Fix Me, Conflict Me

“Hey, Maddie? Zack called. He said he and Alex are gonna come pick up Baz today,” Bailey informed me.

I flinched. It had been three days, though. “Ok…well, I’m going out for one last walk with him, then,” I sighed, grabbing the gray leash from the rack of leashes. I hooked it onto Baz and we were off.

Now I carried mace around with me in my purse. I walked about for a little under half an hour before I stopped at the park. I played fetch with Baz. I loved how the tennis ball was so huge it barely fit in his tiny mouth. His enthusiasm for the game was so adorable, though. “Maddie?”

I instantly reached for my mace inside my purse, looking for the source of the voice. “Oh… good god, Dean,you scared me shitless,” I laughed nervously. Dean was one of Cooper’s best customers good friends. “Hi,” I said hesitantly, tightening my grip on the mace.

“So, have you gotten Cooper out yet? ‘Cause I really, really, really need my fix,” he muttered, licking his lips and practically twitching in his cocaine withdrawal.

I gritted my teeth. “I’m not getting Cooper out. And I’m not selling anyone his shit. I burned all of it.”

Dean’s eyes went wide and blank. “Y-You didn’t.”

“You bet your sorry drug addict ass I did,” I sneered, rising from the bench. “So go spread the fucking word, Dean,” I said sharply, putting Baz back on his leash. I needed to get out of here.

Dean’s jaw tightened and he clenched his fists, still slightly convulsing. “You fucking bitch!” Dean rushed at me. Even with the mace in my hand, I couldn’t find it in me to actually use it.

Lucky for me…my savior had returned. “Leave her alone,” he told Dean firmly. His back was facing me, but I’d recognize his voice anywhere. I exhaled sharply, the mace dropping from my shaking hands.

Dean scowled at me, lowering his fists. “You’ll regret this, Madison…” He slipped away.

“I thought I told you to be more careful?” My savior sighed, finally turning around.

I gasped. “A-Alex?”

“Sit down with me, Maddie,” Alex sighed again, practically collapsing onto the park bench. I sat down with him and pulled Baz close. Alex didn’t say anything for quite a while. I took Baz’s leash off and hesitantly handed Alex the small, neon green, worn out tennis ball. Alex took it and tossed it not too far from us. Baz barked happily and chased after it. We both laughed softly. “What an awesome dog.”

“Yeah…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say. I noticed that I was still wearing Alex’s hoodie. I liked to wear it. It was big and warm and made me feel safe, like…like armor. “Did you know who I was when you saw me at the animal shelter?” I finally asked.

“Yes,” Alex said simply. I looked at him, patiently waiting for him to say more. He didn’t.

“Alex… why did you do it? Why did you…save me?”

I saw him stiffen. He grimaced, adjusting his gray beanie. “Anyone decent would have.”

“Oh, please,” I scoffed. “When a girl yells, ‘Rape!’ nobody wants to help. People would rather ignore that, would rather stay out of it. If somebody yells ‘Fire!’ maybe that would’ve gotten some attention.”

“Then why didn’t you yell ‘fire’?” Alex demanded irritably.

I smirked. “It was raining, remember?” Alex fell silent and I smirked some more.

“Is the bruise on your neck from those men?” he asked quietly, staring at his shoes. Baz had come back now. He put his two front paws on Alex’s knee and dropped the ball in his lap. Alex smiled and took the ball, raising it high over his head. Baz watched intently. Then Alex swung his arm forward, but he was hiding the ball behind his back. He laughed because Sebastian already took off running.

“That was mean!” I laughed, playfully nudging Alex’s shoulder.

The smile was instantly gone again. “What’s mean is you not answering my question, Maddie.”

“It doesn’t hurt anymore,” I muttered, self consciously pulling my hair around to hide it. I could’ve sworn I’d caked on enough concealer this morning…

“So you did get it from one of those guys,” Alex concluded, yanking off his gray beanie and running a hand through his hair with a frustrated sigh. “I’m so sorry,” he said softly, but he was looking up at the sky and not me. I didn’t know what to say, so I simply remained silent.

Baz had finally come back and was barking angrily at Alex. Alex looked down at the little dog with a wide smile on his face. He tossed his beanie onto the bench and pulled the ball out from behind his back. Baz leapt up and snatched the tennis ball from Alex’s hands before curling up against Alex’s leg. “He likes you a lot,” I said quietly, watching Alex scratch behind Baz’s ears.

Alex looked so happy with Baz, and I was sure Baz would finally have a nice home to live in. I still didn’t like to see him taken away from me, though. Out of boredom, I got up and grabbed Alex’s beanie, sliding onto my head before I grabbed my mace again. “You look good in my clothes,” Alex chuckled, gently petting Baz. “Can I take him home today?”

“You…You don’t have to ask me, Alex. He’s your dog now.” I held Baz’s leash out to him. Alex took it and hooked it onto Baz, but handed me the leash anyway. “Wh-What…?”

“Walk with me,” Alex murmured, his hand instantly finding the small of my back.

He was hard to talk to, and I wanted to find out why, but I had a feeling that he’d clam up completely if I pushed him too far. We made small talk here and there. I mean, he beat up three strangers and made Dean back the fuck off. He was pretty awesome in my book. “So…why are you adopting a dog?”

Alex sighed and his hand drifted lower so his fingers hooked onto one of my belt hoops. He pulled me back just before I ran into someone. “You really need to be more careful,” Alex chuckled. We walked a little more. “My mom…she thinks having a dog, taking care of it, spending time with it, will…uh, help me,” Alex said vaguely, focusing on the streets we were walking on. I nodded and didn’t say another word on the matter. He would tell me when he wanted to tell me. He pulled me to a stop in front of the animal shelter. "Thanks for not asking why."

I just turned around and hugged him. Whatever this guy’s secret was, it was killing me not to know, but if he didn’t feel like sharing, that was fine with me, too. We all had our secrets. I should know that best of all. “Thank you... for everything, Alex,” I muttered, and I felt him return the hug, albeit awkwardly.

The door of the animal shelter opened to reveal a very smug looking Bailey and Zack. Alex and I quickly pulled apart. “I’ll, um, see you around, Maddie… I’m sure Sebastian will miss you,” he said with a small smile before taking Baz, Zack, and dragging both to a car parked down on the street.

Bailey smirked but I just shoved past her into the animal shelter.