Ouch.
"I can drive you to the sandwich shop the next few days to give you time to heal," she said.
"I actually quit." I bit my lip. "I'm looking for another job."
"Wow. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah. Just thought it was time to take my life into my own hands," I lied.
She didn't look convinced, but still nodded.
We reached the dorm, thankfully, and got out of the car. I grabbed Jesse's leash but didn't bother pulling on it. The wolf would follow me whether I wanted him to or not.
Our dorm was on the fourth floor, so we headed to the stairs. Ebony climbed them without a problem, leaving me in the dust as I took one slow, painful step at a time.
She came back when she realized I was way behind her. "You should go to the doctor.”
"Can't afford the copay," I admitted.
That wasn't even a lie.
Her eyebrows knitted together. "How are you going to afford to feed the dog?"
I made a face. "Might have to start dancing at a strip club."
Jesse snarled.
Both of us looked at him, and he curled his mouth up to show me his fangs.
"Are you sure that's a dog?" Ebony checked.
I was sure it wasn't a dog.
"So says my mom," I lied.
She shrugged, and we kept going. Jesse kept growling, his side pressed up against mine.
How did I ever think he wasn't possessive?
By the time we made it to the top of the stairs, I was considering asking Jesse for a ride. But he wasn't that big, and I didn't want to crush him.
Though if I did, that would take care of my wolf problem...
I stopped at Madeline's door. She was only the RA for about half of the floor, since it was a mixed gender dorm. The guys on the floor had their own RA, who was kind of an asshat, but I rarely saw him so it didn't matter.
Ebony headed back to our room while I stayed to talk to Madeline. She said she had to clean a bit to make space for Jesse, but she was a neat freak. So, I knew that meant she just wanted to straighten up her desk… or avoid the uncomfortable conversation I was about to have.
I knocked on the door, and then waited. Madeline answered after a good three minutes, as always. Despite the tiny size of the dorm room, she was a music major who tended to get lost in her work and had a hard time pulling herself out of it to answer doors.
Once you had her attention though, she was all yours.
"Oh hell." She stared at the wolf, not bothering with a greeting. Her eyes lifted to mine after a minute. "Tea..." she warned.
"He's an emotional support dog," I offered. "He knows lots of tricks. Jesse, sit," I commanded without so much as glancing at him.
He sat.
"He's huge." Madeline shoved a hand through her wavy, platinum-blonde hair. "Sterling's going to throw a fit."