Chapter Four: Roxi's Turn

Chapter Four:

Roxie's turn

-- dog barking --

-- barking gets louder --

Roxie is holding her head in between her palms as she finally manages to open her eyes, which she didn’t realize were shut until now.

It hurts, she says to herself as she tries to look up while rubbing her eyes, shaking off the tiredness.

"Kobe" she whispers looking up at the source of the sound, there was a sense of relief in her words.

-- woof woof -- the dog kept on barking as if he wanted Roxie to wake up.

He runs away as soon as Roxi’s eyes are wide open and fetches her phone. It was in his mouth when he returned & then dropped it in front of her right on the carpet. The phone was now drenched in his saliva & he continued panting as he barked once again while wagging his tail.

"Kobe, not again; it's not a toy. How many times do I tell you?", Roxie complains as she wipes the saliva off by rubbing it over the rug next to her. It felt as if it was a routine since the rug seemed more covered in dried saliva then its fur.

Roxie didn’t seem to mind the interaction much and smiled looking at Kobe. However, she wondered how he ended up in her room again.

“Did I leave the door open again? Oh wait, must have been Clyde. Tsk that guy, he must have forgotten again. I don’t even remember when he walks in or walks out!” Roxie sighs.

"C'mon boy, let's get you home", Roxie says as she gets up, keeping her phone aside. It was out of charge.

Kobe, a 3 years and 7 months old husky. His eyes, silver like that of a mirror, looking at them was as if your soul was being reflected to you; his body was covered well with fur, soft and silky, white as snow could be. He was energetic and lively.

Roxie bends to take a closer look at his collar, the chain's hook was snatched maybe because the collar is so old and probably that's how he managed to run away again. He had it around his neck since as long as she can remember. She touches the name tag, a silver bone; the color complimented his eyes. “Kobe” it spelt.

"Kobe", she says to herself as she manages to smile yet again.

She stands up and dusts her clothes, before walking towards the door. She sighs at the sight as it was indeed left open after her interaction with Clyde last night.

"Come, Kobe" she calls the husky to follow her out of her room.

The dog wags his tails and follows her. Kobe seemed to follow whatever Roxie saids if he had known her since forever. Still panting in excitement, he walks towards her.

-- knocks on the door--

An old lady creaks open the door only to notice it's her dog, her eyes knew exactly where to look. She wasn’t surprised to see Kobe who had run off, it seems it happened often. She only smiled at the sight.

"Kobe! my boy" she says at her happy sight of seeing the dog after a whole night of him disappearing. It had become a routine so she didn’t worry much whenever Kobe wandered off. She knew he’d be back as soon as she would have even had the time to notice.

The dog barks twice..

" Lemme guess, Roxanne" The old lady tries to recall the girl’s name in a meek voice.

"Yes" replies Roxie politely.

"I was sure that he must have gone to your place", the lady said as if it was usual, as if it were a routine that grew over her over time.

"Here's your dog,” Roxie says as the dog lets himself back in the house.

" You said it well 'your dog' " the lady said out loud with a chuckle.

"You know.." Roxie says as she breaks off.

"Of course my dear" the lady replies in a comforting tone.

“But I guess he hasn’t yet forgotten its real owner” she adds, making Roxie sorta uncomfortable with the fact.

Roxie took him in when he was 3 months old and since then she’s been looking after him. Afterall living alone can get lonely sometimes, a little company can change everything.

As a teenager, she and Raven didn't get along most of the time and hence "Kobe" was her only shoulder to cry upon, laugh with and care for. Kobe was basically like her son, apart from her work and her sister, he was the only other thing that mattered to her.

However, sometimes you just want better for your loved ones. So, Roxie decided it would be the best for "Kobe" to be with somebody who isn't as busy as her. & could take care of him properly. The old lady stayed at home for most hours of the day and Kobe was more of an indoorsy pup.

It had been almost over 3 years ago since she handed him over to the lady next door, although it broke her heart, she knew it was for the best and after all she could see him everyday too. It was better than giving him up to some shelter or the other.

The lady caught Roxie frowning and knew immediately that something was wrong.

"Is something bothering you? Is it Raven again? Did something happen to her?" The lady asks with concern in her regular British accent.

"Yes, she keeps on adding to my worries. That girl…." Raven replies unsure and tired of the close proximity between the dramas - like she didn’t even have the time to take a breath for herself.

"Oh my dear, why don’t you come in and we can talk about it", the lady invites her inside in a sympathetic tone. She was always sure that Roxie was more than capable of solving her own problems or those of Raven’s but, she was always a little concerned about her as well.

"No, I can't. I guess I need to leave right now; maybe some other time when after I return" Roxie replies anxiously in a hasty voice.

" But where are you headed this time?" The lady asks curiously.

"Far, somewhere definitely far from here" Roxie replies as she steps away from the door.

"How are you going to get there? Do you need my car?" The lady tries to offer help, it was the least she could do for Roxie.

"Yes, please that'd be nice" Roxie accepts without any hesitation in an appreciative tone. She knew she needed it, especially to get to her sister as soon as she could. It didn’t matter how she got there rather how soon she could get there before Raven pulled up another stunt or got into trouble because of the previous one. Somehow she always felt responsible for cleaning up after the mess her sister made. It was out of love for her sister, that’s how she would justify it.

The lady’s eyes direct towards the key holder next to the door, inside of the house. Roxie reaches for the keys and jingles them as an expression of thanking the lady again. She bows her head a little and smiles with her sad tired eyes as she walks away.

-- woof woof -- The dog barks once again.

"He says good luck" the lady states with a chuckle and loud enough for Roxie to hear.

Kobe was on the floor sitting like a good boi should, he purrs a little.

"Oh, I know what he said. Please continue to take care of him will you?" Roxie nods and smiles at the dog before she leaves.

“As always..don’t you worry.” The lady assures Roxie.

---------------

Soon after the door shuts, Roxie rushes back into her tiny old apartment to gather some last few items before she leaves for the hunt. She picks up the backpack lying on the floor and empties it all out at once in the same place. She could see her coffee cup lying on the floor as well, but she couldn’t care less to pick it up right now. She now has something more important to do than to waste time on those trivial matters.

"I'm sorry for that" she apologizes to herself for making such a mess. Her room almost looked like someone had ransacked it in search of something important. This was unlikely Roxie, she was rather organised while Raven was the messy one. Things Roxie has to go through for the sake of her sister.

She packs all the necessities in a rush as she runs to her desk to grab the postcard before she leaves. It’s when she remembers it would be rude to just go off without bidding Clyde goodbye. So, as a good friend she decides to see Clyde one last time before she starts off her venture.

She makes a mental note about what she needs to do on the way, she seems satisfied but still unsure. She carried on with her plan anyway since she was already low on time.

Before she could step out she heard a familiar voice call her out.

“Well all I'm going to say is Take care and be careful” Clyde bids Roxie before she could call him.

“Wish I could come along but since you insisted it's something you need to do alone I won’t bother you to take me along.” he further mixes his concern with a little bit of sadness.

Roxie feels guilty suddenly.

“Even if I wanted to, you couldn’t come with me” Roxie comments with her back still facing him.

Before he can give an answer to that, she walks off to the garage built next to the building to get the car.

Meanwhile,

-- 1 new message --

the phone displays a notification but Roxie forgets to pick it up from where she left it earlier.

---------

Roxie hastily gets into the car, throws her backpack on the back seat and starts the engine up. It was an old Tahoe Turquoise 1966 Mustang, that the neighbouring lady had owned since her youth days. Her husband was a rich business tycoon back in the old days, and he had left her with enough riches for her to live her life. She had nothing to complain about except for one thing that made her sad. They couldn't bear any child, also one of the reasons why she cared for Roxie so much.

“I have to get to her as soon as I can”, Roxie murmurs to herself as she gears up.

She takes another look at the postcard and realizes that it's folded. It unravels into a map. It was going to be a far journey ahead, she prepared herself for it.

"That's just what I needed." Roxie wishes herself good luck as she drives off.

Roxie follows the trails on the map as she anxiously thinks about her sister while sipping on the coffee she got earlier. Right when her car breaks down in the middle of nowhere halfway in the journey.

--Screech--- the car stops

And the smoke comes out of the bonnet. She hops out only to notice that there's also a flat tyre.

“Ah great! Right when I needed it the most!!”, Roxie starts to curse her luck.

Cause misery loves Roxie.

To be Continued...