Stay(58)

“Addie, we can’t,” he said.

“Why not?

“A bullet is faster than swinging a shovel.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling dejected. “Damn.” We walked around to the front of the house.

“If I ever figure out the combination to get into his room at night, I’ll slit his throat in his sleep,” Jackson said very seriously.

“He has a combination lock on his bedroom door?” I asked.

Jackson nodded. “Zane too. Just like the ones on the exterior doors but with different codes.”

“Do you know the combinations?”

Jackson nodded and stepped up to the bushes. He thrust the shovel into the ground. A thin layer of mud squished away. What was underneath it was frozen, and only the tip of the spade went in. He picked it up and shoved it down again, barely making a mark on the cold dirt. “Just the ones for the exterior doors. One-three-four-two,” he told me. “For now.”

“What do you mean ‘for now?'” I moved in front of the bush next to Jackson.

“Nate randomly changes them. He’s really paranoid.” He chipped away at the ground. “I don’t always know them, either, and if you get the combination wrong, an alarm goes off.”

“Oh,” I said and lifted the shovel a foot from the ground only to jam in into the solid dirt. We worked in silence for a few minutes, slowly chipping away at the frozen ground. My hands hurt from gripping the handle of the shovel, and my shoulders were sore already. I had barely made a dent when I checked out Jackson’s progress, and was impressed to see he was much further along in digging up the bush than I was.

“What’s your favorite book?” Jackson asked when he saw me looking.

“Oh gosh,” I started. “I have like fifty books in my ‘Top Ten Favorites’ list.” I shook my head. “That’s a really hard question. I love so many. I will admit I’m biased toward paranormal or fantasy. There’s just something about the worlds those books take place in. I used to say I’d give anything to live in a magical land but now …” I sighed. “People usually thought I was weird when I said that.”

“I don’t think it’s weird,” Jackson quickly agreed. “I’d give anything to be anywhere else.”

I nodded and deeply inhaled the chilly air looking longingly at the street. I held my hand up to my forehead, shielding the bright sun from my eyes. Something moved by the mailbox. I squinted my eyes for a better look.#p#分页标题#e#

“Hey!” I said and dropped the shovel. “There’s a dog!” Without a second thought I walked away from the house.

“Addie, no, Nate could see you!” Jackson said. I didn’t heed his warning. “Addie!” he repeated. I heard a soft thud as his shovel hit the ground. “Adeline!” he called.

The dog saw me and froze. I knelt down and extended my hand. “Hey puppy,” I said quietly. The dog tucked its tail between its back legs and sniffed. “It’s okay, sweetie. I won’t hurt you.” It took a few steps forward.

“That’s a Pitbull. Be careful it could bite you!” Jackson stated.

“Don’t breed stereotype,” I said automatically. I made a kissing noise and wiggled my fingers. The dog slowly walked to me. “Hello beautiful,” I said to the dog. It was brown and black brindle and very skinny. “You’re a girl,” I observed as she pressed her nose into my hand. “Are you lost?” Her tail began to wag.

“She seems friendly,” Jackson said and knelt down next to me.

The dog cowered back. Jackson very slowly held out his hand. After nervously eyeing him for a few seconds, the dog sniffed him. She turned her attention back to me, wagging her tail again. She moved closer, trying to lick my face.

“She likes you,” Jackson said.

I smiled and gently put a hand on her back. Her tail wagged even more. “I think she used to be somebody’s. She likes people.” I opened my arms causing the dog’s excitement to grow even more. Her whole body wiggled with delight. “Are you a lonely girl? Poor little thing, all alone,” I said in a high-pitched voice. “You don’t have to be lonely anymore. I’ll take care of you.”

Jackson rocked back on his heels but didn’t say anything. We both knew there was no way I could take care of a dog, but for right now, I wanted to believe it. I could tell she had been on her own for a while, and I was sure as soon as we stood up and went back to the bushes, she would take off.

“I’ll share my lunch with you,” I told the dog and scratched her ears.