Premonitions | ✓

twenty-nine

"California Stars" -Billy Bragg, Wilco

By the time the couple had returned to California, Anna was ready to jump in her bed and sleep for the rest of her days. 

     But it was the loud meowing of Garbage and the scrapping at the door from Darcy that kept her awake and reminded her of her duties. Lars spent the first day back home with Anna but had to spend the weekend checking the store.

     Lars had spent hours restocking, going through the register, and not to mention the countless receipts he had to sift through. He left his store in the hand of his longest paid employee, his neighbor's eighteen-year-old grandson. 

     He had known the kid since he was born and employed him at sixteen, but he wasn't ready to manage a store by himself for three weeks while Lars skipped around Europe. Lars expected the mess and was now cleaning it up.

     Anna spent her time catching up on sleep and cleaning the house. She had her closest neighbor check in on Darcy and Garbage every day. Making sure they stayed outside during the day and came in and ate at night.

      Her house stayed the same as how she left it except for a completely ripped-up toy that was definitely Darcy's doing and then having to take out the trash. Overall, the place was well taken care of by her neighbor. She paid them what she owed and bid them farewell, promising to return the favor if they were ever to go out of town.

     It was a few weeks later when Anna was in the middle of starting up her class prep when she heard a frighteningly loud meow from the back porch. Anna stayed frozen in her seat upstairs in her room, and when a long ten seconds passed with complete silence, she stood, carefully walking down the stairs. 

     Halfway down, Darcy met her frantically running about. He kept running to the back screen door that was open to let the summer breeze in.

     Anna followed the Rottweiler slowly as her heart thumped, her mouth turned dry, and her throat began to close up. Anna kept telling Darcy to stay in the house, terrified of what she'd find outback from the way Garbage had screamed. She didn't need a big-ass dog getting in her way while she assessed the situation.

     She slowly opened the screen, walking out, and then quickly shut it to make sure Darcy didn't come out with her. He whined a few times but then laid down by the door solemnly. Anna looked to her left, towards the back porch swing that Garbage always slept on, and there she found him with the setting sun beaming on him.

     Anna walked over to him cautiously, and when she pet him, she dropped down to her knees as a sob left her. His stomach was sunken in some, and he was as stiff as a board. Anna ran into the house and grabbed the throw blanket on the back of the couch, tripping over Darcy on her way. The dog jumped back and on his feet immediately before making his way out to the back.

     When Anna had grabbed the blanket, she struggled to see through her tears as she made her way back to her cat. Once outside, Darcy was lying under the padded swing with sad eyes. Anna carefully wrapped up the Orange Tabby cat in the blanket, and her heart sunk at how stiff he was. 

    A sob left her when his legs refused to move, making her sink against the wall of the house and roughly land on her ass on the patio.

     It wasn't till three hours later. The sun was gone long ago, it had become chilly, When Lars got home from work. But Anna hadn't moved an inch, neither had Darcy except for when he crawled over a little to lie his large head on his human's thigh.

     "Anna, baby, I'm home, and I brought dinner!" He called throughout the house.

     In her head, she was calling for him, trying to command her mouth to tell him she was outside, but nothing came out. Not even a whimper. Anna hadn't moved her head even, she was frozen in shock.