FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Happy birth-day to youuuu, happy birth-day to youuuuu! Happy birth-day dear Lucyyyyyyyy, happy birth-day to youuuuuuu!"

_ _

Smiling, Lucy leaned over the table and blew out the light of nineteen candles, plunging the room into darkness to a round of applause while Hector turned on the lights. Cake was cut, and plates were passed around amongst Doghouse employees and one guest - Rigo. He and Reid hadn't spoken a word to one another since the wolf had arrived a few minutes earlier, but everyone was too engrossed in the occasion to notice.

Vance and Veronica kept their distance as well. There was no animosity between the two, but like scolded pups, they both knew they shouldn't have taken it so far. Reid could almost smell the awkwardness in the air, but he assumed it was just from the looks from Rigo that he was actively avoiding. Reid poked his plastic fork at the spongy, black mass of the chocolate cake and blinked a few times. There sat Lucy, nineteen years old that day, and it was the first of her birthdays (save for her actual birth) where he'd been present. Today would be an especially bad time, he convinced himself. It never took much convincing for Reid to excuse himself from the duty that he had to tell Lucy the truth, but even still, he hoped that the right place and the right time would present themselves soon enough.

Avoidant as it was, Reid was unwittingly doing his daughter a favor. Lucy had too many other things on her mind; the last thing she needed was news as heavy as what Reid withheld. It hadn't been so long since she'd packed up and left for greener pastures, but it was growing smaller and smaller in her rear view mirror. That was exactly how she wanted it, but the memories of sense were forever burned into her mind. The sounds. The sights. The smells, all of it. Lucy fought to push them from her mind, but she could only numb the pain of her memories. She drummed her fingers on the table nervously while she waited for a call she knew was going to come. It was her birthday, after all. Josie rarely called her anymore, and Lucy found herself hoping every time she did that it would come with the news that Brody Callison had been hit by a freight train.

Two Years Ago

_ _

_ Lucy punched her time card at the grocery store where she worked, her ears low and her stride brisk. She couldn't help but be downtrodden, knowing what waited for her at home. Lucy's chipper, cheery demeanor was a ruse - it kept people from asking questions, which is exactly how she wanted it._

_ _

_ "Ready?" Aaron asked, waiting by his car. Lucy nodded, and the cat stubbed out his cigarette on his boot heel. They piled into Aaron's hoopty and the feline driver started it up, the car groaning with its death rattle while he turned on the headlights._

_ _

_ "You give any more thought to...y'know..."_

_ _

_ "Moving?" Lucy asked quietly._

_ _

_ "Yeah."_

_ _

_ "Yeah. Just as soon as I can get my hands on a car." She spoke with a hint of finality, and her curt voice brimmed with purpose. Lucy stared out the window while the road signs passed by and she grew closer to the den of iniquity that was her home in Deer Park, Texas._

_ _

_ Aaron pulled to a stop next to the curb in front of the modest, suburban home where Lucy lived. She wasn't stupid, she knew that Aaron had had a crush on her for a while, and the prospect of her leaving weighed heavily on him, but she had to do right by herself. They both knew it. Lucy had admitted it tentatively while they cuddled one night over a movie, and the feline hopeful conceded. She had to do what was best for her. She had to find the life she was looking for, and it certainly was not on the Gulf Coast._

_ _

_ "Thanks, Aaron."_

_ _

_ "Sure. Promise you'll call me before you leave?"_

_ _

_ "I promise."_

_ _

_ Aaron smiled. Lucy returned it, albeit weaker, and shut the door, turning to head for the house like a condemned inmate to the executioner. In the driveway sat a black pickup truck, bedecked with stickers on the back window advertising a staunch right-wing lean. Sighing, she pushed her key into the lock and turned it, swinging the door open to the chaos that was her life._

_ _

_ "Alyssa, quit pulling on your sister's hair!" Josie Sanchez shouted from the kitchen, where she was doing the dishes as quietly as possible to avoid disturbing the patriarch's boxing match on TV. Lucy dropped her backpack by the door and headed for the kitchen, making sure to walk behind the recliner, and not in front of it._

_ _

_ "Well hello to you, too." Brody Callison said, offended in jest that the wolfdog had not said a single word to him. If she had, she'd have been berated for disrupting his television program. She couldn't win for losing. Lucy disappeared into the kitchen to help her Mom with the dishes, but she was nearly done as it was._

_ _

_ "Hi honey. How was work?"_

_ _

_ "Eh, it was work." Lucy shrugged and sat down at the table where leftover dinner sat, lukewarm and congealed. She spooned salmon croquettes, macaroni and cheese, and broccoli florets onto a plate and tossed it into the microwave, turning her back to the kitchen counter and leaning on it._

_ _

_ "Still saving up for a car?" Mom asked, the question a pitiful attempt at trying to make conversation. It was the only thing Lucy was saving up for, and she knew it. She just didn't have the attention to spare for remembering._

_ _

_ "Yep." _

_ "When you get done eating, I need you to help Kelsey with her homework."_

_ _

"Sure, Mom." The teen wolfdog answered, pulled her plate from the microwave, and sat down at the table. Never mind the fact that she'd been at school and work all day. Never mind the fact that she was tired, and all she wanted to do was take a shower and go to bed. Helping Kelsey with her homework was not a difficult task, but a time-consuming one, and it always left her with little time for herself, lest she forfeit an hour or two of sleep.

_ _

"Girls, bed time!" Josie called roughly an hour later, and the little ones took off running for the stairs to dash up to their bedroom. Lucy began to pack her own homework back into her backpack, and she headed quickly for the stairs, her scatterbrained state leading her right in front of Brody's easy chair - effectively blocking the TV for all of one half-second. Brody pursed his lips with a ghoulish grin and gave her an open-handed slap right on the butt. She jumped, her tail frazzled, and the offending canine sat back in his chair laughing triumphantly to himself. Frowning, the wolfdog kept her course, heading up the stairs while fighting back tears.

_ _

Lucy showered like a soldier. Quick, fast, and in a hurry. She'd picked up the tactic after realizing that any time she took too long, the results were not pleasant. At least, not for her. Evidently, Brody had grown wise to the fact that she took combat showers to avoid his advances, and he'd learned that when he wanted a piece of that, he had to be quick.

_ _

Lucy was just about done when Brody invited himself into the bathroom - the doors didn't lock. Her face flushed red, and she began to tremble the moment he pulled the curtain back and eyed her up and down while she covered herself with her arms.

_ _

"You know, if there's one thing I agree with those fuckin' hippie liberals on, it's water conservation. So in the interest of that, why don't you and I share a shower?"

_ _

"I fucking hate you, Brody!" She hissed, her ears low and flat against her skull, refusing to watch while he took his clothes off.

_ _

"C'mon, you know you like it. Better'n anything that cat boy could ever give you. You know they got small dicks?" Brody laughed and dropped his pants and underwear, stepping into the shower and shutting the curtain before pinning the wolfdog against the wall. Lucy gritted her teeth and cried silently while she tried in vain to grip the smooth tile of the shower.

_ _

"I know you want that Chevelle..." He cooed in her ear, sliding his hands up her hips, around to her belly and then up to her modest bust, "...you let me stick it in and I'll let you have it."

_ _

"It's not even yours." She snarled.

_ _

"Whose name's on the title, sweetheart? It ain't your grandpappy's anymore..."

_ _

"I'll buy it from you then, just get the fuck off me!"

_ _

"Shh! Shut up, your Mom hears about this and I'm fucked! And then you're really gonna be up shit creek, you hear?"

_ _

Lucy sniffled and nodded, her face twisted into an ugly scowl of discomfort and ire.

_ _

"Wha-what do you want for it?"

_ _

"Oh, well, when are you looking to buy?" Brody groaned, back to his softer voice as he neared his reprehensible goal. Lucy squeezed her legs together while the wolf poked and prodded, and she turned her head so she could be heard.

_ _

"Tomorrow. I'll give you four grand for it."

_ _

"Five and you got a deal."

_ _

"It needs work, asshole, I'll give you four."

_ _

"Four thousand and this?" He grunted, trying to penetrate her.

_ _

"Forty-five hundred, and just...do what you always do. You're gonna do it anyway." She choked out, defeated, but knowing that she was one step closer to escaping the prison that was her home.

_ _

"That's the spirit, girl..."

Present Day

"Lucy?"

"Hm?" She looked up, unaware that she'd been staring at her slice of cake for the past couple of minutes, as still as stone. Most everyone had left the room, and Reid was speaking to her.

"I'm ordering pizzas for lunch, you want the usual? Pepperoni and Italian sausage?"

"Yeah, that's cool." She nodded, forcing a smile out from somewhere in the fog of her memories. With no appetite for cake, she set her plate down and walked out of the room and into the bays, leaving Reid alone with his thoughts for a quick moment. He wasn't alone for long, though. In a flash, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he turned his head to see Rigo standing there in the periphery of his vision.

"You told her, didn't you?" Reid asked quietly once he'd confirmed that they were alone. Rigo unfolded his arms and sighed.

"She's been acting funny. She knows, doesn't she?"

"No." Rigo shook his head. "I haven't told her. Even as much as I would like to, you deserve the opportunity to make things right. I'm not going to take that away from you. It's your responsibility. But you need to quit stalling."

"I know." Reid said, "We've got a lot of stuff going on right now. Bad stuff. I can't go into detail about it, but I've got some things, personal issues that need to get ironed out."

"All right." Rigo nodded.

"Is she all right otherwise? I'm certain she tells you more than she tells me."

"Yeah," Rigo started with a curt nod, "She's fine. Things have been a little different since she came clean, but I think that in a way, it's forced her to cope with her past in a more...direct manner. She can't hide behind a false identity anymore and it's taken some of her security from her."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, she cries occasionally, or gets overwhelmed, but she's a strong girl. She'll be fine. Just give her some space, I think this is the first time in a while that she's really allowed herself to confront her issues."

"Well, that being said, I wonder if now's really a good time to tell her the truth."

"It couldn't hurt. Getting to know her real father might just give her an extra boost of confidence in herself. Especially considering she already knows you so well. She never has anything but good things to say about you."

"Yeah, well pardon me, but your dad didn't leave you at an early age." Reid countered and pulled a bottle of water out from the refrigerator. "It's a whole different ballgame when you grew up with nothing but resentment for him."

Rigo sighed and put his hands on his hips, "Well. It's up to you. I'm not going to say anything. My relationship with Lucy will be fine whatever you choose to do. Again, I'm only asking you to do the right thing."

Rigo glanced at his expensive watch and declared that he had to return to work. Without so much as a goodbye, he turned and exited the room to say goodbye to Lucy. Reid took a seat at one of the round tables and tapped the bottom of his water bottle on the wooden top, faster and faster yet, then scowled as he chucked it across the room, bouncing it off the wall.

Inside the bays, Lucy leaned on the hood of her Chevelle, still down and out from the race months ago. They'd ordered the block and all the parts they needed, but they had yet to install any of it. To Lucy, that car represented the fruits of her labor, a four-wheeled by-product of the perseverance that she'd scraped from the bottom of the barrel that had once contained her self-esteem. Brody had robbed her of that along with her innocence, but she wouldn't allow him to strip her of her dignity. She'd worked her fingers to the bone, earned the money to buy it, and forked over just south of five thousand dollars to her abuser. It wasn't an easy thing to do, but with that car, she'd bought her freedom.

It was worth every penny.

Two Years Ago

_ _

Lucy hadn't planned on showering that night. There wouldn't be enough time.

_ _

Brody's lust for Lucy was surpassed only by his avarice, and though he hated to part with the car (and the ability to laud it teasingly over the young wolfdog), he never even drove it, and there she was, waving a thick stack of hundreds in his face. The wolf licked his thumb and paged through some documents inside a fireproof box, eventually pulling out the title to the '69 Chevelle sitting outside in the garage.

_ _

"Here it is."

_ _

Lucy slapped the money down on the dresser in the bedroom, "Count it. It's all there."

_ _

Brody picked up the fat stack of bills and fanned it under his thumb, only to make sure that she hadn't tried to slip some ones into the stack somewhere. Alas, she was a young woman of her word, and the older wolf sighed and raised his eyebrows, picked up a pen, and signed over the old Chevy.

_ _

"You even know how to drive it?"

_ _

"I can drive a stick, yeah."

_ _

"That's pretty hot, actually." He smiled his creepy, yellowed grin and leaned back in the chair a little bit. Lucy scowled and took the title to her new used car and strode out of the bedroom, feeling his eyes on her rear the entire time.

_ _

In her bedroom, Lucy grabbed her backpack and dumped out everything she'd kept in there for school. Books, papers, pencils and the like tumbled out into a haphazard mess on the carpet, and she began grabbing the bare essentials, a change of clothes, some hygiene items, and a few mementos she couldn't bear to leave behind. If she needed anything else, she'd simply buy it. She was out forty-five hundred dollars, but she still had enough to get her to California.

_ _

It was dark outside. Crickets chirped in the humid night air. Lucy took one more forlorn look at her childhood bedroom, and bid it a final goodbye with glassy eyes. On her way to the stairs, she quietly pushed open the door to her sisters' bedroom. Alyssa and Kelsey slept soundly in their bunk beds and Lucy gave them both a goodnight kiss before tugging their blankets back up to their shoulders, tucking them in. She could only hope that they would never know the treachery that their father had imposed upon her. She made every effort to be quiet on her way out, but she nearly screamed when she ran into none other than Brody himself in the hallway.

_ _

"Well, good evening."

_ _

"Brody." She said curtly, her backpack slung over her shoulder.

_ _

"Where's a pretty thing like you headed to this time of the night?"

_ _

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She muttered, pushing her way past him and scowling when she felt him following closely behind. Lucy had nearly made it to the stairs when she felt Brody's arms encircle her.

_ _

"What do you say we go get some beer and have a little fun out by the bayou?"

_ _

"Why don't you go fuck yourself?" Lucy sneered and twisted herself out of his grasp, only to be grabbed tightly around her arm and pulled back.

_ _

"Why would I do that when I've got you?" He growled, his yellowed, sinister eyes glinting in the moonlight from the window.

_ _

Lucy narrowed her eyes, flicking them down to the wolf's crotch momentarily, then back up at him.

_ _

"Well. I suppose I could stand to have a little romp before I go." She said coolly and quietly, watching Brody smile evilly while she traced a hand up his thigh, growing ever closer to his crotch until her fingers cupped the bulge in his jeans.

_ _

"See? It ain't so bad. Shit, you might just like it enough to want to stay."

_ _

Lucy smiled, "Nah, I think I'll hit the road." She gnashed her teeth and gave out with a growl as she squeezed the wolf's testicles with all her might and twisted as hard as the thick denim of his jeans would allow. Apparently, it was enough to hurt something fierce, for Brody let fly with a scream and a howl, waking the whole house as he swung his claws at the wolfdog's face. Lucy felt them graze the skin beneath her fur, and juiced up on adrenaline, she grabbed him and used all of her might to throw him in the direction of the stairs. Brody then lost his footing and slipped, tumbling down the stairs until he hit the tile floor at the bottom, denting the sheetrock with the back of his skull.

_ _

Brody learned that night that his testicles and the steel toes of Lucy's Dr. Marten's boots did not get along well. Lucy bounced down the stairs and leapt from the second step, driving the heel of that boot into the wolf's crotch, effectively winding him. She then began to kick him repeatedly in the groin as hard as she could, grunting and shouting obscenities. Brody tried to scream, but he could not get enough air into his lungs to expel anything more than strained wheezes and whines. Lucy stopped to grab the aluminum baseball bat they kept by the door and prepared to cave the wolf's skull in with it, but before she could swing, the light at the top of the stairs was switched on.

_ _

"Lucy!" Josie said, shocked. She turned her head, "Girls, go back to sleep."

_ _

Lucy looked up at her mother, then at the bat in her hands, then down at Brody, who was in the worst pain he'd ever felt in his life. Both parties were too shocked to say anything. Lucy just tossed the bat down with a metallic clatter and took one final look at her mother. Josie looked into those eyes of hers - Reid's eyes - and saw just where she'd gone wrong. Seconds later, Lucy was out the door and out of their lives for good.

_ _

Gravel shot out from beneath the tires as Lucy sped away in the Chevelle, shooting down the driveway and out into the street with a hard-charging 396 big block V8 in front of her. A short drive found her in front of Aaron's house, dormant and lightless at that hour of the night. She called him.

_ _

"Hello?" Aaron spoke groggily into the phone, brushing his hair away from his short muzzle while he sat up in bed.

_ _

"Aaron. It's Lucy. I'm outside. Can you come out?"

_ _

Moments later, Aaron appeared silently in the front door of his house in pajama pants and an A-shirt, proceeding down the front walk to Lucy and her new ride. He lit a cigarette and marveled at the car. True, it needed work, but it was a true blue 1969 Chevelle.

_ _

"Wow. It's really happening, isn't it?" He whispered, loud enough to be heard over the thrum of the motor.

_ _

"Yeah." Lucy said, looking down at the concrete.

_ _

"Where are you going?"

_ _

"I dunno." She sighed, "Probably California. You want to come?"

_ _

_"You know I can't." He scratched the back of his neck. _

_ _

"Yeah. I know. Maybe I'll be able to get into a band, maybe I'll make it big. Who knows?" She laughed nervously. Aaron joined her. After a long pause, he spoke.

_ _

"I'll miss you."

_ _

Lucy just nodded. Her adrenaline was still pumping from fighting with Brody not ten minutes prior.

_ _

"You're gonna need a kit." Aaron said, smiling. Lucy looked up. She wasn't sure if she knew what he meant until she saw that look in his eyes, and she beamed once the clutch engaged.

_ _

"You mean it?"

_ _

"Yeah. It's all yours. Come on, I'll help you pack it up."

_ _

Silently, the two teens packed up the cymbals and drums into their respective bags and cases, and loaded them into the trunk of the car. What wouldn't fit into the trunk went into the backseat, and minutes later, there was nothing left of the drum kit but some squares of carpet where the cymbal stands had once been.

_ _

"I can't tell you how much this means, Aaron." Lucy said as she shut the trunk. Aaron just nodded, and fought to maintain eye contact with her. She didn't know it, but he was trying not to cry.

_ _

"It's no problem. You're the only one who ever really uses it anymore; I figure you should have it. Plus, I'll..." he sighed, "I'll never be a part of your life like I want to be, but I know you have to do what's best for you. And if you make it big, then I'll be the guy who gave Lucy Sanchez her first drum kit and taught her how to play." He smiled. Lucy grinned at him and then stepped forward and gave him a kiss - a goodbye kiss - right on his stumpy cat muzzle.

_ _

"Thank you, Aaron. Take care of yourself."

_ _

"You too, Lucy. Be careful out there. Keep in touch, okay?"

_ _

"I will. I promise."

_ _

They hugged, and Lucy slid into the bucket seat of the Chevelle, threw it in gear, and took off for parts unknown. She hopped on Interstate 10 and made quick work of Houston, and was well past San Antonio by the time the sun was rising in the east behind her, her hair blowing in the cool wind from the open windows.

_ _

She was free at last.

_ _

Present Day

Reid sat slumped in his chair in the break room, watching Rigo pass by the door without so much as a look or a word on his way out the front door, which chimed with his exit. Fuming, the cattle dog drummed his claws on the table top. He had things to do. Cars to work on. In the office next door, the phone rang. Veronica answered it. Reid shook his head and stood up at last, but just as he prepared to walk out the door, Vance entered, taking a sharp left to raid the fridge for a soda.

"Before you ask, the date was a flop." Vance muttered, cracking open a Dr. Pepper and downing it in a few gulps.

"I don't know what you expected."

"What I expected was that she was as educated socially as she is academically, but as it turns out, that's not the case."

"No?"

"Not at all. I've never been more turned off in my whole life!" The pit bull said, flabbergasted. He lowered his voice to a whisper, "But what really cooks my noodle is that when we got back to her place and she started taking her clothes off...dude, I couldn't even stay hard."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Well, sometimes you're in the mood and sometimes you're not. What are you worried about ED or something?" The heeler joked, trying to take the edge off. Vance only chuckled a little, but he seemed nervous.

"No, it's not that. It's just that..." Vance felt the words leave him, and he searched for the right ones to say, but ultimately decided that it would take longer and be far more trying of an effort than he was willing to deal with at the moment.

"Never mind."

"Okay. Well, if you need someone to talk to, or if you need to talk to me in private, just let me know."

"Yeah, definitely, bro. Hey, I was wondering if I could ask you for your help with something." Vance changed the subject, forcing himself to sound chipper.

"Sure man, anything."

"You doing anything on Sunday?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

"I'm going to clean all the boxes and junk out of the spare bedroom in my house and turn it into a bedroom for Kaitlin when she gets a little older. I need to go out and buy a bedroom set and some pink paint for the walls, you mind giving me a hand?"

"Not at all, dude. I'll come by about nine Sunday morning, that work for you?"

"Yeah. Sounds good to me."

Reid patted the other dog on the back and left the break room, taking a quick peek into the showroom out front just to make sure there were no unattended customers. Turning on his heel, he entered the bays to see Lucy loitering around the Galaxie, peering into the empty engine bay with her hands in her pockets.

"Can't wait to drive this thing." She smiled, watching Reid approach.

"Yeah, it's gonna be a pup."

She nodded in agreement.

"You ok?"

Lucy glanced at him, "Yeah. I'm fine." She said quietly. Reid just nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself.

That makes one of us...