{"sf1_id":201337,"sf2_id":"rn64WwEe","title":"A Split Heart: Part 2","author":"Revresbo","words":986,"posted_at":"2010-12-09T17:37:00.000Z","tags":["Fox","Sad","Winter","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/201337-a-split-heart-part-2","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rn64WwEe","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/3a/b4/3ab4a3fb-22ce-4198-beea-4cf01e222130","description":"#4 of Heart","content":"Mike was standing in the doorway.\u0026nbsp; This was surprising to Jess for a few reasons.\u0026nbsp; Firstly, she didn't remember seeing his car pull up, and she couldn't believe he walk to her place when it was that late and that cold.\u0026nbsp; The chill breeze from the door reminded her how much she would hate to walk anywhere in winter.\u0026nbsp; Secondly, Mike was carrying his backpack.\u0026nbsp; He didn't usually bring that with him to visit friends.\u0026nbsp; Thirdly, and most important to Jess, her friend looked devastated.\u0026nbsp; He had obviously been crying earlier although he wasn't then.\u0026nbsp; The wolf had a stunned look in his eyes that was slowly being replaced by depression.\n\n\"Mike?\" Jess said, the question in her eyes: What happened?\n\nAs she asked, she realized something else was wrong.\u0026nbsp; Mike was clearly not dressed for the weather.\u0026nbsp; He often only wore jeans and runners out in the snow, but he was only wearing a hoodie over his t-shirt.\u0026nbsp; No one was affected by the cold more than Jess, but it was below -20o C outside, not counting the wind chill.\u0026nbsp; The wolf had to be freezing, and his hoodie wasn't even zipped up.\n\nMike felt the cold.\u0026nbsp; Normally, he didn't like it, but now, the sharp bite kept him awake and focused.\u0026nbsp; He had been worried that without the constant reminder he would simply collapse on the way here.\n\n\"Hey, Jess,\" Mike said.\u0026nbsp; \"Can I... can I come in?\"\n\n\"Yeah, of course!\u0026nbsp; You have to be freezing! What happened to your coat?\" Jess asked as she stepped aside.\u0026nbsp; However, the question she really wanted to ask excluded the last three words she had said.\n\n\"It's at hom-- at my house,\" Mike replied.\u0026nbsp; Now Jess was even more confused.\u0026nbsp; Why had he replaced 'home' with 'my house'?\u0026nbsp; Mike didn't look like he was ready to offer an explanation to why he would show up at her house late at night with a tear-streaked face.\u0026nbsp; Even as he removed his shoes, he was gazing about listlessly, almost like he was living in a dream.\u0026nbsp; Or a nightmare.\n\n\"Mike?\" Jess asked again as she stepped closer.\u0026nbsp; This time, she put the question to words: \"What happened?\"\n\n\"I-- I, uh, got--\" the wolf said shakily, gasps of breath breaking up his normally too quick speech.\u0026nbsp; \"My dad-- my dad--\" He took a deep shaky breath, and then, in a whisper, \"My dad kicked me out of the house.\"\n\n\"What?!\" Jess couldn't believe it.\u0026nbsp; Why would he get kicked out of the house?\u0026nbsp; He wasn't the kind of person to do something stupid, like rob a bank.\u0026nbsp; \"Why?\u0026nbsp; What did you do?\"\n\n\"I...\" Mike started.\u0026nbsp; For a moment Jess thought he would open up, but then, \"I can't talk about it right now.\u0026nbsp; Can I crash here tonight?\u0026nbsp; I can sleep on the couch or something, but...\" his voice trailed off uncertainly.\u0026nbsp; What would he do if she said no?\n\nHis fear was short-lived.\u0026nbsp; \"Yeah, sure,\" Jess said.\u0026nbsp; She attempted some levity.\u0026nbsp; \"The cops aren't looking for you, are they?\u0026nbsp; I just need to know so I can prep a story if they show up at the door.\"\n\n\"No, the police aren't going to be looking for me,\" Mike replied.\u0026nbsp; More quietly, he added, \"No one will be.\"\n\nHearing that coupled with the new tears running down the from the wolf's eyes nearly broke Jess' heart.\u0026nbsp; What happened at home to make her upbeat friend look like this?\n\n\"Mike, when you're ready to talk, I'm here.\"\n\n\"Thanks, Jess.\u0026nbsp; I just... I just need some sleep,\" Mike said.\u0026nbsp; _Maybe then I'll forget for a while,_ he thought.\n\n\"Yeah, of course,\" Jess said.\u0026nbsp; She watched as the wolf went and lay down on the couch, not even bothering to shed his hoodie.\u0026nbsp; His eyes closed, and his breathing slowed, but the fox could see her friend wasn't asleep yet.\u0026nbsp; Nevertheless, she left the room and stayed in the kitchen so she could warn her mom about their house guest when she got home.\n\n\\*\n\nThe morning dawned bright the next day, which insulted the wolf's sense of parallelism.\u0026nbsp; He felt like crap.\u0026nbsp; Why couldn't the weather be crappy too?\u0026nbsp; Then again, someone had to be happy somewhere in the city, even if he couldn't muster up enough empathy to feel happy with them, or for them.\u0026nbsp; He glanced at his bag, which he had packed with all the essentials he could think of and grab in the short time he had had to leave the house.\u0026nbsp; He then turned his attention to the clock.\u0026nbsp; Past the time when Jess' mom would be gone to work.\u0026nbsp; It occurred to Mike that he had forgotten to ask Jess last night when she worked today.\u0026nbsp; She could be gone already, but he doubted it.\u0026nbsp; She probably would have woken him to warn him.\n\nHe got off the couch and grabbed his bag.\u0026nbsp; Then he padded quietly over to the washroom, where he quickly changed into a newer (and better smelling) outfit.\u0026nbsp; He might have lain on the couch all day had he not known that others would be up and about the house at some point.\u0026nbsp; He didn't want to be a burden anymore than he had to be.\u0026nbsp;\n\nMeanwhile, Jess had roused herself from bed.\u0026nbsp; She was groggily trying to remember if and when she worked today when the floor creaking outside recalled her to her house guest.\u0026nbsp; _I hope he's feeling better now,_ she thought.\n\n* * *\n\nWell, due to a short attention span, amongst other things, this is now going to be three (short) parts.\u0026nbsp; YAY! Oh, and if you think you know why he's been kicked out, you're probably wrong.\u0026nbsp; Well, off by a bit.\u0026nbsp; But then, maybe not.\u0026nbsp; We'll see.\u0026nbsp; Point is, only I know for sure, and I'm loving the feeling of power. (Which is, incidently, a pretty good short story by Isaac Asimov.\u0026nbsp; Look it up.)\u0026nbsp; :-p\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Heart","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/200839-a-split-heart-part-1.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/201465-a-split-heart-part-3.json"}}