Story Of Another Us

19

Luke's POV...

I pound on the wall and in frustration I accidentally break a plastic container. "Luke! Stop it!" Michael yells at me, "She's fine, I promise you."
"What if you're wrong?" I snap back.
"Stop it Luke! You're scaring Lora!" Sandy confronts him.
"She's not even a day old! She can't get scared!" I yell at her.
"Luke," Niall takes a step towards me. He places a hand on my shoulder, "Calm down."
I take a step away from him and lean against the wall. He moves bad to Lora and I slump down to the floor. I am done. I look around the room. White and yellow walls, tiled ceilings and a small tv hanging in the corner. I huff out a breath. I am not okay, I want to be with her. Michael has to be right. She is fine. We are in a hospital, if anything happens, she can be okay!
After a few minutes of sitting there I have to get up and clear my head, once again. I exit without saying anything. I walk down the hallway towards her room. Maybe I can get in. Before I can reach it though I am stopped by a nurse, "Where are you going?" She asks.
"To see my girlfriend. I need to," I reply and try to push past her.
"What's her name? You cannot just walk through here."
"Kristina Hanas," I exclaim.
"I'll go and check for you, please follow me," she says. I obey and follow her in the opposite direction. We reach the front counter where she asks if Kris is accepting visitors.
The lady at the counter looks up at me, "No hun, she ain't." She says with a southern accent.
I close my eyes and smile at her, "Thank you."
"Ok, I don't want to see you back there without a nurse or doctor by your side. If I do, I'm going to have to ask you to leave this hospital. Understood?" She asks. I nod.

I walk out of the hospital alone. I don't want this, I don't like this. I start running. I pass people, injured and not, and breath heavy. Tears clog my eyes from seeing, but I keep running. I run further and further. I go faster every few steps. I push myself until it hurts to breathe. I continue pushing to try to make my physical pain larger than my emotional. I run another two miles and stop. I spin in a circle looking around me. No one is anywhere. I am finally alone. Alone is all I want. I look to the bright blue sky and scream at the top of my lungs. My voice fades out after I quit. I start screaming again. I then grab a fist full of my hair and tug. Tears empty onto the ground. I squat so I am closer to the concrete below my feet.

Sitting in the shade of a red tall building across the road is a stray dog. I look to it and stop crying. I whistle to see if I can get its attention. It's war perk up and it runs to me. I open my arms and its wiggling body pushes my over. I pat its dusty back as it tackles me and licks my face. I smile at the dog. There is no collar and it looks alone. I take out my phone and look up any pet store close by. I find one about a mile down the road. My muscles ache from running but I keep doing it. I take off and call out, "Oh doggy! Come on bud! You are a guy right?" I stop to check, nope it's a female dog. I shrug and keep running. We get to this pet shop where they do cleanings and sell necessities for dogs. I walk in with her by my side. I go to the counter and she follows. "Could you clean this dog for me?" I ask.
"Has she had shots?" The man at the counter questions.
"I- I don't know. I found her alone and she was dirty. Does she really need shots?" I ask him sincerely.
"Yes, she does. We do have a vet here today if you would like him to do it."
"Please? And then could she get cleaned up?" I ask. Wouldn't it be hard to give a dirty dog shots? If they want to do it that way they can though! The man nods and take the dog behind the counter where I can't see her anymore. I walk around grabbing some dog food, just a little bag, and I pick out a collar for her. I don't have a name picked out yet, but I'll give her a collar at least!

Thirty minutes later she walks out. I can see the brown in her fur and I can now identify that she is a German shepherd. I crouch to my knees and she rushes to me. I put the collar I had just paid for. I open the dog food and dump a little into my hand where I let her eat from because I am too stupid to buy a bowl. She inhales it and we start walking towards the hospital again. My heart sinks at the thought. I was once distracted, not so much anymore.