8. Lark

Chapter eight

Lark

Saturday, February 22, 2025

“ A lright, Tiny, let’s get a move on, or we’re gonna be late!”

Tiny trots ahead of me, his big, speckled body pulling my small frame behind him as we run toward the small gray building. Someone ahead of me sees us coming and opens the door wide for us. Tiny lacks all manners as he barrels toward the opening, catapulting us inside.

“Thank you!” I shout at the woman and direct my attention back to Tiny, scolding him as he finally slows down. “You need to calm your tits, big guy. You act as if it’s the first time being here, every time. ” His droopy lids drag up his face as he glances at me from the corner of his eyes, pretending he hasn’t heard me. “Such a brat,” I whisper, tugging gently on one of his big, floppy ears.

My eyes scan the room for an empty seat. When I see one open, I hurry over, unfolding the mat and laying it beside me. Tiny circles it, getting himself comfortable before plopping down. “Good boy, Tiny,” I whisper at the gentle giant at my feet. Okay, usually, he’s gentle.

The woman at the door is the last to take a seat just before class starts. I turn to thank her again, and as I do, my eyes widen, and my lips part on a soft exhale.

It’s Gianni’s girlfriend.

“Thanks for holding the door for me,” I finally manage to say, giving her an awkward smile.

If she notices, she doesn’t show it because she returns my smile more warmly, extending her hand for me to shake. “I’m Katarina, but you can call me Kat. And this handsome man is Tank,” she says, nodding her chin to the graying, old dog at her feet.

There’s a man seated beside her who bears a striking similarity to her. He leans forward, waving at me with a wide grin spread across his handsome face. “Hey, I’m Kas, and this lovely lady is Pickles,” he says, gesturing to the furry blob at his feet. She looks like she’s practically melted into the floor.

I smile at him. “Yeah, I actually know Pickles. It’s nice to meet you though,” I explain awkwardly.

His dark brow quirks with interest, and Kat turns to him. “This is Lark. She’s Gi’s veterinarian,” she tells him, and I feel rude, now realizing I never told them my name. She must’ve remembered from last week.

“Kas is my twin brother. Gianni couldn’t make it today, so he volunteered to act as Pickles’s handler,” she explains, remaining unphased by my reactions .

“Ah, okay. Well, that was really kind of you.” It must be nice having a brother who gets along with your boyfriend. Even if he is a cheating pig.

Kas says nothing, his eyes flicking to the center of the room, where he turns his attention. Stacey, the trainer for this class, goes over today’s plans. My leg bounces with pent-up energy and a strange amount of frustration that’s settled over me. For the first time, I just want to get this class over with.

When she finishes, we break off into groups of three, and much to my dismay, I wind up with Kat and Kas. It isn’t that they don’t seem nice because they absolutely do. It’s just uncomfortable for me to work with them while knowing what I do about Kat’s boyfriend.

“So, each one of us just takes turns holding the pool noodle up while the other coaxes the dogs underneath?” Kas asks, his hands on his hips as he stares at the blue pool noodle in my hands, his brows pinched. He’s clearly still a little confused. I don’t blame him. This stuff is more difficult than it seems, and we aren’t just reminding ourselves what to do. There are so many moving parts, and we have to remember treats, clickers, and commands. It can definitely be overwhelming.

“I’ll go first with Tiny if you guys don’t mind. That way, I can give you a better idea of what to do.”

“Sounds great, thanks.” They say this in unison. Must be some freaky twin thing.

“Okay, great. So each of you will hold one end of the pool noodle. You can stay seated so you don’t have to grapple with the dogs too much, though they look pretty content,” I tell them, gazing down at the puddles of mush and fur melted on the ground. Both Pickles and Tank are happily snoring despite the commotion in the room.

They each do as I instructed, taking a seat and anchoring the piece of foam between themselves. “Like this?” Kat asks.

“Yep, just like that.” I unleash Tiny, folding it and placing it into the back pocket of my jeans. “Stay,” I instruct, stepping over the piece of foam to face Tiny, who is now standing between a seated Kat and Kas.

Extending my arm out in front of me, I place my hand palm down and motion for Tiny to lie down. He does so without a verbal command, but I explain this further. “I’ve had him since he actually was Tiny, so he tends to sense what I’m about to ask him to do before I even give him a command. You guys might need to start by having them sit, then teaching them to lie down and work on crawling later.”

I wouldn’t want them to feel bad if either of their dogs doesn’t follow commands well. They’re sweet dogs, but following these complex commands can take a lot out of them in the first several classes as their minds stretch to accommodate so much new information.

They each nod their understanding, so I continue, grasping my clicker in my right hand so I can use my dominant hand for commands. “I don’t usually use a clicker unless it’s a brand-new trick for him, but I’ll do it this time so you can see how to use it.”

“Okay, crawl.” Tiny ducks his head between his front paws and army crawls his way toward me, right under the pool noodle. When he passes through, I immediately click. “Good boy!” I praise him and reach into my pocket, retrieving a treat for him. He munches it happily, slobber pooling out of his droopy lips .

“Jesus Christ, you’ve got the GI Joe of dogs!” Kas says excitedly, his hazel eyes lit from within as he claps for Tiny.

I laugh at that. “I promise they’ll get it eventually too! This is five years in the making right here.”

“You’ve been coming here for five years?” Kat asks.

“Yep, I rotate between which of my dogs I take with me, though Tiny comes far more often than Rex because he’s kind of a spitfire and doesn’t always get along well with others.” I roll my eyes.

“How come you can’t bring both? I thought Gi mentioned you had a boyfriend. Can’t he be one of their handlers?” Kas asks me. The question sends a sour feeling to the pit of my stomach. This is one of the many sore subjects between Tyler and me.

“Yeah,” I mutter. “Tyler works a lot, though, and he likes to have his weekends off.” I don’t mention the fact that he works from home and has never worked a weekend in his life. “Besides, they’re my dogs,” I tell them, doing my best to cover up the disdain I feel tingling at the tip of my tongue. I wish he’d be more involved with them. Shouldn’t he be interested in what I like?

“Oh, sorry to hear that,” Kat tells me, a hint of something lacing her words. Sympathy, maybe?

Waving her off, I walk to her side, re-leashing Tiny. “Your turn,” I tell her with a tight smile.

***

By the time the hour class is over, I’ve actually started to really like both Kat and Kas. I think I was right about her from the beginning. She seems really sweet, and she manages to surprise me with her sense of humor.

As we head out to the parking lot, she stops me. “Hey, would you want to grab dinner or something soon?”

Smiling at her, I work to pull my cell out of my pocket. “That’d be really nice. Go ahead and give me your number, and we can plan something.” I hand her the phone, watching as she meticulously inputs her information, and a moment later, she’s handing me the phone back, a ping going off in her pocket.

“I sent myself a text so I’d have your number too.” She smiles, but it falls from her face in a second flat. She turns abruptly toward her car, dragging Tank behind her as quickly as his arthritic legs will take him.

“Okay,” I breathe out, a little confused by her sudden need to get away from me.

Kas sidles up beside me, following after his sister more idly. He chuckles as he explains, “Kat has social anxiety. She’s been working on it and doing a lot better, but she probably just realized how bold a move that was to text herself and chickened out after the fact.”

My lips flatten, and I draw a breath through my nose, nodding my understanding. “Ah, I know that feeling all too well,” I answer honestly. “Please tell her I didn’t think anything of it, really,” I say, wanting to be sure this isn’t something that keeps her up at night.

His full lips turn up in a broad smile. “Will do. Have a good weekend, Lark.” My name rolls off his tongue, smooth like butter. God, is this woman just surrounded by sexy men? I know he’s her brother, but I’ve also seen the rest of the De Laurentiis family in passing, and those men, hell, the women too, are all gorgeous.

** *

Thankfully, Tyler’s gone by the time I get home with Tiny. He didn’t tell me where he was going, but I can only assume he’s out with the guys and won’t be returning anytime soon.

Kicking off my shoes at the front door, I pad across the worn wooden floors, grab my Kindle from the side table, and collapse onto the couch.

I’ve got six days to finish this book before the book club, and it’s the perfect thing to help me unwind from the long week.

Pulling a blanket onto my lap, I’m about to snuggle in and get to reading when that familiar feeling of frustration settles in.

A groan slips past my lips, and I drop my head to the back of the couch when I realize I have to get up. You’d think after fourteen years of this shit, I’d be better at sticking with a schedule.

Reluctantly, I swing my legs over the side of the couch, standing and stretching my arms over my head with a low moan. I make my way into the kitchen, open the fridge, and grab the small bag with all my supplies.

I scroll through my blood sugar readings on my phone and get to work cleaning the top of the vial, drawing up the correct dose. When I’m ready, I use an alcohol prep pad to cleanse the sore, mottled skin on my abdomen.

I wince as the cold medicine sinks into my bruised, thickened skin. Truthfully, I should start injecting elsewhere because the absorption rate is likely negatively impacted by the scar tissue I’ve formed in my usual spots. You should get a fucking pump , my brain screams at me. And as always, I just roll my eyes at her and move along. 1

***

I feel a buzzing coming from my back pocket. Twisting, I pull it out and see a newly familiar name flash across the screen.

Kat

Hey! Would you wanna do dinner tonight?

Kat

I know it’s last minute, but there’s this Thai place I’ve been dying to try.

That’s odd. Gianni must not like Thai food if she’s asking me to go with her. I check the time but realize it wouldn’t matter anyway since Tyler probably wouldn’t even notice if I were gone.

That actually sounds nice!

What time?

Kat

Meet me there at 6:00?

Kat

It’s called Mama Thai.

Great, see you then .

Taking a look at the time, I realize it’s already after four. I’ve been reading for hours . That’s not unusual, but I really hadn’t been aware of the time. The book was just so good.

Typing the restaurant name into the search bar, I see that it’s less than fifteen minutes away, so I have plenty of time to finish this chapter and get ready to go.

1. I Am Machine — Three Days Grace