it is my darling ethan again, this time how he got scout in the fluffcember au, there’s like one swear and tw for animal neglect ig
Ethan wasn’t planning to adopt an animal. Newly-broke young adult, he could barely even afford an apartment, let alone food for himself as well as trying to pay off the student loans he wasn’t expecting to have to pay for himself. Still, when he sees the shelter across from his new flat, he knows he’s doomed.
Within a week, he’s already gone in there twice; the first time to take a look around, the second to sign up to volunteer. It’s not a paying job, which means it’s something that Christopher would have called “a waste of time”, but Ethan tells himself it’s beneficial. Both to him--he’s getting bored in his apartment all day alone--and to the animals.
Soon enough, he’s gotten a schedule and the tour, and he’s volunteering there on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
~
“Welcome to Happy Tails!” Ethan says automatically on hearing the bell ring, before glancing up.
A woman who looks to be in her forties with way too much makeup on is holding an excited German shepherd on a leash. She waltzes up to the desk and looks Ethan over.
“How can I help you today, ma’am?” he asks.
“I got this dog for my daughter’s birthday and she hates it, so I need a refund.”
Ethan is stunned for a second. “Ma’am, you- you can’t get a refund.”
“Excuse me? I paid for it, and now I want to return it.”
“Um…” Ethan looks at the sign behind him. “You’ll have to pay a surrender fee. It’s 75 dollars.”
She clicks her tongue and leans over the counter. “Young man, I don’t think you know how the economy works. If you pay for something, you get a refund when you return it.”
“Not when that thing is a living being,” he snaps. People actually do this? Get a dog for the weekend and expect a refund?!
“Do you want to keep your job, Mr…” She looks at his nametag. “...Ethan?”
“I’m a volunteer, ma’am, and I can’t give you a refund for a dog you adopted.”
“You can, and you will. And you certainly can’t make me pay to return it.”
It. Ethan wants to punch her. “I’m sorry, that’s how it works.”
She spins around, yanking the dog’s leash. “Fine, we’ll just leave it in the goddamn woods,” he hears her mutter.
“You can’t,” he says, standing up before he knows what he’s doing. She can’t leave the dog in the woods, not like Mark--now there’s a memory he forgot he had. Crying over a dog that was too nice to hunt, that his father refused to pay for. It only strengthens his resolve.
“Excuse me?” the woman says sharply, turning back to him. “It’s still my dog, since you won’t refund me.”
“I’ll pay the surrender fee for you. Don’t leave it in the woods.” His throat is dry as he looks at the dog, happily unaware that their human is debating how best to get rid of them. Them. Not it.
She rolls her eyes. “Fine. I’ll still be filing a complaint for not getting a refund.”
“Okay, okay, whatever.” Ethan grabs one of the surrender papers for her to fill out, and, just to be petty, a complaint form. She snatches them both and starts filling them out.
Ethan comes around the desk and takes the leash from her, crouching down to say hello to the dog. One of the other volunteers, Phyllis, comes out as the woman slams the pen on the desk and storms out.
“What was that all about?” Phyllis asks.
“She wanted a refund on the dog.”
She raises an eyebrow. “I’m assuming you didn’t give it.”
“Obviously.” He pauses. “I did tell her I’d pay the surrender fee for her.”
Phyllis gives him a look. “That’s not technically allowed.”
He stands up to face her. “I know, I know, but she was going to leave the dog in the woods. I couldn’t just…”
“It’s fine, Ethan.” Phyllis shakes her head. “I mean, as long as you can actually pay for it, it’s fine.”
“...Right.” He didn’t exactly consider that one.
“Or, you know, I could just pretend I didn’t see this here form--” she picks it up, “--and you could take the dog home with you.”
Of course, avoid the 75$ by paying hundreds for food for the dog.
He looks down at the dog. She looks back up at him, wagging her tail.
Worth it.
“What form?” he asks. “I didn’t see any form.”
She smiles. “Guess you should take your new roommate home. I’ll cover the last few minutes of your shift.”
“Thanks Phyllis,” he says.
He clicks his tongue at the dog and starts walking outside with the dog next to him, before spinning back to Phyllis.
“Hey, before you get rid of that totally unrelated form, what’s the name on it?”
so like, first of all, I’m so behind and these are gonna be out of order now oh well. second this is like.....barely fitting the prompt and I’m very sorry 😂 but I needed to write this and I specifically needed to give Ethan a very specific thing for my own satisfaction. third, formatting is weird, all the bolded stuff is Ethan’s writing it was in a different font in my google doc but whatever. also small swearing and a little reference to violence, anyway here it is
It’s not such a monumental task. Just write a letter. Ethan’s written hundreds of them. It shouldn’t be this damn hard.
Dear Ruby,
But those two words are the only ones he can write.
I mean, how do you write to someone who killed your mom?
How do you invite them to lunch?
Ethan sighs and looks down at Scout, laying next to him. “This is hard,” he tells the dog.
She doesn’t respond. Of course not. She’s a dog.
“I mean, it shouldn’t be that hard, right? Just like any other letter. Start with an introduction.”
Hi there. It’s Ethan. You know, the one whose mom you killed back in 2009.
Right. Brilliant introduction.
He scratches that out and puts the paper aside. On a new sheet, he starts over, almost writing his former last name out of habit, then realizes she won’t know him by the new one.
Dear Ruby,
This is Ethan Ka Reyes, but you used to know me as Ethan Kacie. I found your address completely by accident and thought I’d write. Turns out, my dad’s a complete
Asshole? Will she care about swearing? Better safe than sorry.
Turns out, my dad’s a complete jerk, and I think I might have misjudged you.
He hesitates for a second.
No, I definitely misjudged you. Ruby, an old friend of my dad’s gave me some letters my dad wrote to him, about you. I’ve enclosed one of them here.
Ethan glances at the letter from Dr. Lawson, folded up. The letter that wrecked his life. The letter that said, in his father’s handwriting, The girl will be gone by Sunday, I’m almost certain. The letter that said, Alyssa will have learned her lesson and our family will be back to normal.
Normal.
The crunch of Christopher’s nose under Ethan’s fist was and is still the most satisfying thing Ethan has ever felt.
And now he’s trying to fix it.
I’m so sorry. I’d like to meet up with you sometime, just to chat.
He scribbles his address, email, and phone number.
Feel free to reach out--or not. It’s up to you. But I would love to hear from you. I cut contact with my dad when I received the letters from Dr. Lawson, and I just wanted to
Just wanted to… what? Reach out to the only person from my past who might still be willing to have a relationship with me?
“Too needy?” he asks Scout.
The dog huffs and flops onto her back.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
I just wanted to see if we could maybe start over.
Hope to hear from you,
Ethan
“Hey Scout, you wanna go for a walk?”
Those words the dog does understand, and she jumps right up with tail wagging. He grins and goes to grab the leash. They walk to the public mailbox outside the post office and Ethan starts to put the letter in the slot.
Scout looks at him expectantly as he hesitates.
Just put it in.
He puts it in, and immediately regrets it. But it’s too late now, he can’t exactly go fishing for it in the giant postal box. Which, he supposes, is why he put it in the public mailbox instead of the one outside his apartment. Can’t chicken out once it’s done.
Taking a deep breath, he snaps his fingers to Scout and they head back to the apartment.
~
Months pass, and Ethan forgets about the letter. When he does remember it, he assumes she must have torn it up cursing his name.
Maybe that’s a bit dramatic. It might have gotten lost in the mail, or she might have just tossed it out as junk mail.
It was a long shot anyway.
Ethan’s working on something for his new job when his phone buzzes. He glances at it, not recognizing the number, but he’s waiting for a call from his boss so he picks it up.
“Hello?”
“Is this Ethan?” That’s not the voice of his boss.
“Yeah, who’s this?”
There’s a pause. “You’re the one who wrote to me.” The tone is teasing.
it’s my boy Ethan spoiler alert he’s actually happy for once
Scout looks as tired as Ethan feels by the time they reach the location in the GPS. It was a bit more of a long walk than Ethan was intending, but his sprightly German shepherd can take it. And, looking at the shop they’re in front of, Ethan thinks it might be worth it.
“Cool Beans Coffee Shop,” he murmurs to Scout. There’s a little rail outside so he loops Scout’s leash over it.
The barista looks up as he comes in, escaping the chilly sea air. “Welcome!” she says. “What can I get you today?”
Ethan glances at the menu. “What do you recommend?”
She looks up behind her. “The hot chocolate is always my favorite.”
“I’ll have that then,” he says. Coffee is too bitter anyway, and he only drank it because of his dad.
She smiles and starts making that. Ethan glances around the shop while he waits. It’s pretty, and it has a direct view of the ocean--not unlike most of the stores on this street. Beaches are better than forests, he decides. And boardwalk coffee shops are much better than mansions and fancy restaurants.
“Here you go!” says the barista, setting the drink on the counter. “It’ll be $3.95.”
Ethan pulls out his wallet and hands her a five dollar bill. “Keep the change,” he says, out of habit, before remembering his brand new lack of inherited funds. It’s fine, he tells himself.
She smiles. “Is that your dog outside?”
He glances out the window to where Scout is sitting, staring right back at him. “Yeah,” he says. “Her name’s Scout.”
“Aww, that’s adorable. Enjoy your drink, sir.”
“Will do,” he says, returning her smile and picking up the cup. He goes back outside to Scout and sits on one of the benches.
The salty air coming off the ocean is freezing, but the hot chocolate combats it pretty well. He stares out onto the Atlantic, taking another sip of the drink. Scout puts her head on his lap.
“Hey love,” he says, burying his freezing hand in her fur.
Her tail sweeps through the light layer of sand on the boardwalk. Ethan grins and takes another drink.
“This is better,” he murmurs to Scout, even though he knows she doesn’t understand him. I’d rather be here, alone with Scout and the big, open ocean, than anywhere with rich people.
