Going home is never easy, but sometimes the only way forward is through.

Today’s story is “Home Again” by friend-of-the-fireplace Kergiby, who’s a part-time writer, and full-time panther. He’s been writing furry work and explaining the difference between cheetahs and leopards since 2010. You can find more of his stories on https://kergiby.sofurry.com.

Read for you by Khaki, your faithful fireside companion.

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You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.

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I’m Khaki, your faithful fireside companion,

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and today’s story is

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“Home Again” by friend-of-the-fireplace Kergiby,

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who’s a part-time writer, and full-time panther.

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He’s been writing furry work and explaining the difference between cheetahs and leopards

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since 2010.

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You can find more of his stories on

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//kergiby.sofurry.com.

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“Home Again”

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by Kergiby The town of Stagecoach was, to put it mildly, a shitshow.

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First, there was the name.

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Whoever had originally chosen the name Stagecoach was long-since gone,

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but the interceding years and town governments

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had never thought it worthwhile to rename such a terrible name.

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Second, you had the vast no man’s land of culture that was the space between Colorado Springs

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and Denver. The world seemed like it was moving forward, but Stagecoach always seemed like it was clinging onto a past of

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simple farming, despite the fact that most of the people who lived that lifestyle didn’t even farm or have animals,

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they just wanted to have the look.

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Third, there was the way that everything seemed more crowded, and run down

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despite all the new money that was flooding the state with the wealth of investors and businesses

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that came in following Legalization.

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The town had grown,

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but there wasn’t any major industry or draw.

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And building a large conference hotel across the street from the small movie theater was a choice that baffled everyone.

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But, nonetheless, Avery was back here.

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And she hated it.

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She hated that this was where her life took her back after escaping it so many years ago.

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The blue jay sat in the old coffee shop she’d frequented in

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the days before she moved away.

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Her wing ruffled,

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her back off the booth

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and trying her best not to be obvious.

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She was not doing the best job.

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It was odd enough being a bird in this part of the state,

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but it was odder still to be a bird not native to this region of the country.

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But even still, she grew up here, native or not!

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She took a sip of her coffee,

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sighing and leaning back in the booth,

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her rough-skinned hands tapping on the mug.

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“Avery?” The voice froze her entire body.

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She looked up towards the voice

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until she saw him.

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The coyote she was once friends with so many years ago,

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stood there looking at her.

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He had a mug of coffee

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and his leg was in mid-step.

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His large ears were perked up

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as if she’d made a sound he was trying to identify. “I

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-Isaac,” Avery faltered.

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So many years of confusion since,

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but she could still remember the sting.

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“I didn’t know you were back in town.”

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“Just got here a few days ago,”

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she said. “Wow. It’s so…

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It’s nice to see you again.

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If you want to catch up, we can—“ “No.”

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She said. “I don’t think we’ll be catching up, Isaac.

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Look, I’m not here to reconnect or whatever.

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I’m just trying to drink my coffee in peace, okay?”

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His shoulders drooped slightly,

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but his ears! Those big ears dropped to his head and he nodded.

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“Right. Yeah, no. Of course.

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I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

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He didn’t even say goodbye.

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He took another step and continued around the corner of the coffee shop.

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The taste of her coffee seemed suddenly sour. ***

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Avery was on her bike after dinner.

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She’d had to oil the chain and put liberal amounts of WD-40 on the joints, but she couldn’t handle being at home with her parents.

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They were so kind and supportive

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and they just wanted her to feel comfortable and didn’t they

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get it? That was the problem!

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The problem with all of this was how everyone ignored her fuck up.

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Everyone seemed to put blinders on, ignoring what she’d done to try and make her feel better.

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She didn’t want to feel better!

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She wanted her life back.

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Being back in Stagecoach wasn’t helping anything,

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but the one piece of solace was the bike trail she was able to speed through.

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She pedaled hard,

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legs burning on the straightaways.

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She leaned into the turns,

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feeling the wind in her face.

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When she was confident no one was around, she’d spread her wings and let the air go through her feathers.

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Her large wing span made the act somewhat dangerous to anyone passing by,

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but it was worth it for those moments she could do it!

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Avery rode through the trail,

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going through the prairie, past the baseball diamond.

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She went under bridges

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and pedaled hard.

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It felt good, it felt

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alive! At familiar territory, Avery came to a stop around a thick bramble of trees and bushes.

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She kicked the stand

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and set her bike up.

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Slowly, she walked up to it.

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The poorly-constructed

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“treehouse” of her childhood was here.

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She’d pointed out that a flat piece of wood with no walls or roof

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didn’t make a treehouse, but no one cared about that distinction.

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It took her some time to let go of that fight.

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The Jay pushed her way through the brush.

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She had to almost crawl at one point to get through the thick bramble of branches and shrubs.

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After a bit of work, she got through to the clearing.

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She saw the curve of the old, gnarled tree on which they’d planted the few boards

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to provide a flat platform.

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She took another step

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and put her hand on it.

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Taking a tentative step up,

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Avery stood up on top of the boards.

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They shifted under her weight,

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moving and creaking so much

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she thought they may break but they held.

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Avery put her hand on the tree,

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running it over the rough bark.

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She sighed and leaned into the solid tree.

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Looking down, she blinked back tears.

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She was back here.

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Where she fought so hard to escape from.

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Where she worked so hard to make sure she never came back.

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But she was here again.

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Trapped. Caged. Bound, inextricably, to a place

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that still had the power to make her feel

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weak and worthless.

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She closed her eyes,

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letting the tears fall.

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Each drop hit with a plat against the old wood.

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She opened her mouth

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and let out an anguished cry,

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primal and hurt. She tried to force the sheer fact of her existence,

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her territory, her being,

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into the strange cry her species did that sounded

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like a squeaky gate.

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For so long,

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Avery hated that sound when it came from her,

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but this was what it was for.

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To tell the world she existed.

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She sat, quiet, alone,

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hunched over as sobs racked her body.

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“That’s a hell of a call,”

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a voice said. Looking up, Avery saw, not ten feet away,

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Isaac. He stood there with hands in an old, faded hoodie from his college.

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His ears twitched at the sound of something in the field, but he focused on her.

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“What do you want?”

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“Believe it or not,”

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he said. “I was coming down to this spot again.

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I don’t even mind if you don’t talk to me.

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But this is the one place in this town I feel…

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at peace, if that makes sense.”

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Avery looked at him,

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cheeks red from crying

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and wiped her face.

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She wanted to hate him. She really wanted to hate him

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but instead… “It makes perfect sense.”

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“Do you mind if I stick around for a while?”

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he said. He had one foot behind him, ready to leave if she decided to attack.

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She didn’t blame him.

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She remembered— “Sure thing. Just…

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this doesn’t mean we’re friends.” “Nah, I get it. Just… thanks.” Isaac put one foot on the boards and jumped up to a nearby branch. The coyote turned around

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and got settled on the branch.

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He leaned his back on the trunk,

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resting his head and letting out a deep sigh.

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“I don’t miss much…

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but I miss that sky.”

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He said. Avery looked up at the dark sky.

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She looked up and up,

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seeing the stars, the blinking stars of millennia past.

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How many of those were still burning?

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How many died out eons before

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but their light still hit the atmosphere?

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“It’s… It’s beautiful.”

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Isaac looked over at her.

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He was chewing on his lip

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and went back and forth between the sky

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and her. “I… I’ve been thinking about…

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about us, about what we did,

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who we were before.

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Not just today, but for a while now.

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Ever since my marriage fell apart…

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I’ve been thinking about my life and I’m so ashamed, Ave.

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If I never say anything else to you than this,

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I’ll be okay with that.

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I’m sorry for hurting you.”

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The silence filled the space between them.

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She couldn’t even look at him.

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But she could remember when they fought.

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When they screamed at each other.

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She remembered grabbing his collar and tearing at it.

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She remembered screaming at him the day she finally broke.

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The anger filled her up and made her lose control.

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It was the first time she’d ever been that far out of control but it wasn’t the last.

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And she hated that.

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She hated that she had this moment of fury

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deep down. She hated that he was the one to bring it out of her.

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But she hated that was in her to begin with.

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But… “I accept your apology.”

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She said. It was quiet, barely even audible but Isaac looked over at her with a soft smile.

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“Thank you, Ave.” “But we’re not friends.”

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“You know what? As long as you let me keep coming here when I need to,

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I’ll be happy.” “I won’t stop you.

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Will you stop me?”

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“Nah,” he said. He pulled a vape out of his pocket and took a puff from it.

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He exhaled the vapor in a thick cloud.

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“Neither of us want to be back here.”

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“Too many memories,”

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she said. “Yeah,” he sighed.

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“I can’t believe you vape though,” she smirked.

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“I never figured you for the type!”

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“Well, it ain’t about being cool.

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It’s about not smoking cigarettes anymore.

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I hate the looks I get from this thing but it’s been 6 months since my last one.

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So… It’s worth looking like some try-hard tool to do this.”

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“Ordinarily, I might make fun of you for only looking like a try-hard tool,

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but really, that’s great.

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I’m happy you’re able to quit.”

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“So am I. I’m just… I’m trying to figure out who the fuck I am anymore.

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A ruined marriage takes a lot out of you if you didn’t know.”

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Avery nodded her head.

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“Yeah. I… I don’t have that,

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but I have something similar.

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I was laid off from my job last month.

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I thought I’d be able to stay out there but…

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Nope. I had to come back here.

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To the nest. To Mommy and Daddy.”

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“Well, at least you’ve got company back here at the bottom.”

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“Yeah,” she said. “It could be worse;

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I guess… I, um, I think I’m gonna go.”

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“Oh. Okay,” Isaac said.

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He had a soft smile on his face.

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“I’ll probably stay out here a bit longer.

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But I’ll see you around, yeah?”

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“Yeah,” Avery said. She looked at Isaac for a moment.

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She wasn’t sure… what to think of him,

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but she knew that the anger she’d still had in her heart for him

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was cracked open now.

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She could tell the sting of seeing him had lessened tonight.

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And she was okay with that. *** Avery slipped her clothes on, her feathers still drying off from the shower.

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She’d dried her down off as best she could

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and took her time getting dressed.

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With her clothes on,

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she grabbed her phone, scrolling through the messages and texts from her old coworkers.

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She sighed and pinched her beak.

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“Dammit. I just can’t right now.”

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The Jay’s thumb swiped each notification away,

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moving them aside and sighing to herself.

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Being back here, she should be looking for job postings.

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She should be trying to apply for places

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or figure out a plan.

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She should be doing

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anything productive.

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Instead, Avery went downstairs, moving her wings

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and letting them dry out.

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She went to the front porch

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and stretched her legs out, trying to let the sun help dry her

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off. She shook her wings out in the space.

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Her arms were stretched out

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and she rolled her head around.

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“Hey Avery,” Isaac said.

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Her head jerked forward and she saw him.

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She gave a little smile to him and waved.

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“What are you doing around

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here?” “Just taking a walk.

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Parents still live a few streets over.

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So I just thought I’d take a walk and enjoy the nice day.

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You’re welcome to join me if you want.”

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The blue jay looked the coyote over for a moment.

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He was smiling at her so sincerely.

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His eyes were soft and a fierce shade of green that

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bored right into her.

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“Sure,” she said. The pair walked in silence through the old neighborhood together.

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It was a home she’d never really liked.

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It felt smaller and run-down and the whole time, the blue jay kept wondering why this place persisted.

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It felt like time and hope

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had moved away from this place, but it persisted,

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a scab healing over,

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ugly and painful.

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“I have a proposition for you.”

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“Go on,” Avery said,

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taking a look over at him.

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“We’re both… a little fucked up right now.

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We’re both hurting.

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I’m willing to listen to whatever you’re feeling right now

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if you’re willing to listen to me.

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No advice, no pity.

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Just venting and being able to say shit that’s bothering us that we need to get off our chest.

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Sound fair to you?” “I…”

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She thought for a moment.

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Her stomach twisted as she fought the urge to scream no.

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She’d trusted him before,

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telling him her secrets

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that he’d twisted against her in school.

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When she’d molted her feathers from her head, the coyote laughed

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and made sure everyone did to.

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He made her ashamed

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of who she was because he knew where to hit.

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It took a long moment for her to swallow

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and look at him. “I’m not sure.”

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“I’m not expecting things between us to be magically fixed.

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But I’m offering you a chance to speak and to try again.

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Who would I tell?

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I don’t know anyone in this town but you and my parents.

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They don’t give a shit.

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They’re angry that I ruined the marriage when she’s the one that left me for her boss.

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“So I can’t say you have a reason to trust me.

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But I can only tell you this,

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I don’t like that I hurt you.

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And I’m trying to be a better person.

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So if you give me a chance,

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I’ll make sure I earn the trust, Ave.”

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“You’re the only person to call me that in years, you know that?

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I stopped going by that ages ago. It’s…

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it’s nice to hear.” “You’re

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the only person to smile at me in a few months so

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thank you for that.”

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Avery let out a long breath

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and stopped at a split in the path.

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She leaned back against the railing,

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the trees’ shade hiding her face.

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“I got fired from my job for reporting something illegal.

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Whistleblower laws should protect me from that, right?

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But right to work states don’t mean a damn thing.

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So I did the right thing and reported the embezzlement that the investment firm was doing with pension money. And what do I get for it?”

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She laughed, running her hands through her hair.

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“I get to never use the skills and contacts I use again.

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I get death threats and dead animals left at my apartment door step.

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I stepped in deep shit and I’ll never get to be in the field

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I spent the last 10 years working in.

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And what do I have to show for it?

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“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

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I’m just trapped here.

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This is where my life led me. I had to come back to the place where

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I have… nothing. I am nothing. I’m… I’m

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trapped, Isaac. I’m trapped in this hell hole

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and I don’t think I’ll ever get back to happy again.”

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Isaac looked at her.

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There wasn’t any anger or pity in his face. But there was pain.

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He brushed a thumb over the tears on her cheeks she wasn’t even aware of.

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His arms move around her

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and she was being held.

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God! It felt so good to be held.

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It felt so good to be held

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and safe for that moment.

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She hated herself for being so weak.

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She wasn’t weak! She wasn’t the type to break like this but here she was.

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Crying into the chest of someone she’d hated for so many years.

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It felt good to just

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let herself go,

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let the anger, and pain, and frustration all slip away

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until she was free.

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“I’m sorry,” she sighed,

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holding him around the waist and not letting go.

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“I’m sorry for breaking like that, Isaac.”

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“No need to apologize.

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That’s what we’re doing here, right?”

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She nodded her head,

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feeling some of the weight that was on her chest

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feel like it was finally being let go.

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“Thank you,” she said,

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pulling free from him.

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She leaned back to the sign and looked over his face for a long moment.

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The silence dragged on,

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an impenetrable wall between them.

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“You’re welcome, Ave.”

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Isaac said. “I’m happy I can do something right for a change.”

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The blue jay cocked her head at him.

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The coyote’s ears were flat to his head, his shoulders drooping

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the longer she looked at him.

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“What happened to you?”

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She said. “You were so confident and sure of yourself when I knew you.

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Even when you were an asshole, you were so confident.

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I don’t get it.” The coyote’s face twisted into a smirk.

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But the look didn’t hit his eyes.

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“Well, I went to college.

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I was suddenly a very small fish in a big pond.”

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He gestured for them to keep walking,

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going down the sloping path through the prairie.

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“I started going to a few different clubs, trying to figure out who the fuck I was.

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Pretty standard shit, right?

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Well, I went to one

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and there was this antelope there that took my breath away.

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She was funny and smart, and she had this

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biting wit that would chew into me when I said something.

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We were friends for a long while.

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Then, I started to date her.

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Things were good!

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“After college, we moved in together.

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She got this job working for a marketing agency.

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We got married. We were saving up for a house and everything just felt

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good. It felt, right, y’know?

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Hell, I was happier than I’d been in a while.

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But then her new boss came along.

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After a few months, she was sleeping with him.

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I knew about it shortly after it happened.

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I confronted her.

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She told me…” He took his vape out

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and drew on it for a long moment,

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taking the time needed to compose himself

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in his long, slow exhale.

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“She told me that she knew what love was finally.

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We’d been married for about a year by then. And she just destroyed me.

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I tried to fight for her, but she just…

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she was done. She didn’t want to hear it.

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So we split up. It was… amicable,

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as far as divorces go.

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And, I didn’t want to live in that city anymore.

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Too many memories.

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So I just drifted for a while.

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I was couch surfing with my friends until…”

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He rolled up the sleeves on his long sleeves and Avery gasped when she saw the deep scars

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that had dug into his skin and fur. The long marks on his wrists that went up his arm.

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She grabbed his arm

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and looked at him,

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feeling the tears stinging her eyes.

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“I’m not a happy person, Avery… I don’t think I ever have been.

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I don’t know… I don’t know what being happy feels like anymore.”

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Avery looked at him for a long moment.

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She brought his hand up to her beak,

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nuzzling into his hand.

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She gave his fingers and hand soft kisses.

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“Isaac, even when I hated you…

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I wanted you to just…

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learn a lesson, but I never, never, wanted you to go away completely.

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I’m not trying to fix or save you, only you can do that for yourself… But

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I never wanted this.”

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Her claws went over the scars

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and the coyote’s hackles raised.

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He shivered the feeling away,

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looking at her and nodding his head slowly.

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“Thank you… I… I should probably shut up.

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But you should hate me, Avery. You should hate me for what I did.”

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“I don’t want you to dwell on that, okay?

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I forgive you. But you need to forgive yourself. Okay?”

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The coyote cocked a brow at her words.

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He opened his mouth as if to argue with her but closed it.

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Those large hands found their way to her head

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and he planted a kiss softly on her forehead.

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“Okay. Then, how bout we just enjoy the nice day for now.

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And maybe we can start talking more.

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Not about the past but just…

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catch up. Really catch up.

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I want a second chance at being your friend, Avery.”

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“Okay,” she said. “But can you promise me something?”

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“What’s that?” “If you think you have to hide some feeling from me,

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please don’t. We’re both past that stage.”

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“Alright,” he sighed.

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“Then I have something I have to tell you.

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I didn’t tell you before.”

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“What’s that?” she asked.

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She held both of his hands in hers. “I drank

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a lot of coffee this morning. So I think we need to cut this walk a little short so I can go to the bathroom.”

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Avery snorted at him.

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She shoved his chest and let out a laugh.

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“Alright, pooch. Let’s get back then.” ***

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Wanna grab dinner tonight? was an innocent enough question,

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but why was it throwing her for such a loop?

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Avery ignored the text for now, focusing on another application she was sure would go nowhere.

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She shook her head,

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typing out the cruel monotony of another application that asked for the same information she’d already provided a thousand times to a thousand different companies.

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The blue jay was quiet and her brow was furrowed with annoyance

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at the insinuation of the text.

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They’d been spending time with each other for a few weeks now,

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and she enjoyed having him around,

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but the question…

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Who did he think he was to ask her that?

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She shook her head again,

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typing with anger in every keystroke.

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She slammed the enter key down

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and the next application was submitted.

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It hurt her head to keep doing this.

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Where did you have in mind? She typed back to the coyote.

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Their time together helped.

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It helped to be able to spend time with him

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and talk and vent

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and not feel the pressure.

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She’d broken down a few times and he in turn.

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She just wanted to help him through this as best as she could.

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This wasn’t… Avery, for once, had no idea what was going on.

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And that scared her.

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It scared her to think

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that things could be that good or that normal between them

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that she could talk and play around with him as if they were normal people, without all their history together.

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Noodle Bowl. The Thai Place?

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6 work? Yeah. Yeah, that sounds nice.

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Fine! She’d go out to dinner with him, but she wouldn’t dress up.

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This wasn’t a date; this was just two friends.

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They just needed to …

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Well, what topic hadn’t they covered recently?

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She felt as close to him as she did before.

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It was like they’d never had their fight or the pain of losing something important to them.

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Cool. I’ll see you then, Ave.

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Getting ready for their dinner was simple.

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She just grabbed comfortable pants that she thought looked halfway decent

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and a top that hugged her curves.

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Mostly, Avery just didn’t think they were at the point where

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dressing up that much mattered.

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She told him every secret she could think of

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and he’d bared his soul on his failures as a husband

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and they both still wanted to talk to each other.

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And Ave. She didn’t let anyone call her that.

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But she let him. She let him call her a name she stopped using almost a decade ago. What the hell was going on with her?

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Why was it so hard to figure out what she wanted?

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Was she just latching onto him as the first thing that came along?

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She didn’t know. But it didn’t bother her enough to stop her as she got into her car.

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Or when she parked her car at the restaurant. Or when she saw him,

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in a striped shirt and a nice pair of jeans

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but she still smiled at him because he really was handsome, wasn’t he?

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When did that happen?

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“You look nice,” he smiled.

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“Thanks, so do you.”

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Isaac opened the door,

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leading her in. She’d gone to Noodle Bowl a few times when she stopped back in. But this…

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She wasn’t sure what to make of this.

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“So I got a job doing some consulting work while I’m back in town.

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At the very least I can keep some money coming in for the moment,”

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Isaac said. An older red panda came up to the pair,

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leading them to their seats.

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Her smile was positively infectious

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and lit up her whole face.

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She came back a moment later with menus for them.

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“That’s great!” Avery smiled.

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“Happy to hear you’ve got some good luck heading your way.”

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“Yeah,” Isaac frowned.

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“About that. I actually uh, I’ve been talking to my uncle who’s an investment broker.”

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It felt like the air was sucked out of the room.

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Leaning in, Avery looked at Isaac.

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Her eyes narrowed.

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“What are you doing?”

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His head cocked to the side.

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“What do you mean?”

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“What do you think you’re doing?

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You’re running your mouth again? Why didn’t you ask me if I was okay with that?”

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Isaac’s hand squeezed hers.

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He looked her straight in the eyes.

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“Because I wanted to help.

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He’d like to talk with you.

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I’m not saying this will fix anything.

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But he’s worked with people who ran into the same situation you did.

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And he’d like to talk with you about options.”

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Avery looked at him,

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from his hand back to his eyes.

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“Why? What’s it you’re after?”

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“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just thought it might help.

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Honest truth. I haven’t lied to you since we started talking again.”

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The blue jay smiled when the red panda came back.

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Avery nodded her head,

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and placed her order.

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But she kept looking over at Isaac.

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She wasn’t sure what was happening with him.

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Why was she so suspicious of him?

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Something about her was broken.

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“Ave?” “Sorry?” she said.

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Isaac frowned at her.

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His hand still on hers.

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“I’ve been trying to get your attention.

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I just… I’m just trying to help you.

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I know you… you may not be able to trust me very well.

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But all I want to do is help you get back on your feet.

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Nothing else, no ulterior motives.

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I’m just trying to be your friend.”

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“I…” She sighed and shook her head. “I know you are. I know you are.

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But I have something in me that keeps telling me not to listen to you.

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And I just… I’m trying to figure out why that is.

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You’re helping and kind.

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But I feel like there’s something in me that won’t let me take that step to believing you yet.”

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Isaac nodded his head.

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He scratched his ear,

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not looking at her.

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His eyes were closed tight and his body shuddered at his next sigh.

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“Truth… truth is, I like you, Avery.

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I’ve liked you for a long time. And I don’t care if you don’t like me back or not.

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I don’t care what this means.

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I need to tell you that I like you

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and I need to try and help you because I care about you.

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You can trust me or not.

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But I promise you

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on my name, for all that’s worth.

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I won’t ever lie or hide the truth from you again. I just want to be your friend.”

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“Isaac—“ “Just… forget I said anything.

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I shouldn’t have

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—“ Avery leaned across the table

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and kissed his lips softly.

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Her beak pressed to his

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and she closed her eyes in the soft touch

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of his body to hers.

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“You’re a pretty trustworthy coyote.

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I have this fear in the back of my head that you’re going to hurt me again.

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Because I liked you back then.

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So I… I want to keep seeing you.

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I overthink things. I overcomplicate things, but you’re just being helpful and sweet and I just like you.”

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Isaac leaned forward,

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kissing her again.

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His lips were warm

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and he held her cheek.

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The jay gave a trill,

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her eyes fluttering closed and she relaxed into the touch

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and taste of him.

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“That’s… that’s much better news than work.”

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“Yeah,” Avery grinned.

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“I’m much more important than work.”

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“We’ll see where this goes

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and help each other pick ourselves up.

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Does that sound good?”

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“Yeah,” Avery smiled.

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Her cheeks were hot

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and she held onto his hand tightly,

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afraid he’d leave if she let go.

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“It really does.” Their meal came and went

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and the voice in her head stopped yelling at Avery.

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She seemed able to be in the moment for the moment.

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She could just smile with him and let go.

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After dinner, Avery and Isaac walked through the town together.

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They meandered past the closed shops that made up downtown.

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They jumped up on the stone facades and balanced on precarious stones

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on the side of the sidewalk.

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Avery smiled, feeling lighter and freer than she had in ages.

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It was so nice to let go and just

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feel, not quite happy,

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but better. Better was all you could get sometimes.

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Eventually, they made their way back to the old treehouse,

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tramping through the brush to climb on top of the wood.

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Isaac laid back on top of the wood.

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Avery leaned against him, resting her head on his chest.

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She closed her eyes,

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listening to his steady heartbeat.

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“Just being here with you is really nice.

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I’d just forgotten what it felt like, I guess.”

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“What’s that?” Isaac frowned.

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“I just… I work too hard.

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I’m so focused on my career that when everything blew up on me…

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I had nothing. I don’t know who I am without my job anymore.

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That whole part of me is just

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gone. And I’m upset, but at the same time?

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It’s part of my problem.

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I put everything into that place

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and then when I did the right thing? Poof.

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All gone.” Isaac’s hand rubbed over her back

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feeling her soft feathers and down.

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She wrapped arms around him and kissed his cheek.

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“You matter, Ave. You’re more than your job.

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You’re more than just one thing so I…

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I don’t know. Act like it, I guess?

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Focus on work and that, sure.

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But go home and allow yourself to be someone else.

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Find something you like.

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Hold onto it. Things can slip away from you so quickly and you don’t even know it.”

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“Like we slipped away?”

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“We pushed each other away. But hey,”

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he smiled, kissing her softly.

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“I’m staying right here. Got it?”

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The blue jay smiled at him

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and kissed him again.

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She kissed him, closing her eyes

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and letting her hands run over her chest and stomach.

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She felt him, the soft fur on top of his firm body.

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She rubbed his chest and sides.

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His hands worked under her shirt and she shivered.

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She didn’t stop him,

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but he didn’t go past that.

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The feeling of his hands on her stomach

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made her shiver. “I’m sorry.

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I’m still feeling a little…

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broken myself. I … I really like you, Ave.

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But I need to figure out how to do this at my own pa

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—“ The blue jay shut him up with a soft kiss

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and she held onto his head with both of her hands.

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Her forehead pressed to his.

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“Ssssh. I won’t do anything else, Isaac.

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I’m gonna hold you but I’m not going to press you. Okay?”

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He nodded his head slowly,

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a sigh leaving his throat.

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“Thank you, Avery. It means a lot to

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me.” Avery placed a last kiss on his lips

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and smiled. “Let’s just watch the stars for a bit.”

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She leaned her head into Isaac’s chest.

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The wood creaked at the shifting weight

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and she moved her arms around his waist.

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It was nice to sit there with him,

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holding him close

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and watching the stars together.

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“When I’m with you,”

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she said. “I don’t feel like I’m…

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stuck alone. I feel like I belong somewhere again.

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I matter. Whatever the rejections and the firing did to me…

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I matter.” “That’s what that call is for, right?

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The one from a few weeks ago?”

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“Yeah. It’s… territorial, I suppose.”

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“Like a howl.” “Yeah,”

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she smiled at him. “Exactly.”

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Isaac leaned his head back,

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howling up at the night sky.

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Avery shivered at the sound of it,

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lonely, sad but… safe.

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She didn’t feel like she had anything to fear from him anymore.

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Taking the chance to be happy again was worth the possibility of pain.

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Avery took his hand,

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holding it in hers

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and singing the squeaky gate call.

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She kept going, declaring this as her territory.

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This was where she mattered,

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where she belonged.

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Not just Stagecoach, not just Colorado. But Here.

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Wherever she went,

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she belonged. She mattered.

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This was “Home Again”

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by Kergiby, read for you by Khaki,

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your faithful fireside companion.

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For more stories you can find us wherever you get your podcasts, or on the web at thevoice.dog.

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Thank you for listening

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to The Voice of Dog