ABDUCTED

Mornings were typically the best part of the day. The best part of mine, at least. That was when an infinite spread of optimism washed over me as the sunlight came in through the window. There was no guarantee that the day would be better than the one before it, but no guarantee that it would be worse. It felt like a miniature clean slate. I sometimes woke up forgetting everything that had happened entirely. Also, the heap of blankets (and dogs) we slept under felt especially cozy upon the first moments of waking up.

Sometimes I got up early and went for a walk with one or two of the dogs. The sun would still be down, and the grass would be wet with dew.

For awhile, Emily had been really into these Pilates exercises. She'd get up an hour early to work out. Usually, I'd wake up to find her rolling around the living room floor with the dogs, giggling as they licked her face. Then I'd lie down next to her and squeeze her hand, laughing just the same. Moments like that were the times I loved her most - when she was laughing until her stomach hurt and covered in dog hair. She made my heart go into absolute overdrive.

"Morning." I heard Emily say from beneath the mountain of covers, stifling a tiny yawn. She rolled over to face me, smiling as I hugged her tiny frame. Since today was Saturday, she wasn't working. I'd had to take some time off from work, and it got sort of lonely on the weekdays without her. Which was strange - I'd never really paid much attention to loneliness. I'd simply grown accustomed to it over the years. Now, it ate away at me. I didn't have many friends, so it felt like Emily was all I really had besides the dogs. Saturday was also the day we went to see a different psychiatrist together. I didn't particularly enjoy the handfuls of doctors and professionals I had to see on a constant basis, but I didn't mind this one as much. Although a bit uncomfortable at particular moments, she had been really helping Em and I overcome some of the obstacles (usually things that were my fault) in our relationship. Overall, Saturdays were usually pretty good days.

Emily tucked her face into my chest, curling up again like she were about to go back to sleep. The familiar sensation of her warm breath was calming.

"Oof," She murmured, propping her chin up with one hand to glance behind her. "Puppy just hit me in the butt."

I'd bought beds for all the dogs, but most of them still managed to climb up here with Em and I. There wasn't really much of a protest put up though, as their faces were very hard to say no to... especially when they started to whine.

"What a pervert." I smirked, bringing her face in closer to mine. She raised a single eyebrow, waiting patiently for my lips. Her hazel eyes glinted in the early morning haze, a burning sense of anticipation in them.

"I love you. Kiss me."

---

"So," Em began, pouring steaming hot coffee into our two mugs. "What do you want to do about the puppies?"

A few weeks ago, the two of us had taken in a stray sheepdog, who, as we later found out, was pregnant. Emily had taken to naming her Frida, as in Frida Kahlo. As much as we wanted to, we knew we just couldn't keep the entire liter of puppies.

"How many are we keeping?" I asked, kissing the top of her head.

Emily turned and gave me a painstakingly long look.

"Will, we already have six dogs."

I felt myself beginning to frown. Six was quite a lot, but a tiny little puppy or two couldn't and wouldn't take up much space at all. I mean, yeah, they would grow, but... we could think about that later. There was enough room.

"You don't want to keep at least one puppy?" I tossed her a pouty look, bringing the mug of coffee to my lips and taking a small sip.

Em bit her lip, trying to avoid making eye contact with me. She knew she wasn't going to win this argument. Because, truth be told, she wanted to keep the puppies just as badly as I did.

A moment of silence enveloped the kitchen. I waited patiently, knowing she'd crack soon.

"One puppy," She finally sighed, shaking her head at me. "just one."

I smiled at the small victory, kissing her on the forehead in appreciation. I knew she'd give in. I also knew it was going to be really hard for both of us to get rid of five to ten adorably small puppies. They'd have to stay with us as newborns, just for a little while until they'd grown a bit. We were going to end up getting incredibly attached to them, this I already knew. I could tell by the look on her face she did knew too. What could I really say... we liked dogs.

"I'm sorry about last night." I said quietly. As the caffeine began to settle in, I began to fully recall the events of last night, in particular what had happened once we got home. Even though she always brushed my breakdowns off like they were nothing, I couldn't pry away my intense feelings of guilt. Being impulsively pushed away by the person who supposedly loved you had to crush her. And I hated that I couldn't help it. It was embarrassing.

"You have nothing to be sorry about."

I'd been trying so hard, but I just couldn't make the flashbacks stop. I was terrified that I might one day hurt her. I felt like an absolute monster.

Frida padded into the kitchen, sitting down beside our feet and whimpering. She'd been feeling pretty fragile for the past week or so. We'd taken her to the vet just to make sure she was okay, but nothing seemed to really be wrong. Guess the puppies had just been bothering her. I wasn't entirely sure how that worked. It was kind of funny to think that the only pregnant girl I'd ever be tending to was this dog. I didn't particularly care for children, and Emily absolutely detested them. Puppies, however, were a completely different story.

"I don't want to leave her." Em said with a sigh. She knelt down to scratch behind the tired looking sheepdog's ears, her face dawning a look of complete compassion that turned my insides to mush.

"I know, I know."

My girlfriend was good like that. She'd always been a bit of a worrier from what I'd gathered, and in the almost year I'd spent with her, I found it to be more than slightly true. She always took such good care of everyone.

"We can't stay here too much longer though. I don't wanna be late."