ive been watching friends consecutively for like a week now
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Charlie leaped from the confines of her blankets, her t-shirt sticking to her lower back and her bangs clinging to her forehead. Her breaths were shallow and forced, as if she had just ran a mile.
"Not again," she murmured, fear settling deep inside her bones.
It'd been years since she'd had the nightmare. Months of intense therapy had been the only thing that had helped — she couldn't afford that now. Her insurance was pretty much nonexistent.
"It's happening again, no?" Charlie jumped in fright, her heart-rate picking up once more.
"Shit, Mona." She sighed and swiped the back of her hand across her forehead, the other hand against her chest. "Give a girl a warning next time."
Mona abruptly stood from her bed. "Scoot over, hermana."
It was second nature to Charlie to make room for her best friend in her tiny, twin bed. She'd lost count how many times Mona had held her until she fell back asleep on the bad days.
Mona climbed under the blankets, her body warm against Charlie's. Mona, always the big spoon, curled her arms around Charlie's waist. Though she had never had a sister, Charlie liked to believe that this what it was like to have one. Truly, it didn't matter if it was or wasn't.
Mona was her sister, blood-related or not and that's how it would always be.
—
Charlie had been moving a new arrival into her new kennel when the boys arrived. The little pup was terrified, with her tail tightly tucked between her legs and her eyes never raising higher than Charlie's foot-level. The other dogs yipped and howled as they always did, only scaring the poor thing that much more.
"Hey, Miss Charlie!" Dakota took his time greeting each dog he passed, making sure to scratch behind each of their ears accordingly. "The lady in the front said we could let ourselves in because you were busy."
She nodded, her legs crossed and her hair dangling in front of her eyes. "Hey, Kota. A new puppy came in a few minutes ago. I've been moving her in."
That quickly got Dakota's attention.
"Really? Can I see it? Can I see it?" Charlie nodded and patted the space beside her, which Dakota happily took. She took the time to fix her hair, making sure to keep an eye on the little pup in case she got spooked and decided to take a snap towards Dakota. "Come on, Ty!" Dakota crossed his legs and placed his elbows on his knees. He then placed his chin on his hands, admiring the little puppy from the distance he had been taught was safe. "What kind is she?"
