Three Days Ago
It all started three days ago.
Three days ago, it had been a cold, wet, depressing day. The rain had been pouring down since noon and it wasn't showing any signs of letting up by dawn. What had started as a light down pour had grown to a heavy and loud storm. The sound of millions of rain drops smacking the pavment or metal porch ceilings was almost deafening.
One particular black wolf didn't appear to be bothered by the weather at all. In fact, he was completely relaxed, dressed in a white wife beater and loose-fitting black gym shorts.
He was seated on his back porch, listening to the rainfall around him, smoking a cigarette, and amusing himself on his cell phone while the sun set and night fell.
He lived by himself in a small home, just outside the city, that his family had left him. There was nothing particularly special about him, just an average wolf in his late twenties.
He took another drag off his cigarette and blew it out with a satisfied sigh just as the storm began to rain harder around him. In the dark, the first crack of lightning was blinding as the thunder roared.
The wolf wasn't disturbed at all by the sudden light and noise. What did disturb him, however, was the sound of someone knocking on his front door.
He looked up from his phone and glanced over his shoulder toward the noise.
"Who could that be?" The wolf asked himself before putting his cigarette out in the ashtray beside him.
He got up and walked inside his home, across the building to the front door, unlocked the door, and pulled it open.
He saw another wolf standing there, dressed in a wet, grey overcoat.
At first, he didn't recognize the brown and white wolf at his door, looking down at the doormat. Almost intentionally avoiding eye contact.
"Hello, Devious. It's been awhile."
The female voice surprised him. It was very familiar, and when she looked up at him and met his bright yellow eyes with her deep green eyes, he knew exactly who she was.
He smiled and held the door open for her. "Leah... it has been awhile. Come on in."
Devious took her soaken coat off her as she stepped in and hung it up for her. This sure was a big surprise, after all, it had been nearly ten years since he had last seen her.
"Can I get you anything to drink, Leah?" He asked as he headed for the kitchen. His eyes were stuck on her, after so long, it seemed so random that she would suddenly turn up at his front door.
She didn't acknowledge his question right away. She just stood there with her arms wrapped around herself and looked around Devious's home. "Yes, umm, have you got anything strong? Jack and coke...if you got it."
Devious nodded his head and went to his liquor cabinet and made her a drink. When he brought it to her, she was seated on the sofa in front of the T.V. She had taken off her wet shoes and was running her fingers through her damp hair, trying to fix the mess the rain had made of it. At a glance he could tell something had brought her here, and it didn't look like it was anything cheerful.
He sat down beside her and handed her the glass. "Here."
She took it from him, gave him a grateful look that wasn't exactly a smile, more like a look of relief, and took a few sips from it.
"I'm sorry to just drop by like this, Devious."
Devious watched her take a few more sips before he responded. "Leah, I haven't seen you since high school. Is everything ok?"
Leah's paw started to shake when he asked her that. She put the drink down and covered her face for a moment. She was silent for a minute until she took a deep breath and let it out. She sniffled once, then had to clear her throat. When she spoke, even her voice was shaking. "Have you got a cigarette, Devious?"
It was hard to tell what Leah was struggling with without her talking to him, so Devious nodded his head and motioned for her to follow him to the back porch.
He slid open the door and walked out onto the porch where he had left his pack of smokes and lighter. Picking them both up he pulled two cigarettes out and handed one to Leah.
After lighting his, he handed the lighter to Leah and watched her shakily light hers. After a few puffs she began pacing and looking everywhere but at Devious. Her eyes were bloodshot and swollen, like she had been crying alot, but she looked to be generally healthy. Something bad had recently happened in her life, something big. But what?
"Leah..." Devious started to say, but she cut him off.
"I wanted to see you again Devious... I don't know why i waited so long to find you, but i just felt like i needed to see you again." She took another pull off her cigarette and then covered her eyes with her paw again. "I'm a wreck."
Devious wasn't sure what to say to her, they had dated back in high school and now, here they were, ten years later. She still had the beauty he remembered, but she did look like a wreck with how bad she was shaking. He could tell she had something to tell him, but it was hard for her to say. So he let her figure it out and waited for her to get the words out on her own.
