Page 37 of I Could Never
Get these fucking thoughts out of your head, Josh.
There was one sure-fire way I knew to switch gears with my thoughts—bringing up Brad.
“You were listening to Brad the other night…before I left.” I gulped.
Carly stilled. “How did you know?”
“I heard his voice coming from your room.”
Her cheeks reddened. “It was a voicemail.”
“I know. I figured that out.” I scratched the dog’s ears. “Do you do that a lot?”
“Sometimes it brings me comfort. He always had my back. And hearing his voice reminds me of what it felt like to be loved. I feel very fortunate to have those voicemails.”
“I don’t have any voicemails from him saved. Not sure why. We always texted, I guess. But it was nice to hear him again.”
She walked over and grabbed my sleeve. “You can listen to them whenever you want.”
I smiled sadly. “Thank you.”
Carly looked like she was about to cry. She cleared her throat. “So, how was the trip?”
“Good. But like I told you before, it felt a little weird being back there—like I was a fish out of water in my own life.”
“I’m sure I’d feel the same way if I were in California right now.”
“It was strange to have all this free time on my hands—even with work. I wasn’t responsible for anyone else. I didn’t know what to do with myself.”
“I can imagine.”
“I sort of missed being back here,” I admitted.
She tilted her head. “Really…”
“Yeah. Really,” I said.
“Well, this is an exciting place,” she teased.
A loud knock interrupted our conversation.
When I opened the door, there was a police officer standing there.
My hands tensed. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Carly Garber?”
What the hell?
“That’s me,” she said from behind.
“Officer Allan Spencer from the Woodsboro Police. It seems we’ve finally located the owner of the dog you’ve been keeping here.”
Oh shit.
“What?” Carly’s expression fell. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Seems he belongs to a local woman with dementia. Name’s Heidi Donahue. She lives on Wilson Road. She took him for a walk in the middle of the night and couldn’t remember what happened. Her daughter’s been looking for him ever since. Ms. Donahue apparently hadn’t told her the dog was gone until recently, thus the delay.” He showed us a photo.