Nomad 101 (Completed)

Chapter 69

A wonder 3k words for you to enjoy!

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**| Sang's POV |**

Kota and Victor ended up coming with me to the dog park. Victor walked with me there while Kota drove to his mother's house to pick up his dog, Max. He was going to meet us at the park. The plan was to have someone following but hidden and I didn't know who at this point. I was tempted to make a game out of it, see if I could find them but then if Volto were watching, that would be suspicious and he would go on alert too.

I was on time to meet with the dog owners and when I explained what happened last week, they were understanding. The four dogs went wild, excited to see me, and truthfully, I was just as excited to see them too. They were simple creatures and right now, I needed that.

Bodie tried dragging me with him but thanks to Victor taking Oscar and Bailey for me, I had better control over him. The little Havanese was just a little too excited in getting to the dog park and running around.

Victor laughed at their excitement as we worked our way across the street. Other dogs and their owners were around but we managed to find a little space to claim. The moment I had the leashes off the dogs, they went wild. Well, most of them did.

Bailey and Oscar took off, chasing each other, Bodie went over to bark at another dog to get into a friendly doggy fight, and Angel sniffed at Victor's shoe before barking once and then plopping down next to his foot.

"How did you manage to become a dog walker?" Victor asked.

I shrugged, still feeling a little awkward around him because of last night. "I came here a lot and Bailey took a big liking to me. I began playing with her and then eventually the other dogs too. Their owners are all friends so I made a deal with them to walk their dogs for a couple hour here while they go out and eat breakfast and hang out."

Victor smiled at me. "You're an amazing person," he said.

"I didn't do much."

"You do more than you think. And the fact that they were willing to hand over their dogs to a stranger says a lot. I can tell they care a lot for the dogs and yet they were happy to let you become their dog walker without you being vetted." Victor shook his head. "You have a way to make people like you without you even noticing or trying."

My face heated with his compliment and I decided to focus on watching Brodie challenge another small dog to a playful dogfight.

The silence stretched between us for a few minutes before Victor cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, Sang," he said.

I turned to him, taking in the way his eyes were a low simmer, the sadness etched in the way his lips curved down.

"Why?" I asked.

His eyes met mine and didn't waver. "For shoving my foot into my mouth. I shouldn't have said those things. I made it seem like you were only important because of your ghost status. That wasn't what I meant."

"What did you mean then?" I asked, careful keep my voice blank.

He didn't respond right away but I could see him putting his thoughts together so I waited. I could be patient.

"It's an option for you. Kevin mentioned the possibility of you joining the Academy, how you could easily join if you wanted. Well, the ghost status would make it easier. You would be a big deal. But that wouldn't be the only reason. Even if you report your father and lose that status, the Academy would still want you. You have all the qualities they look for. We'll even connect you to someone in the police force to help you."