As she counted money Cameron accepted his card back and stood, only glancing at her once as he looked up from his wallet. He decided not to say anything. It was best to keep the silence between them, and possibly forever. Cameron could hopefully meet someone like her, who liked him as much as she did. Honestly, would he? No, because he was impossible to love. He was too stubborn for his own good. It was literally why he got a divorce. His ex-wife was just over it. And so was Ava.
Ava tucks her phone away and settles her bag on her shoulder. Feeling eyes on her, she turns her head and steals a glance at Cameron. She really misses him but she’s still so loaded off about the whole Russia thing. Tearing her eyes away from him, she heads out of the restaurant. Talking to him isn’t an option so she may as well leave and get back to the hotel. Doing something stupid just isn’t on the agenda for today.
Cameron had his eyes off her the moment he spotted her, huffing and shoving his hands into his pockets. He'd just be lonely and miserable, that one uncle who is really great and nice but no aunt to calm him down. It was really going to suck, living like that, but he could do it. He did it for a while, but now it was just bothering him. He didn't really have much time left. He was turning forty-one next year. That was going to be one hell and a half for him, and he didn't want to make some unsuspecting woman think he was younger than what he clearly looked. He shrugged off his thoughts and looked both ways before crossing the street and back down to his restaurant. He had too much to worry about.
Ava doesn’t even bother to check for cars before she crosses the street. The sound of her phone ringing startles her out of her less than pleasant thoughts. “Hello? Chris, what the hell are you talking about? Yeah, it’s normal for him to jump up on the kitchen counter, he likes to look out of the window.” She rolls her eyes at her bother’s confusion over Kreja’s behavior. “Chris, he’s a weird dog. Just let him do what he wants, he knows the rules.” That’s a lie but she figures that the dog won’t do anything too crazy. “I’ll be home tomorrow morning, don’t worry. You can survive until then, can’t you?” Laughing, she shakes her head. “Tell Kreja to be a good boy and that I miss him and love him. Yeah, I miss you and love you too, you idiot.” With a fond smile, she hangs up and tucks her phone away again.
(What now?)
(We really need these two to interact. Any ideas?)
(Absolutely none. Idk m8.)
(Hm……..maybe Kreja could escape the house and show up at Cameron’s doorsteps? That would force Ava to go over there.)
(oooooOh! Yaas! And maybe something's happening to Lily that makes them bond again over concern/grief for her?)
(Yes!!! That’s perfect!)
(Yess!!! Okay who starts?)
(I can if you don’t want to)
(Please!)
Kreja scratches at Cameron’s front door, barking and whining loudly. He rears up on his hind legs and continues to paw and scratch at the door. Demanding to be heard, he throws his head back and howls got as loud and as long as he can.
Ava is in panic mode. Her darling angel of a dog is nowhere to be found and it’s beyond worrying. “Kreja!” She calls out his name as she searches around the entire area. What if something happened to him? He could be lost or hurt. Just the thought of that is enough her make her nauseous. That dog, as crazy as he is, means the world to her and she’d be heart broken if something happened to him.
Cameron was laying down with Lily outside, stroking her flanks as she breathed slowly in sleep. The winter was doing one hell of a toll on her limbs, but now that it was spring and much warmer, he hoped to take her outside and let her relax. But their moment was ruined by loud howling, making Cameron stand with a groan. Lily seemed to pass her aching limbs to him. He crossed across his house to his door opening it with his eyebrows raised a little.
"Kreja, what the hell are you doing here?" He asked the crazy dog, bending down a little to scratch at his ears. "Hell, it's good you did. Lily missed you."
Kreja barks excitedly and spins around in a circle, his tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth. With a happy huff, he leans into the scratches. He perks up the second Lily’s name is mentioned. Acting like he lives here, he tries to push past Cameron and enter the house.
Ava makes several phone calls, asking everyone she knows about Kreja as she searches up and down the streets. No one has seen the pup and that only makes her even more worried. “Kreja!” She shouts, growing desperate. Where could he have gone? She decides to head to the library tower. Maybe he went there, he always did like to look out of the tower window.
Cameron let the dog pass, grabbing his phone and shutting the door. "Be careful with Lily, okay, Kreja? She's gotten very frail over the winter." He followed Kreja and sat down next to Lily again. The older dog barely lifted her head, but she sniffed meekly at Kreja as he approached, her tail thumping slowly. Cameron bit his lip and looked down at his phone, searching for Ava's contact and bringing it up. Hopefully she didn't block him.
Hey, I have Kreja. He knew she'd be worried sick.
Kreja trots right over to Lily, snuffling at her ears. He licks her cheek before flopping down and cuddling up next to her. The crazy dog’s tail doesn’t stop wagging for a second. He loves to see his best friend and this time apart has not gone over well with him.
Ava almost doesn’t hear her phone go off. She picks it up and checks it without hesitation. This very well could be information about Kreja. Relief floods her body when she reads that Cameron has Kreja. I’ll be right there. She sends the text before jumping onto her motorcycle and tearing down the road. Screw the speed limit, she needs her baby.
Lily's tail thumped softly at each every other tap from Kreja, with Cameron gently stroking her flanks. He smiled warmly at Kreja, who still looked young and ample. Maybe Cameron would get his next dog from a Russian breeder or shelter. Not that it really mattered, honestly. Lily had a really rough puppyhood, so of course she's suffering with all of these bone issues. Malnutrition ran deep in her life, but now was the end. When her muzzle was so gray there was no more white or brown markings on it. As Cameron petted her, he bit his lip again. He wasn't ready to let his dog go. But he had to.
Ava arrives at the house in record time. A few traffic lights and stop signs had been ignored but it doesn’t matter in the slightest to her. She jumps off of her bike, barely taking time to make sure that it’s properly parked, and darts over to the front door. “Cameron!” She calls out as she knocks loudly a few times. It’s really hard to give a single shit about being mad at him when she’s this worried about her dog. Hell, she’d drop to her knee and beg if it means getting her little baby back.
Cameron jumped out of his thoughts, swallowing a lump he didn't realize that had been there since he had fallen into his thoughts.
"I'm in the back!" He called back to her, looking back down at his pup and sighing sadly. He would have to think about it eventually; he needed to euthanize her. She was miserable, every time she tried to use her paws she would limp or whine. The vet predicted she would stop eating soon because of the pain. He might as well shorten that time. Before he knew it, his lip was quivering beneath his teeth.
Ava heads around the side of the house until she reaches the backyard. “Is he okay?” She asks, worry shining in her eyes. The second she sees Kreja, she runs over and gathers him in her arms. “You little jerk, you had me worried sick!” Pressing kisses all over his head, she flips him over on his back and cradles him like the big baby that he is. “Don’t you ever do that to me again,” She murmurs, holding him close. Not once does she look over to Cameron. However, she does notice the poor shape that Lily is in. She carefully sets Kreja on the ground before kneeling down next to the old dog. “Hey, sweetie.”
Cameron ducked his head away when she exploded onto the deck, wiping his eyes desperately and inhaling slowly. He would have time to grieve later, when Ava was out of his life again. Though he kept a hand buried in her fur, stroking it with his thumb. Lily didn't move her head but her tail thumped a little bit more at the smell of Ava, barking very softly.
Before Ava could finish talking, Cameron stood and walked inside without another word. He couldn't think about it without breaking down. He couldn't even look at the poor dog. He was so confident she'd be okay, but there she was, suffering outside.
“Oh, baby, what happened to you?” Ava asks softly, growing worried at Lily’s condition. It doesn’t help when Cameron enters the house without a word. She presses a gentle kiss to Lily’s head before standing. “Kreja, keep her company. And don’t run off this time,” She commands him quietly before she turns and heads into the house. “Cameron, what’s going on?” They may not be on good terms with each other but she’s willing to put that behind her right now since she loves Lily and the dog is clearly suffering.
Cameron had walked inside to make himself a smoothie of various fruits he found around the kitchen. They were nice and bright, plus fruits were always the right amount of sweet to make him feel better. He didn't glance back at her when she spoke, but he sighed faintly.
"I'm going to be euthanizing her soon," He mumbled through chopping a lime. "She has some kind of bone-marrow cancer that's too severe to fix, and it's extremely painful for her. Her bones are literally breaking down. They didn't catch it until about a week ago. It's been happening since a couple years, it just… took a while to develop."