Mr. Valentine's Heart

Biggest Dog Ever

~Cherise~

I’ve been on pins and needles all day. I’ve been able to avoid Alexi, feigning a headache and exhaustion. His irritation was evident, but he’d never call me a liar. Trust me when I say I take advantage of his blind trust in me.

I wish I knew how I got here. I wish I could remember my life before waking up here. It’s so frustrating not to remember who you are or where you’re from. The only thing I’ve gotten is Alexi in my ear. He’s been telling me how much we love each other and how good we are together. He would never go into detail as to how we met and how our love unfolded. He would be vague and say it was love at first sight. Shouldn’t I have fallen for him again if that's the case?

He makes my skin crawl. His very voice makes me wince. I don’t want to have anything to do with him, so how is it that he’s someone I love so much? How is it that I pledged my life to him? And this place where we live is so weird. There are so many limitations on me, such as where I can go and at what times of the day. The people around her look at me funny, and their interactions with him are not normal. I know I don’t belong here, no matter what he tries to tell me. Deep down in my soul, I can feel that I’m meant to be somewhere else, and I will finally get that chance.

My stomach has been in knots in anticipation of what was going to happen. I still don’t know if I can trust what’s supposed to happen. I feel like it will blow up in my face. Alexi can be really mean when he wants to be. He doesn’t direct it toward me, but I’ve seen it a few times.

Day gives way to night, and I’m lucky to get out of meeting him for dinner. He had an unexpected meeting, so I was able to stay in my room. I have no idea what Alexi does for a living, which is strange to me. He says he loves me and that I’m his wife, yet he gets really angry when I ask about what he does. He refuses to tell me anything, and I find that suspicious.

I don’t know anything about my husband when I think about it. He says that I will remember everything in time but won’t even consider filling in the blanks for me. If I’m being transparent, there are too many things around him that end up in the ‘shady’ pile.

A soft knock on my door captures my attention. I walk to the door and slowly open it. My disappointment is suffocating; there’s no one on the other side of the door. There’s another knock, causing me to survey the room. I know I’m not hearing things, but I’m not sure where the knock is coming from.

With the third knock, I realize my sliding glass door is being knocked on. I slowly make my way over and pull back the curtains. Natasha is standing on my balcony, looking nervous. I quickly open the door and pull her in. “I thought you had changed your mind.”

“No. It took me a bit to realize what door you were knocking on.” Natasha nods and steps into my room. She pulls out a small spray bottle and holds it up.

“Close your eyes.” I take a small step back.

“What is that?” Natasha looks at the bottle in her hand before looking back at me.

“It’s, uh, something that will help you.” I don’t know what to think about that, but my desire to get away from here overshadows any doubts I may have about the process. I step forward and close my eyes, feeling the cold mist hit me all over.

When she was finished, I opened my eyes, and she put the bottle into a small bag. “What’s in there?”

“Everything you need to get away from here. You can look in it later.” Natasha steps onto my balcony and motions me over. I grab the messenger bag I was able to secure and follow Natasha. She hands me the little bag and watches me put it into my bigger bag. She walks to the railing and points down. I take a look, and the breath leaves my body.

“What the f***k is that?!” At the ground level is the biggest dog I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t even believe that a dog could get that big. I shut my eyes and count to ten in my head, hoping that when I opened them, the huge creature would be gone. I’m here to tell you that it did not work.

“I know it seems weird, but please trust me. That’s Zacariah and he won’t hurt you. He will get you where you need to go.” I step back and shake my head. She must be out of her fu.cking mind if she thinks I’m going to get on that thing.

Natasha grabs my hand and pulls me to her. “Please! I know I’m asking you to take a big leap of faith, but I’m not sure we will get another chance at this. Let me help you get out of here. You get on the back of that wolf and he will take you to the bus station. My son, Lawrence will be there to receive you and tell you the next step. Please, Mrs. Moras, please.” I look over the rail again and see the beast look up at me. I must have lost my fu.cking mind, but I have to get out of here. I guess if I’m eaten by that monster, that’s another way to get free.

I step forward and squeeze Natasha’s hand. “My name is Cherise.” She gives me a small smile and helps me to the railing. I step over, balancing on the edge. I take a deep breath, and I let go, landing direction on the back of the wolf. It’s a lot softer than I thought it would be, and he hasn’t tried to eat me yet. I secure myself to his back, and he takes off into the woods.