Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 685(@200wpm)___ 548(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
“It was coincidence,” Alessio said, as he sat up. “The guy we paid a visit to tonight had them. They were obviously meant as snake food. The one with the hanging ears sat in the snake terrarium. The other was in a tiny cage that didn’t even allow it to lie down.”
My heart clenched as I peered down at the neglected animals. Bear sniffed at them.
“Back,” I ordered. I didn’t want to add to their stress level, which was why I didn’t try to pet them. They wouldn’t have appreciated it.
“Nevio saved the brown bunny from the snake pit.”
I smiled up at my brother. He shrugged. “You don’t want any bought gifts, so this is the best we could do.”
“It’s perfect,” I said and hugged him briefly.
Then I closed the lid again and picked up the box. “I’ll take them up to my room for now, until the vet has given the okay to keep them outside.”
“Don’t let Dad see them in your room,” Nevio said with a grin.
“It’s only until they’re ready to move out.” I waved at them and left them to their nightly cool down phase before I returned to my room, grabbing a bag of hay mixed with dried wild herbs from the basement. One room down there was devoted solely to the animals I saved and had food for almost every pet that might cross my path.
Bear was hot on my heels, sniffing excitedly. I had a big vacant enclosure at the backwall of my ballet studio where I’d kept two rescue rabbits until early this year when they’d died. The new bunnies could move in there next.
I took the bunnies into the bathroom and closed the door so neither Bear nor Momo could follow and terrify the poor creatures even more. After I’d laid out towels on the entire floor, I opened the lid of the box again. I put down a generous amount of hay for them to eat and a small bowl with water before I put the rest of hay and another bowl of water on a towel. The bunnies looked too terrified to come out yet. I dimmed the lights and went back to my bedroom to change into my pajamas then grabbed a blanket and slipped back into the bathroom. I huddled on the floor against the door, keeping an eye on the box in the dim light. If something happened with the bunnies, I’d be there to help or call Nino. Though it wasn’t his specialty, he’d learned to treat pets over the years until a real vet could come over.
Eventually I must have dozed off and I dreamed of Amo like I had almost every night in the last two weeks, but that wasn’t what woke me. It took me a few heartbeats to realize my phone was ringing. I sat up, seeing a bunny head peeking out over the box briefly before it ducked again. I fumbled under the blanket for my phone and frowned when I saw it was Aurora. She never called me. We messaged on occasion, but even that was rare. I didn’t particularly enjoy texting, especially Emojis completely freaked me out. People used them for a subtle conversation I didn’t understand.
“Hello?” I asked, hearing how awkward even that one word sounded from my mouth.
Aurora cleared her throat. “Hey, sorry, I hope I didn’t wake you?”
“You did, actually.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. It’s just…Can I come over? I can’t explain over the phone. I know it’s early and your birthday. Oh happy birthday by the way. So…uhhh.”
I blinked blearily down at my wrist watch. It was 7:48. Not really early. “You can come over. I’m in my bathroom.” I hung up.
The bunny with the lop ears peeked out again and this time it put its paws on the edge of the box. It tried to jump out but failed and the box fell over, both rabbits tumbling out. They both dashed under the sink after a moment of terror. Their muscles weren’t well developed. A bunny should be able to jump out of a box of that height without trouble.
I texted the vet I’d worked with for almost five years and asked him to come over as soon as possible.
A knock sounded at my bedroom door, and I quickly got up. I’d forgotten about Bear and Momo. They liked Aurora but I still preferred to be present when she entered my room. When I peered out Aurora was already inside, patting Bear. Momo hadn’t bothered getting up from the bed but Aurora went over to him for a quick cuddle as well.
“Hey, Greta.”
“Can you come into the bathroom? I want to keep an eye on the new bunnies.”
Aurora followed me back into the bathroom and raised her eyebrows at my set up.
“Nevio gave me two rescue bunnies as a present.”