Lydia- The Pet Communicator

Chapter 12

With each and every day, Drake and I were getting closer and closer. I shared all my secrets and concerns with him, and he was beginning to understand me much better than he had when we’d first met. I got the feeling that he liked me, but I wasn’t ready to move on just yet—I was still waiting for Ricky to knock and my door and ask me to be his again.

Even so, Ricky never came. He wouldn’t even answer my calls, and despite Drake’s desire for me to call Ricky and talk things out, I never got the chance to speak with him.

Britney’s time with us ended earlier than expected. She was transferred to a hospital in Leicester and had to move there so she could go to work each day. I really missed her, but at least she called every now and then to give me advice.

At present, my father was out of town on a business trip. I was all alone with the animals, but my father had asked Drake to check up on me every so often. Before leaving, he’d also given me some good advice—don’t try to save another puppy stuck in the middle of the road.

Tring! Tring!

My phone was ringing. I hurried over to it and checked the screen, thinking that Clara must have been back in town and was calling me. To my surprise, I saw Ricky’s name instead.

Excitement rushed through me, and I pressed the “talk” button. “Hello, Ricky!” I said.

“Lydia,” he said. “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine! You have no idea how much I missed you,” I gushed over the phone.

“I was just calling to tell you something. I’m getting engaged.”

“What? You only called me to say that?” I hung up the phone and sank to my knees.

He’s getting engaged? I thought. He forgot everything we had because of one small argument? There has to be something more behind this, and I need to find out what it is. I’ll ask Lucky to follow Ricky around for a few days and see what’s going on.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I wiped away my tears and opened it, revealing Drake; he was staring at me with a “what-happened” expression on his face, and when he stepped inside, I hugged him tightly

“Ricky’s getting engaged,” I told him, while sobbing.

He held me tightly and ran his hand through my hair. After taking my hand, he led me over to the couch.

“He didn’t deserve you,” he said, “but you did mention that he cared for you a lot while you were ill. If that’s true, why is he leaving you over such a small argument? Maybe he’s hiding something, maybe not.”

“I’m asking Lucky to follow him around. He’ll find the answer,” I said, resting my head on Drake’s chest. Leaning up against him, I felt entirely at ease.

“Romance, romance...” Lucky barked, wriggling his tail. “I thought you didn’t have feelings for him!”

“Go away, please. I don’t want… um... never mind...”

Oops! I can’t say anything in front of Drake!

“I just came to invite you to the shelter,” Lucky yapped. “The Arabian horse needs a good ride, and since you’re well, you can probably go horse-riding. Oh, and by the way, we’re all quite hungry. You forgot to give us our morning meal.”

I looked at Drake for a second, and then asked him if he wanted to join me for horse-riding. We could probably set aside studying for the day, and besides, I wouldn’t be able to concentrate after what had just happened. What I really needed was my father, but he wouldn’t be home for hours.

Drake agreed, and off we went to the shelter. As we were walking, I tripped over a stone, but Drake caught me before I fell. We made eye contact, and I noticed that his eyes were a particularly clear shade of green; there were hints of blue in them too, and when his eyelashes fluttered, I found myself at a loss for words.

Drake smirked as I stared at him. Why did he have to be so good-looking? I was practically drooling over him.

“Guys, get a room!” the horse neighed.

“Yeah, we don’t want to see your human mating rituals,” the cat purred.

“Shut up!” I yelled.

I removed myself from Drake and headed towards the shelter. With Drake following close behind, I went inside and brought out the Arabian foal, then cleaned and saddled her with Drake’s assistance. After we were finished, we remembered to give her food as well.

“Thank you, Lydia,” said the horse. “I really like the way you groom me. I’ll make sure to give you and your boyfriend a fun ride.”

“He’s not my boyfriend, I swear! Anyway, what do you want me to call you?”

“I want you to give me an Arabic name.”

I thought for some time, but couldn’t remember any Arabic names. However, when I asked Drake, he immediately said, “How about Marwa?”

I was amazed. Not only was the name beautiful, but Drake had thought of it almost on the spot. How had he known an Arabic name? I’d figured he was a genius, but to that extent? Pretty cool.

“So, Marwa, once we finish feeding the others, we’ll go for a ride, okay?” I patted on her back.

“Sure. Lovely name, by the way. Be sure to thank your boyfriend.” I rolled my eyes at her mention of the word “boyfriend.” I’d never heard her speak so much before; maybe she was just happy today.

After feeding the pets, I asked them to watch over the house and gave special instructions to the dogs. If they saw Vivian or some other stranger, they were to start barking immediately, and if that failed, I gave them permission to attack.

“Yeah, just go. We’ll take care of everything,” said one of the dogs, and another agreed with him.

“We’re so tiny, there’s no way anything bad will happen to us. We might get stolen, but that’s not very likely,” said a rabbit.

“We don’t know Vivian!” the new cats purred. “But if we see someone with spectacles and a long nose, we’ll assume it’s him.”

“Can I come on the horse ride with you?” Lucky barked, sticking out his tongue.

I rolled my eyes at him and said, “Marwa won’t take us for a ride if you’re there, too.”

“Oh, well. Wasn’t really interested anyway. Remember to be careful,” Lucky replied.

Drake climbed up on the horse first, then extended his hand so he could help me up. I tried to clamber onto the horse’s back, but she was too big.

“Get a stool and climb,” Marwa grunted. “I’m tall, and your boyfriend is tall, but you are short. Make sure to sit in front of him, or you won’t be able to see a thing. Then the ride would be useless.”

“No, I’m fine in back. Just try not to go too fast,” I said, then grabbed a stool from inside the shelter. With its help, I was able to climb onto Marwa’s back successfully.

“Why do you want to sit behind me? It’s not like I’ll grab you or anything,” said Drake.

“No, it’s not that, really. I’m just a little nervous about sitting in front. Besides, I don’t like getting wind blowing on my face.”

Drake giggled at my answer, and Marwa neighed, “Here we go!”

As Marwa began to trot, I held Drake tightly by the waist and placed my head on his back, closing my eyes. We were going faster than I would have liked, and I was scared to fall off the horse, especially since I’d just recovered from a serious injury. I had no desire to sit in a wheelchair ever again.

When I ignored all that, though, Drake’s scent began to drive me crazy. With my hands around his waist, I couldn’t help but notice that his muscles felt very toned. How had I not noticed he was in such good shape?

If I hadn’t known better, I would’ve said I was already falling for him.

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HOWDY! Did you like this chapter? Ok, I want you to choose a nice actor to play Drake. If I select your choice, I will dedicate this next chapter to you and follow you :) 

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Picture of Drake on the side--->