Pawtners in Crime | Skephalo

.:My nose is your nose:.

CHAPTER 5

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Gentle knocking could be heard throughout my dormitory room. I stirred under the thick blankets that kept me warm and shuffled out of bed. I hadn't been sleeping-- I was just laying in bed for a while. I knew my feelings were irrational- that I'd fall and seriously injure myself if I got out of bed or stood for too long-- but I couldn't calm down those thoughts. Three raps at my door once again, before I turned the door knob, and opened up my door.

I was greeted with a very worried mother of mine. Her hair was quite long and thin, blue eyes to match her pale skin. She was wearing a red scarf made of some sort of breathable fabric that I didn't have the name for (not the kind of things that were supposed to keep you warm, that's for sure). Aside from that, she was just wearing black and white striped shirt, jeans, and a dark grey jacket. Something you'd see a normal mom wear, though in my opinion, she was the best mom. She pulled me into a hug, and I didn't hesitate to hug her back. 

After I had called the police (a sobbing mess, might I add), they gave me a phone number that they'd call me with when they found her. If they found her. I didn't care about my groceries-- I went home as fast I could and texted my mom about the situation. I'm pretty sure I had around 5 consecutive panic attacks that night and I could barely fall asleep. It's been a rough half-day. The minute I saw her I felt my anxiety decrease around 20%- it's been skyrocketing ever since the realization set in. "Are you okay?" She asked, pulling away from the hug and lovingly brushing my hair out of my face. I really missed my mom, she was always so comforting to me.

"No.." I mumbled out truthfully, stepping out of the doorway and letting her come in. My room was still as clean as it was last week, because I don't like leaving messes around. You have to be extra careful with a dog in your room because they could injure themselves. I yawned- I was tired, but so awake at the same time. I didn't want to sleep without Lucy. I watched as my mom set down her purse on my desk, getting a few containers of food out. I guess she spent all afternoon making me microwavable food, which I was very grateful for. I love my mom.

She opened two containers, both which had eggs and breakfast sausage inside. It was still warm, and I didn't have a microwave in my room so I guess it worked out. She got two forks and handed one of the two containers to me, starting to eat her portion. "Thanks, mom." I smiled at her and stabbed some of the fluffy scrambled eggs, shoving the fork into my mouth.

"No problem," she said and sat down on the edge of my bed, "I'm sorry Lucy got stolen, sweetie. We'll find her." I frowned at the mention of her. At least it gave me hope, because right now I'm imagining all the worst possible outcomes in this situation. I set down my food container on my desk and stacked the other containers up, stuffing them into the mini fridge I had strategically placed. It was labeled, most of it was pasta and dinner foods because it stayed fresher. 

Mom and I talked for a while, exchanging a few actions of affection when I teared up. I know my mom loves me and my siblings more than the world, and it brings a strong sense of comfort. Eventually we got on the topic of what we were going to do about it, and she offered to stay with me until Rat was found-- but I refused. I didn't want her using any of her sick days over this, and even though my siblings back at home were perfectly capable, I knew she would be much happier at home. Right?

We both went over to the college library, and she occasionally wanted to peek into classes while we walked. I had to tell her that we weren't allowed to do that, but she kept joking around. I knew she was just trying to make me feel better, anyway.

I took my lap top so we could make a 'missing dog' poster. All it said was 'Have you seen me?' with a picture of Rat looking cute and fluffy, and then there was 'responds to the name 'lucy'' along with my phone number repeatedly written on vertical strips at the bottom. My mom and I had spent forever cutting the slips so people could just tear one off. I later revised it to say my phone number on a untearable area in case they were all torn off, but I still felt like I needed to do more.

We spent that afternoon and evening putting up those posters all over the school, courtyard, at stores, pet shelters, and anywhere we could put something up. I had to do a lot of talking today because in most cases I can't just stick something up and expect nobody to notice it's appearance. Due to my condition my mom made sure to spend a lot of time taking breaks and re-hydrating in the shade of trees. It actually really helped, since my mind had been elsewhere the entire time. I might have fainted a lot more than necessary if it wasn't for her alertness. At some point it was a lot to keep walking so I had to lay down for a whole 30 minutes thanks to the spring heat. In the end, though, it was a successful day. Well, as successful as it can get. I waited all day for a call from the police department signaling that they found her, but it never came. 

I sighed to myself after waving my mom goodbye, shutting the door to my dorm room and shuffling over to my desk to grab my laptop. It's around 5:40pm, which meant that the sun was going to start setting soon. I hummed to myself as I jumped onto the covers of my bed, shuffling under dark blue blankets and opening my laptop. The screen flashed white, and it took a bit to actually turn on. The battery was low so I had to plug it in, but I spent my time doing what any sane person would do-- watch YouTube to distract yourself from the overbearing weight of the world. 

I don't watch videos often- most of my time is spent doing homework, studying, or adoring Rat. My watching history is full of math equations and something about politics, and I don't really have any hobbies either. I tried to be as normal as possible in my abnormal state. I sighed to myself, looking through my YouTube recommended. There were lyric videos to songs I've listened to and cute dogs with Japanese subtitles, but it didn't really catch my interest right now. I wanted anything but to be thinking about where Lucy could be right now.

I kept scrolling and scrolling, until I found a single video that caught my interest. It was something called 'Minecraft Speedrunner VS 3 Hunters', which made me remember what Zak had showed me the other day. 

Which reminds me, I need to text him.

I'll do it later. For now, I just clicked on the video. It was easily 40 minutes long, which shocked me at first-- but then I remembered it would be a good distraction.

By the end, I hadn't realized how good it was. Apparently it was this 'Dream' person running  away from 'GeorgeNotFound', 'Sapnap', and 'AntFrost'. He was trying to beat this Minecraft game-- just a game of blocks. It looks boring by itself, but this seemed to make it better. The fact that they're playing it as friends make it better.

Soon, one video turned into three, and three turned into eight. It was like a can of Pringles-- it's so good that you can't just say 'no' to another chip. The background music made the videos way too intense, I was so worried 

The evening ended with me finishing another Death Swap video. I had successfully wasted my night watching some weirdos play a block game for a living, and now I could barely keep my eyes open. 

I shut down my laptop and laid it on my nightstand, leaving it to charge for the rest of the night before I tucked myself under the covers in my bed.

Silence filled my head as I stared at the darkness covering my ceiling. If you focused hard enough, you could hear quiet crickets chirping outside the dormitory building.

I couldn't focus on anything. During the time I should be focusing on one thing-- going to sleep-- I just couldn't. My mind drifted to subjects being thrown at me left and right. I felt my heart and my head simultaneously sting in the midst of a battle on who could occupy my thoughts first. Then, my eyes started to sting too. I wasn't thinking right when I curled in on myself, tucking my face underneath my blanket in hopes of leaving all the intrusive thoughts behind. I couldn't seem to stop the tears that dripped from my eyes, letting out a quiet sob as I tried to go to bed and think about anything else but her.

I miss my Rat.

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Word Count: 1600 words