Viribus

Chapter 2: Just the beginning

During the ride home, which my coworker Lisa volunteered to drive me, so many things are going through my head. The last few days have been a whirlwind of pure horror. I can't even relish in the fact that Dimitri gave me his number because I'm honestly scared for my life.  The only reason I'm going back to this house right now is viribus.
"You ok girl? You're awfully quiet; Must be thinking about that hunk of Russian beefcake, Dr. Ivanov."
"Girl, as a surgeon, I'm sure he is used to fixing people but there's nothing he can do for this mess," I say laughing as I point to myself.
"Are you kidding? You are a pure babe and you could totally bag that man."
"You really think so?
"I know so! I've seen the way he looks at you too. He likes you. Oh yeah he's into you girl and I might have been single for 5 years but I know when a man is interested."
I'm lost in a warm day dream of what-ifs as we pull up to my yard and I'm faced with the reality that I live in a haunted house. Lisa drops me off at the door and I fumble with my keys a little. Do I really want to go in here? I could just grab my keys and leave this place forever and maybe all of my problems would be solved. I just want to be normal!
All these thoughts rapidly flee from my mind when I hear a loud thud from within the house. "VIRIBUS!"
I unlock the door only to find the house exactly how I left it. The tv was still on with words "Are u still watching?," across the screen. A soft fuzzy pink throw blanket was draped across the couch and my favorite gray knit cardigan that my mom had given me last Christmas was hung on the corner of a chair in the kitchen. Everything was in its place except Viribus.
"VIRIBUUUS! Moms home! Where u at boy?!"
Walking around the house, I know something is wrong. Under normal circumstances Viribus would hardly let me get into the house before he'd tackle me like a big black furry quarterback. He was nowhere to be found and I was about to get hysterical, I could feel my heart starting to race and my face getting hot when all of a sudden I hear a small whimper coming from my bedroom. I run and barge through the door only to see nothing.
"Viribus?" Then on the other side of the bed I see a paw. Walking over to the other side, I see him. There lies Viribus, he's quietly whimpering, his fur is matted and his breaths are shallow. I quickly run up to him and sit on the ground. I lift his head up so I can look at him and he gazes at me, his normally fiery orange eyes seem to be flickering like a candle fighting for its life under a ceiling fan. I look down at my hands and see there's also blood.
"They came after you, didn't they my big boy?" "They wanted me and they knew you were getting in the way of that." "We got to get you some help!"
Viribus looks up at Viviana. He knows she's in danger and he doesn't care what he has to do to protect her, even if that means his life.
"Can you walk at all, boy?"
Viribus wiggles his back legs and struggles to lift his chest off of the ground. Eventually he falls to the ground with a discouraging thud.
All I can think of now is how in the hell I'm going to get this 90 lb dog into my car because I know he needs to go to the vet.
I'd like to think of myself as a strong independent woman but my waist is wrapped up with broken ribs and it sure would be nice to have an extra set of hands in a time like this! My mind flashed back to that day at the hospital when Dimitri told me to call him if I ever needed him, day or night.
I wonder if he really even meant that? He was probably just being nice right? As much as I wanted to think about it a bit longer and was feeling a bit scared to take him up on this offer so soon, I really needed help. Viribus really needed help and without him, my life would be over, figuratively and literally.
So I take the black card out of my bag and carefully read the gold print.
Dr. Dimitri Ivanov MD.
(202)555-0174
Nice and simple. Nothing too fancy. I grab my phone from my back pocket and dial the number. It rings about 1 and a half times until I hear his deep serious voice.
"Hello."
"Hi Dimitri, it's Viviana...from work?"
"Yes, ofcourse! Viviana, are you okay?!"
"Yes, I'm fine, but I got discharged today and when I got home Viribus was lying next to my bed, something hurt him and he can't move."
"Did...did they hurt him?"
"I'm not sure what happened but that's definitely what I was thinking, anyway I have to get him to the emergency vet right away and I can't get him to the car. He's too heavy!"
"Text me your address and I will be right there to help."
"Thank you so much, I didn't want to bother you but I really don't know many people here and I live alone.
"Viviana, I don't want you to worry about that; You are important.