𝐯𝐚𝐧.

i’m proud of myself for surviving things i shouldn’t have.

. . congrats?

“maybe my parents just didn’t trust me with a pet.” after what he did to riley? it’s no wonder… “twig’s mostly outside. vet and i agreed it’d be better for him. it’s all he knows and, considering my schedule…” trailing off.

“a 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩?” brows furrowing, laughing. “i never understood the whole pet thing in general, but 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 not 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝…”

“he kind of looked like one when i found him. he was also chewing on one, the dumbass…” laughing softly. “now he’s spoiled and i’m not sure where i went wrong in my life to spoil a dog this much.”

“i still feel bad,” they admit, sighing and shaking their head. “either way, his name’s twig.”

“ah, more or less!” taking caution with the subject. he’s more than aware of their first conversation and how 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 went. “the dog i mentioned in our first meeting. the one i compared you to?” that’s… one way to jog someone’s memory.

“in a way, it makes sense. it takes away the last bit of control you feel you have.” smiling a little. “of course. i hope you know that despite the circumstances, if you just want someone to talk to, you can call. anytime. if i don’t

a sigh of their own, nodding, though probably only their dog can see. “that… would have been ideal. but i’m glad that you called anyway. better late than never, or whatever my mother says.”

chuckling softly, putting their phone on the counter and nearly forgetting to put it on speaker. oops? “i think that’s a great goal. no more pocket food.”

momentarily pausing everything they were doing, ready to listen, but only to resume back to finding—— oh, there it is! “i… i understand that. at least, in the way i interpreted it.” shaking their head. 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.

laughing along with her, though nearly dropping their phone in the process of finding out where the hell twig’s food went. “and, uh, what made you think that eating it was a good idea?”