept lingering in the back of my throat. Feeling like vomit, tasting like bile... I disliked uncertainty. That simple "if" could change my entire life.

But that might've been asking for too much, to be friends. Even as he talked, I knew things could never be the same between the two of us. Not after what I had done. People liked to pretend you could be friends with your ex's. In reality? If you did truly care for them that much in the end? Then you couldn't just be friends. You wouldn't have hurt them... And I knew after this trip Hunter and I would be seeing a lot less of each other, even if we did stay as roommates (until I found my own place). Something I wasn't looking forward too.

That was something he brought up soon enough. Trying to get into the nitty gritty of our break up. Paperwork as I like to think about it. Talking about if we were going to live together. How the lease would work. What we would do about next month rent. Etcetera. Hunter should've gone on to be a businessman, not a wannabe DJ. He had a knack for emotionally detaching himself from such things.

"When we get back? We'll go over everything. See whose who and what's what and like... we'll turn the side room into your bedroom?" Hunter just said going over it with me. I liked how he would be the one to keep the master bedroom, I didn't bring that up though. I just let him talk. Hunter went on about it all and how we would need to go over it all with Auto who owned the apartments we rented.

"You still want me as a roommate?" I did eventually ask after Hunter stopped to catch his breath. I doubt he would answer yes if he knew what I had done.

"Well. You always paid the bills on time. You know when to take out the garbage for trash day. The internet is in your name." Hunter thought about it. Wasn't exactly the most romantic of things but it was true. I was usually the one who paid for things. While Hunter did send me cash electronically, I was the one who did all the grunt work of paying the utilities and rent. Doing both of our taxes. Grown up things...

The lease might even be in my name now... not his.

So... me staying was more of a matter of convenience than anything else? I didn't voice my thoughts aloud. It still hurt to hear him just say it like that. Us breaking up? Didn't mean anything. Having me leave the apartment was. While I did appreciate the offer. I would be looking for a new place still when I got back. I couldn't exactly be staying in a place where I slept with half the dogs in the complex (exaggerating of course). I really hope I didn't end up doing that...

We continued to go over things. With every passing minute I felt the need, an urge to confess my sins. To repent for what I had done. To lay it all out before him. I was building up the courage, my cowardice and shame holding me back... until there was another knock on the door. This must've been Buddy I thought. I really needed the golden retriever right about now. Buddy could easily lighten the mood and I got up to get the door for him without a second thought.

I did find it odd he didn't just barge inside... A thought I wish I had before I did open that door and I found myself looking into the burly chest of an older blue heeler.

"Auto." I stammered a little. I backed up and let him come inside even before he asked. Hunter got off the bed and stood up for the Alpha.

Auto walked inside with heavy footsteps looking around the room before looking over at the German Shepherd. "Oh, Hunter. I didn't know you were in here... Buddy just said Douglas would be." The blue heeler cleared his throat as he looked around the room. "Are you two...?"

"We're going over the paperwork for our breakup." I said in a dry monotone voice. "It's so much fun... come. Join us. Please." I wasn't sure why I said that. Trying to break this tension with some humor? I don't think either of them got that it was supposed to be a joke. My dry sense of humor usually went over their heads.

Auto looked hesitant, as if not wanting to intrude. Or maybe the older canine had been hoping we could have some privacy to talk, alone. Unsure what to do, maybe awkward for having coming in and felt obligated to stay, he did. The blue heeler moved over to look at the identical dresser to his own room as if it would somehow be different. Comparing the rooms. His presence did peek my curiosity.

"Is it ok if I continue?" Hunter asked. For a second, I thought he was talking to me. Instead, he was facing towards Auto with a slightly lowered head and hunched shoulders. One thing that took some adjusting too was how the other canines treated Auto, the Alpha. The blue heeler had given me a lot of slack for being human. At times like this I appreciated it.

I never was good at bending over backwards for authority figures. Also, it was a bit hard to stop my mouth sometimes from running.

I mimicked Hunter the best I could, hoping I didn't look like too much of a fool. I suppose, that was the point though. Show respect to the Alpha by prostrating yourself before him. Humiliating yourself like this, seemed fitting for me.

"It's fine." Auto just nodded at Hunter. He gave me a look. His face softened for a second before it was stoic again as the German Shephard continued.

"We needed to go over it with you anyways." Hunter just nodded along, obediently. "I didn't want to bother you during your vacation, sir." Did Hunter just call Auto sir? "Just... since you are here... if you..."

"It's fine." Auto repeated himself in that husky deep voice. He rested against the wall, crossing his arms, and looked over at the two of us. And things became even more awkward, at least for me. Hunter seemed to relax having been given permission to continue.

"We were talking about the living situation." Hunter explained to Auto. The blue heeler's ears perked up at that.

"About that." Auto looked over at me. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

I reflexively gulped. Trying not to sweat as I looked at the Alpha. He held my future in those big strong hands of his. Here it was. He was going to kick me out, I was sure of it! Make me walk home in the snow. To a home that wouldn't even be mine anymore. Maybe he'd ban me from his property. Did he need to rough me up first? Make an example? The thought worried me. Auto could easily take me. I wasn't a fighter just a smart-ass.

"Yeah...?" I dared to ask when he didn't continue. My mouth had suddenly grown rather dry.

"One of the front lots is being renovated. Bad wiring." He waved that off though before I could ask further. "It's a small single unit. The rent would be reasonable. It doesn't have a washer dryer but... it's something you could use. It's next to my own." Auto added. "It'd allow me to keep an eye on ya."

That was odd to say.

"Thank you, Auto. That's... far kinder than I deserve, honestly." I rubbed my arm unable to meet his strong eyes. Auto must've been thinking about this after our last talk. "After what happened though..."

"Don't be selfish." Auto growled a bit now, making Hunter's ears lay flat once more. The German Shepherd kept his mouth shut. "What happened? It... Happened. Don't get cocky, kid. You didn't do that by yourself." He hesitated, licking his chops a bit as if thirsty.

We both looked over at Hunter who seemed to remain clueless about all this.

"This old dog knew what he was doin'... don't go thinking it was only your fault." Auto crossed his arms, giving me a stern look. Like a father chiding his child for playing with his things he had forgotten to lock up.

"Well, I mean it sort of was..." I tried to explain, to apologize for it all without just saying it. I mean for fuck sake, Hunter was still in the room! Did he really have to bring it up now?

"That's what I mean!" Auto snarled a bit now taking a step forward and jabbing a finger against my chest, painfully. I winced, trying not to let it show too much that it had hurt. "Stop thinking that this is all your doing or some shit. Give me some credit..." Auto looked away at that, going quiet.

"Auto..." I didn't know what else to say.

"I'm not senile, yet." Auto scratched his face still not meeting my eyes. "I'm not no pup. I know the shit I do. Not some... pup." He felt the need to say again. I moved a little closer at that, touching his arm with a hand. It flexed instinctively but relaxed soon after.

"I know. I'm sorry. For not realizing it sooner..." I waited for him to look back at me. I could feel his breath against my face when he did, just like that night in the hot tub.

He touched my hand and I felt his fingers slide between my own. Auto looked at me and I just looked into those eyes, inching slightly closer... It was only then that we seemed to realize Hunter was still in the room, watching us, and quickly backed away from each other, trying to play it off. Auto cleared his throat.

"Uh..." Hunter blinked a few times trying to understand what had just happened.

"Douglas drove my car without my permission." Auto just said suddenly. I gave him a look. The blue heeler just went on with the lie. "He thought I didn't know about it. I was the dumbass that left my keys in the car."

"You were the one to ask me to get the groceries." I ended up lying along with him. Digging the hole even deeper. Auto gave me a look.

"I didn't think you actually would! Pup..." Auto gritted his teeth, warning me that he'd do the talking. I wasn't about to roll on my back for him... again.

"What did you think I was going to do? I was... hungry." I frowned a little bit at the analogy. I had been hungry for something...

"You weren't going to starve to death!" Auto turned back towards me now, the two of us arguing about blame... I think.

"Well Hunter hadn't fed me in weeks!" I half-shouted, getting a bit heated about all this. He comes in here wanting to share the blame, which I respect. Now he was throwing me under the bus!

"Hey..." Hunter frowned at that, still not catching on.

"It was for the super bowl." I explained, creating more lies on top of the others.

"I was busy..." Hunter just said now in his own defense.

Auto just frowned. "Just because it was the... super bowl. Doesn't mean you can just up an eat whatever." The blue heeler was a better actor than I gave him credit for.

"Then you shouldn't have offered!" I glared back at him now.

"Watch it, pup. You were practically begging to crawl into my bed... fridge. Crawl into my fridge." Auto cleared his throat once more. "Fridge..." He said once more. Subtle...

"Good cover." My smart-ass mouth couldn't stay shut.

"Pup..." Auto lifted one of his jowls in a growl, showing his teeth. "I will take you back to my fridge and stuff that face of yours."

We just stared at each other, unblinking. Waiting for the other to fold...

"Or we could just go get breakfast." Hunter offered meekly, his voice nearly a squeak. The German Shepherd looked absolutely confused by it all. Not that I exactly blamed him. I was confused to what we were talking about at this point. .

"Did you tell Hunter?" Auto just finally said, turning and moving away. I didn't realize I had been holding my breath and quickly took several when he wasn't looking.

"I never told him about... the fridge incident."

"Do we need a new fridge?" Hunter was dumbfounded as he looked between the two of us. The German Shephard was whining softly now, confusion and worry written all over his face.

"Something like that." I muttered bitterly to myself.

"Hunter, go get breakfast ready." Auto said as if the German Shepherd was cooking it. The other canine didn't question it and nodded, heading for the door. Man, Hunter was obedient.

"I'll see you downstairs, Doug." Hunter gave me a look. I tried to give him a convincing smile. He left, and I ended up frowning at the blue heeler. We waited to make sure Hunter wasn't in ear shot before continuing.

"Fridge incident?" Auto just asked looking at me, quirking an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I-I didn't see you coming up with anything better!" I added. "That freaking hurt!" I rubbed my chest where he had poked me.

"Good." Auto snorted, taking a moment. I think he really did find it more amusing than anything else.

"Did you come here to tell me about the room?" I brought back up. "I'm not... being kicked out."

"Pup. You slept with me." Auto said without even a hint of remorse in his voice, he didn't even soften his words. He just said it how it was. "I'm just at fault as you are."

"I was the one with Hunter..." I kept my voice down, ashamed by it all. I stepped a little closer trying to make sure no one could hear us.

"And I knew about it." Auto sighed heavily, shaking his head. "And I still went along with it." He turned away. For a second I thought he was about to punch the wall, he just clenched his fist tightly looking at it. "I'm the Alpha!... I should've been stronger. Known better."

"You were drunk..." I tried to give us an out for what we had done.

"It takes more than a six pack to get this dog drunk." Auto gave me a look. He slapped his belly just to make sure his point got across.

"Well I wasn't either!" I frowned at that. Why did I feel the need to defend myself to him. Something about Auto just made me feel... like a kid, frankly. "Just... enough to take that edge off. So, I wouldn't question it twice." I rubbed my arm. "I guess... in my head I was already broken up with Hunter..."

We took another moment to collect our thoughts. I had mixed feelings about all this. I wanted to just hate it all. Yet, I couldn't deny just how good it felt to be in Auto's arms that night.

"I'm not going to kick you out." Auto just huffed hotly, shaking his head. "I'd have to do the same thing to myself if I did." And he chuckled at that. A growling sound. Clearly, he wasn't about to kick himself out of his own buildings.

Canines could be extremely territorial. As such, it was rather common for them to own property and areas they could guard and protect as theirs.

"That would be a sight." I chuckled lightly. He gave me a look and I gave him a smile. "I'm sorry I dragged you into all this."

Auto rolled his eyes. "Enough with the apologies! Shit, pup. I just told you, you aren't fully to blame..."

"You know you didn't tell me, yet. Did you come here just to give me the good news that I won't be homeless?"

He gave me a look. "I came here to get rid of the evidence..." His face darkened as he just gave me a cold, blank stare. It was extremely unnerving.

I knew he was joking, yet I could still feel beads of sweat form on my forehead. "Are you... going to kill me?" I joked and yet my voice caught a little in my throat.

Auto snorted with another bark of a laugh. "And what? Bury you in the back yard?" Auto kept laughing at that, chuckling heavily with a shake of his head. He didn't answer that. Just kept laughing. It was a bit unsettling. "Relax," he ended up saying. "If I wanted to get rid of ya? You'd already be gone." He patted me on the shoulder and turned to leave.

"Oh," Auto stopped before exiting. I looked over at him. "Why did you choose Buddy?" He ended up asking.

"Buddy's room, you mean?" He nodded. "Well... it's Buddy." I just said with a bit of a laugh. "I don't think I ever met such a good guy." I wasn't sure why I was blushing at the thought of the golden retriever.

Auto took a moment on that. Gave a nod and just left. "I see." Was he offended I didn't ask him for a room? I had hoped we had gotten past all this.

This was going to be a long week...

I cleaned up in the bathroom, relieving myself of Duncan's puppies and washed myself down thoroughly. I knew how sharp a canine's nose could be and knew it was best to use soap to mask my shame. As a human? I could get away with wearing deodorant and the like. Canines couldn't.

There was an unspoken rule about it. If you were wearing something chemical like cologne or perfume, you were trying to hide something. It was an admission of guilt. Half the things said between the canines in the apartments was done without words.

Body language was a huge part of their social structure. The way Hunter reacted to Auto was normal. A twitch of an ear or a wag of a tail could say more than words ever could. Words had different meanings depending on if the canine was being friendly or not. One reason why it was hard for me to understand someone like Junkyard. His body didn't match his words.

"Maybe I just can't date a dog..." I ended up saying to my own reflection. Hunter and I were similar in a lot of ways. Yet, there was always that cultural barrier that had just been too difficult to cross on top of everything else that had been going on.

There's a reason people and canines, amongst others, stayed with their own kind...

There was a knock on the door making me physically groan aloud as I trudged on over.

"What?" I nearly shouted as I opened the door. It was Buddy. The golden retriever had a plate of food in both hands; it was why he couldn't barge in as he so clearly wanted too. He was half-shaking with bent up excitement. Or hunger. It was hard to tell with the golden retriever.

"I heard you were hungry!" So, clearly it had been the second option. Buddy eyes lit up as a grin spread from one ear to the other. I swear there were actual stars in those eyes. "Can't have you going hungry!" He just barked happily walking into the room as I stepped to one side for him.

"I was going to come downstairs to eat..." I lied. As hungry as I was, I preferred some solace for a change. Something I was discovering was impossible when hanging around canines. They were such social animals, it was second nature to just hang out with one another.

And somehow, I found myself on that list...

It made me smile as I walked over to join Buddy. He was on the bed, using a tray he had gotten from down stairs. "I only grabbed one." He patted the spot next to him, wanting me to join him.

I wasn't sure if you could call Buddy handsome or not. He had so much fur it was hard to tell what was underneath. Like a moving shag carpet. A pee stained one at that. The joke made me smile as I joined him.

"You look like a pee stained shag rug." I just told Buddy.

The golden retriever had his mouth full of food and looked over at me. I could barely see his eyes underneath his bangs. Then Buddy barked a laugh, spitting food everywhere as he just laughed open and loud.

"Hah, you're right! I kind of do! Don't I?" He looked at himself, picking a piece of bacon off his shirt and toss it into his maw. Chewing as he looked back at me. He gave me a smile, food stuck between his teeth.

I laughed at that, carefully getting under the tray to lay in bed next to Buddy as he continued what I had been watching. I didn't have my pants on, just a pair of loose briefs and a shirt. Buddy had taken his pants off before getting into the bed. His fur was warm as it rubbed against my bare leg.

Buddy didn't say anything about it as he watched the show, laughing at the stupidest parts. He was simple. And that wasn't a bad thing. In a way, I envied him for that.

The platter of food Buddy had gotten me consisted of everything other than potatoes or bread. A large egg omelet with the works. Bell peppers, green onions, cheese, baby tomatoes cut up and some leafy green thing I think was spinach. There was sausage and bacon on the side. Some mixture of nuts and oats with yogurt was in a bowl resting partially on the plate filled to the brim with berries of all sorts. It was a meal fit for a king. And Buddy had made it just for me.

"Thanks... but I thought you said sweet berries were the devil?" I laughed, eating one of the blueberries.

"I like the smell of them." Buddy just shrugged a shoulder. "Peaches are great too. Mandarin oranges..." He went on. And on. Talking about strawberries, blueberries, raspberries... every berry I had ever heard about and more. He sat up as he went on, thinking about it. He was oddly knowledgeable on the subject. Buddy was drooling by the end and wiped it on the back of his arm with a guilty smile.

"The problem is, you can't have any of them..." I said concluding too. Buddy was dancing around it but didn't want to say it out loud.

"Well, no. I can." Buddy didn't look at me as he fidgeted a little, trying to find the words to express himself. "I just have to margin everything out. Use the actual serving sizes. Compare the various berries against each other and..."

"Seems like a lot of work." I agreed. It wasn't like he was diabetic. I guess he rather not risk it. Losing ones' mother to overindulgence couldn't be an easy thing to live with. Knowing that he was predisposition to having it too was a heavy weight for him to bear.

"Kind of takes the joy out of eating." Buddy chuckle lightly as if in defeat as he looked down on what was left. He picked up a bit of bacon as he set the table to the side. "Even if I run four miles after eating this, there's still the chance of me having a stroke. A heart attack. Breaking a limb. Coming down with arthritis..." Buddy ears folded back as he crossed one of his legs. "Just no winning in the end..."

I didn't think about such things myself. "It's hard." I said aloud. "To think about such things. Even knowing that we should be. It's just... life is hard enough, you know?" I wasn't sure if I was voicing my thoughts aloud or just talking with my friend. "Sometimes? After a long day of work I need a slice of bacon." I teased as I took it from him. He watched it go longingly. "Helps with everything. Maybe though..." I offered it to himself.

Buddy floppy ears splayed out as he looked at me with large puppy eyes, hidden underneath his bangs. His muzzle open, a tongue drooling out as I placed the piece of bacon on it. The muscle curled around the food and pulled it hungrily into his drooling jaws to chew and swallow.

"You alright, Buddy?" I asked softly. He needed the pick me up bacon more than I did.

"Of course!" Buddy said loudly as he jumped off the bed. Thankfully we had cleaned out plates as they were knocked onto the floor. "Nothing gets me down." He gave me a wink as he cleaned up the mess. "Got to go run those miles!" He said with a wave and exited before I could stop him, leaving me alone in this room.

I hope he was alright. Buddy just never could stop moving. Always seeming to feel as if he needed too. Before he couldn't...

I decided to see if I could catch up with him. Maybe humor him with a half-mile jog or something. The door to his room didn't even fully closed before I heard the argument coming from down the hall. I recognized the voices and moved over slightly to hear better.

"...if you were going to the hot tubs, why didn't you let me know?" It was Junkyard, the Doberman that seemed to despise me for reasons I still wasn't sure about. I didn't buy the fact that it was just because I had been dating Hunter.

"Just felt like it. Last minute thing." The other voice said. It was Duncan. The pit bull seemed to be in some hot water, even outside the jacuzzi. The Doberman continued to lay into him, trying to keep his voice down but was getting heated over whatever they had been talking about.

"If you wanted space why the hell did you drag me out to this secluded space!" Junkyard growled at him. Clearly I wasn't the only one that ended up coming along last minute.

"What are you talking about? We come here every year with Auto. Don't go getting mad at me!" Duncan ended up snarling back. A deep sound that made my heart skip a beat. The pit bull could be rather... scary, when he wanted to be. I was sure he was getting up in Junkyard's face now. "You knew exactly what you were getting into."

"Well... I thought there would be something else to do here is all. The storm is kind of killing this ski trip." Junkyard grumbled, frustrated by it all. I couldn't blame him. The reports on the weather were saying this storm could last the whole week. Would suck not being able to go on the slopes again. Right after I was getting good at it too.

"The fuck would I know something like that would happen!" Duncan snarled. "I'm not a fucking weatherman. I mean for fuck sake!" Duncan must've hit the wall as there was a large thump. The two went silent for a few moments before Junkyard said something about Duncan's outfit.

The two continued to argue. I understood why it annoyed Junkyard. Seemed strange to get on Duncan about it though. The two seemed so chummy before. I didn't want to get dragged into whatever was going on and quickly, quietly went the other way down the hall. I had enough on my plate right now.

"Blizzards shouldn't hit us too hard." The malamute was talking to Auto at the bottom of the stairs near the front door. They weren't exactly trying to be quiet. Unlike cats, canines didn't try to hide things. They were very upfront about everything.

"What's up?" I asked after Auto looked over, seeing who was coming down the stairs.

"We might be closing up early today, is all." The malamute said in a friendly enough manner, a smile on his face. Still, Maximus seemed annoyed by it all.

"The slopes only." Auto corrected him. "Sorry for any inconveniences this causes." The blue heeler was in business mode, used to apologizing for such things when they came up at the apartments. People had a knack for complaining over the smallest, most trivial thing. While this really did suck, it wasn't that bad of a thing. We were safe and still had power at least.

Save for the fact now I would be stuck inside with my ex and the two guys I had... been with. I excused myself and left the two talking about business and what to do about it. They were talking about shoveling snow and I did NOT want to be volunteered for that job right now!

"Douglas!" Hunter soon enough found me in the lobby, looking at my phone. No new messages. There wasn't reception out here. Let alone internet with the weather acting up like this. If Auto did kill me and bury me in the back yard, no one would ever find my frozen body... Lovely thought.

I looked up as the German Shepherd headed over. "Missed you at breakfast."

"Something came up." I lied. I rather lock myself in the room for the rest of this trip than have to be around everyone else. Apart from Buddy that was. The golden retriever was beginning to worry me. I hadn't seen him for over an hour. Hopefully the dumbass didn't go running out in this weather.

The snow was battering against the windows. Maximus had reassured us that everything was fine. The power would hold. We'd still have wifi (as in the accursed forever buffering wifi you get in public). And there was "plenty to do around the lodge other than ski." Everyone spirits had become a lot gloomier after that. We were here to ski not hang out in an overpriced cabin in the woods.

"What cha' up too?" Hunter asked wearing a pair of large head phones around his neck. He took the seat next to me, leaning over to look at what I was doing. "Tetris again?"

"Flash point Tetris, thank you very much." It was a puzzle game app that used the same mechanics as Tetris. You had to match the shapes, the colors and each mini block had a number on it. Only when you lined them up correctly would they disappear, and you would get points. It was a good distraction from the boredom setting in.

I could've been working instead of coming here. Make a few more bucks. I knew I needed every cent I could scrounge up before Auto decided to kick my ass out. It was only a matter of time; once he found out about Duncan after all.

"Something wrong?" I asked seeing the look on Hunter's face. It was clear he wanted to talk about something.

"Well... with this storm? I might not be able to get back in time for New Years." He was talking about the DJ gig he had gotten.

"I'm sure it'll blow over." I showed him a live feed of the news showcasing how the storm was barely hitting us as it was. It kept replaying the same thing over and over again. Thirty minutes worth of buffering got me that five seconds. "It'll blow over in a couple of days, I'm sure." I said again to hammer it in. I knew just how whiny he could get when something didn't go his way. He was also a worry wart.

"Yeah. I'm sure you're right." He set a steaming mug in front of me. "Hot coco?" Hunter smiled at me softly. There had been a reason I dated him in the first place... "It's not real chocolate!" Hunter went on quickly before I could get my hopes up too much. "It's that fake stuff I used to buy."

"Right, right. Thank you." I told him as I took a sip. It was bitter and not very sweet. I didn't let my distaste show. "What are you up too?"

"Nothing much." Hunter started off about to go into a rant I'm sure about how the internet wasn't running fast enough. He was cut off thankfully before he could get into the details.

"Hunter." Junkyard came into the lobby. The Doberman shot me an ugly glare before smiling at his old friend, and ex. "Fancy bumping into you here."

"It's not that big of a building. The chances were astronomically high." I just told him, being the smart ass, I was. Junkyard didn't find it amusing in the least. Which made me spitefully happy. He wanted to rub me the wrong way? I could do the same thing. "You'd have to be dumb, blind AND stupid not to find him." I just continued in a sweet voice offering him a Cheshire cat worthy smile.

Duncan was with him. Seeing the pit bull wiped the smug grin off my face and I looked away, trying not to be too obvious about the guilt written over my face.

Junkyard held back the snarl creeping up his throat and just turned back to Hunter. "We were going to go down to the game room, if you're interested in joining us. More the merrier!" Junkyard was already helping Hunter up. Ignoring the pit bull beside him and myself.

Duncan frowned as much as I was, though I wasn't sure why. It was then that he caught my eye and his face instantly brightened, soften into something more... full of himself. The prideful bastard. He probably fapped in front of one of those full body mirrors so he could watch himself.

"How about it, Doug?" Duncan just asked me much to all our surprise. The other two dogs stopping in their tracks to look back at us. He offered his hand to me.

"Well... Uh..." I stammered a little. Not wanting to be rude. And defiantly not wanting to go anywhere with Junkyard.

"What? Wouldn't be the first time I gave you hand." The pit bull just continued to offer it to me, pink paw pads upwards. I was bored out of my mind and my phones power was about to die.

What could be the worse thing that happened? I took it.