Black Fox: The Awakening - 7. Chapter 7 - Black on Both Sides

I opened my eyes. I couldn't believe I slept naked on the ground in the middle of a forest. It must've been early judging by the dim light and the morning dew glistening on the blades of grass. I had slept on sticks, rocks, roots and dirt. The air was cool and humid. Yet, I didn't feel a hint of discomfort. On the contrary, I don't remember feeling so rested this early in the morning.

Owen… it's been almost two days since we've talked… and it wasn't exactly a friendly goodbye either. He must be out of his mind.

Oh my god, my parents. If I’m lucky, they think I'm with Owen and Owen thinks I'm at home. I'll have to patch things up ASAP. But for now...

Ryan's sisters were gone. The boy himself was sleeping on his back with his right arm spread above his head. We were both stark naked and I couldn’t ignore the fact that Ryan was at least semi down there. I never felt very comfortable being naked around people, but now I didn’t feel the slightest need to get dressed or even cover myself. I could live like that, I realised.

I supported myself on my elbows to look around and that made Ryan stir and open his eyes.

"Good morning," he yawned and smiled. "What time is it?"

"Are you joking?" I said.

"You know I am! Who cares what time it is, right? How did you sleep?"

"Uhh… great, I think."

"Same here, mate. This was the craziest initiation I remember."

"Initiation… uhm, I guess. It was crazy. Did we… learn something?"

"A whole lot, Alex! It was a success in all fields."

“Before we fell asleep you called me a little wolf… is that what I am?”

“Yes,” he said. Then he snorted, showing me his even teeth and covered his mouth with his hand.

“For fucks sake!” I yelled, “tell me the truth already!”

“Oh my god, you are swearing! This is the truth, though. Really! I just remembered my warthog classic and it made me laugh.”

“Oh okay… I’m still gonna get you for it.”

Ryan laughed. “I want to see you try.”

“Anyway… the way you triggered me…”

“Ah yes. You should probably avoid feeling jealous for a while.”

“How do I do that?”

“It’s up to Owen to not give you any reasons to feel jealous. But he’s a good boy, he will understand.”

“Right… I have to tell him.”

“Yes. He needs to know. It will be safer. I can help you talk to him if you need.”

“Okay, thanks. So is this it? Are we done?”

Ryan shook his head. “No. We have only just begun. Now you have to learn to control it. Separate your transformation from the feeling of jealousy. You can’t hope to never feel jealous for the rest of your life. You’ll be lucky if you can make it through the month. That’s why there is no time to lose. We should keep meeting as often as you can.”

“Provided my parents don’t ground my butt for disappearing like that. They’re probably worried sick by now.”

“Yes, we got a bit carried away. We don’t really need to be in the forest for that, either. My bedroom will work just fine.”

We went silent for a while. I looked around. The place was astonishing. The morning birds were chirping high up in the trees and here we were, two fourteen-year-old boys sitting naked on the grass, not minding the weather or the bugs.

“Did we need to come here in the first place?” I asked. “I mean, it’s beautiful but is it like you know… magical?”

“No. It’s just a nice place. We’re not crazy about rituals but the initiation should be something special.”

“I’m guessing you don’t have a name for it?”

“We don’t. You can call it The Place, if you want.”

With that, he placed his hand on my knee. There he goes, touching me again. My skin has been fuzzy and electrified ever since I woke up. Ryan’s touch was just what my tingling penis needed to fill with blood and point straight up to the cloudless sky. He looked at it with a smirk but didn’t say anything. That reminded me of something.

"Ryan,” I started, “tell me. Was that last part necessary yesterday?"

"Absolutely."

"How so?"

"First, it felt great, right?"

"It felt amazing… for a handjob."

"I know, right? It always feels better right after you change. Especially early on. I still feel it a little bit sometimes, but it's not as intense. And of course, I've been doing this since before I can remember so…"

"... so it wasn't really necessary," I cut in.

"As I said, it was. It's important that you have good memories of your initiation. But that's not all. Now you're even."

"Who's even?"

"You and Owen. I wanked him off and now I wanked you. You're even now."

"Well, from what you said we're not exactly even," I said

“You know what? You’re right,” he said. He turned on his belly, made himself comfortable and grabbed my boner. He was about to put it in his mouth when I stopped him.

“No. Don’t,” I said, blocking his head with my hand. “Owen wasn’t exactly cheating on me when you two did that. Now, it would be cheating.”

I won’t lie, he looked more than a little disappointed, but obediently let go of me and backed away.

I didn’t feel like I had to get back at Owen for what he did. After all, we hadn’t even been a thing when that happened. I didn’t believe in the whole eye for an eye thing, either. We admit to our mistakes, try to learn from them and move on with our lives. It may hurt in the process, of course, but that’s a part of life. I’m not perfect, either. Will he even want to be with a monster? I never asked myself that question. Well, when I’m not a wolf, I’m just a normal boy. Maybe he won’t mind.

A boy of flesh and bone, right? And my erection wasn’t going anywhere.

“Ryan?” I said and he turned his head back to me.

“What?”

I didn’t answer. I laid back, crossed my hands behind my head and opened my legs invitingly.

The gentle sound of the forest was soothing and relaxing. A single, fluffy cloud was passing through the sky above the clearing and it looked like a little baby lamb. Then I felt something wet and warm wrap around my dick and I closed my eyes just for a second before I went back to watching the funny cloud. My thoughts and vision were a little hazy from the overwhelming pleasure I was receiving but I didn’t complain. By the time the cloud was gone behind the trees, I started shaking and fed Ryan my fresh seed. I gotta give him credit - he didn’t let a single drop fall on the ground. Coming down from the high, I felt so much bliss that I almost wanted to take Owen and live with him here for the rest of our lives.

“How was it, Alex?” Ryan asked.

“Great,” I said. I looked down at him. He was very, very hard. “Aren’t you supposed to be straight?” I asked.

“Who says I’m not?” he parried.

“Your not-so-little friend down there.”

“That’s a normal reaction,” he shrugged.

“I don’t know, I noticed you liked touching penises a lot.”

He looked down at my softening cock as if connecting the dots for the first time.

"Oh, that. It's not sex, is it? It's just something I like to do between friends. I'm touching my penis all the time!"

“Not with your mouth. I’m just saying, I don’t know. I’m gay and I’m not sure if I could do any of this stuff with a girl.”

"Alright, alright, maybe I'm somewhere on the spectrum. But I don't want a boyfriend, that's gay."

"Okay," I said, "that's comforting because you've been calling me Alex an awfully lot recently…"

"Don't flatter yourself, gay boy two," he said and gave himself a few strokes. "And don't mistake empathy for flirting. Now that you're clearly feeling good enough to be sarcastic, I won't call you Alex again until you have cancer or something."

"Hey, that's rude!"

"I have to give you reasons to dislike me, right?"

"How do you know I dislike you?"

"You just told me."

I shook my head, smiled and looked away. For another minute, we were just sitting there in silence.

"I used to dislike you," I said after the pause. "But you can be alright when you try, I guess."

"You only think you like me because I gave you good feelings," Ryan grinned.

“It’s not only that.”

“Okay. Then, since we’re friends now, how about you help me out with my not-so-little problem over here?” He suggested giving his black hardon a couple of strokes.

“Sorry, Ryan. No offence but we already did too much. It’s going to be hard for me to tell it all to Owen as it is.”

“You know,” he winked at me, “what happens in The Place, stays in The Place.”

“Yes, I get what you're trying to tell me but I can’t do it. Maybe Owen lied to me but I’m not going to.”

“Very mature,” he nodded. “Don’t tell your gay boyfriend I said this but you’re great together.”

“Thanks. Now excuse me, I have to pee.”

I stood up and walked naked to the edge of the trees to take care of my business. When I got back, Ryan was snoozing. I had to admit, his body was a work of art begged to be captured on canvas for posterity. Here, in this secret grove, he should seem out of place, but somehow he didn’t.

This one I can keep just to myself, I thought just before kneeling and taking him into my mouth.

Ryan immediately jerked his head up and looked down at me. I released his cock from my mouth to smile at him and wank him off for a while.

“I didn’t want to be an ungrateful hypocrite,” I said.

“I’m glad,” he replied and a sly smile crept on his face. “Don’t stop.”

Without wasting any more time, I went back to sucking him, eagerly employing all techniques I learned when giving head to Owen. Part of my mind was already busy wondering how to tell my boyfriend that I cheated on him with his friend.

I liked big dicks. There was so much skin to cover and I could really unleash my imagination, sucking, licking, massaging and even sniffing. Ryan’s grunts and gasps were guiding me as we worked toward his orgasm like through a labyrinth. It was only the second dick I ever put in my mouth and the first difference I noticed was the taste. It wasn’t radically different. It’s really hard to describe but the flavour was just a tad more towards sweet in comparison to Owen’s saltiness. I remembered that time I ate salted caramel ice cream and imagined having both dicks in my mouth at the same time. Maybe one day… but for now, Ryan’s long black cock was a tasty treat by itself!

My daydreaming was interrupted by something moving in the forest and the boy’s sisters emerged. They were all dressed up but with wet hair. For a second, my heart started beating faster and I considered stopping. But then I felt a new surge of confidence and even excitement from giving head in front of people. The girls sat around us without a word and watched. I started sweating, realising I had an audience but decided to put on a good show and went back to sucking their younger brother even more eagerly.

“Oh fuck, Alex, you’re too good,” Ryan said and grabbed my hair, encouraging me to increase the tempo.

Of course, I did but that’s when a crazy idea popped into my head. While my right hand was busy stroking Ryan’s dick and assisting my mouth, I slid the middle finger of the left one underneath his scrotum and found his crack.

“Ah,” the boy gasped and opened his mouth wide. I wasn’t sure what to make of this reaction but then he lifted his bum and spread his legs. It was a sign.

With my mouth still around Ryan's dick, I started massaging his hole, inflicting occasional pushes every now and then. Then, I put more strength into one of them and my knuckle went right through the ring.

“Oh my god, yes, yes,” Ryan’s voice was raspy but his hard dick twitching and covering my tongue with ooze was everything that I needed to confirm I was on the right track. I really didn’t know what or how to do it so I just started finger-fucking him with all I had.

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Ryan let go of my hair and collapsed on the ground, panting heavily. He spread his legs even more and raised his feet to the air, giving me unfettered access to his boy parts. One of his sisters - I think it was Naomi - chuckled watching her brother get lost in pleasure. My shyness was long gone and I felt proud for getting Ryan under my total control.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he gasped repeatedly as I kept ramming my finger inside his bumhole. This time, all the girls laughed. I was going at full speed now and had to tense all my muscles to keep sucking and fucking at the same time. I knew he must be close.

And I wasn’t mistaken.

“Oh fuck. Oh yes. Oh fuck. FUCK!” Ryan exclaimed and started shooting his load inside my mouth. It flooded it much faster than I could swallow and it started drooling out of my mouth and down his shaft onto his pubic mound. What do you know? His sperm tasted differently, too. It was okay.

Just as Ryan finished cumming, I slid my finger out of his hole with a gentle pop. I grabbed my rock-hard 5-inch cock and in just a few moves, I brought myself to another orgasm and came on Ryan’s belly.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck,” we both panted and I collapsed on the ground next to him. I closed my eyes but could hear clapping and cheering around us. I did well.

***

Shortly after, it was time to go so we got dressed and started packing. Good thing we had water. I could clean myself up a little bit at least. At one point, Ryan took something from his backpack and approached me. It was the silver whistle.

"Here, don't lose it again," he said as he put the chain over my neck.

"This piece of crap didn't work,” I complained. “It made no sound at all!”

"The whistle works fine, gay boy two. My ears are still ringing from the sound. Simply, the frequency is way out of range for human ears. How do you think we knew to come to your aid?"

"So… were you in fox form when I whistled?"

"No. I told you. My senses are much better even in human form. Yours will be too. Now you should be even more careful when using it because it will be getting louder and louder for you."

"Maybe I should just give it back to Owen," I said.

"Maybe. And tell him everything. And don’t let him make you feel jealous again. It can trigger you in the middle of the street."

"I guess," I said, scratching my head. "Uh, and Ryan? What's the thing that triggers you?"

Ryan laughed heartily. "You expect me to tell you my deepest secret? You're funny, gay boy. Now, let’s get going, we have to return you to civilization."

***

In the car, Sandy let me watch the videos she made during my transformation. I watched Ryan tease me about Owen and then I was assaulting him. When some invisible power knocked me back and dark fur started coming out of my skin, I had to pause and look away. It was me in the video… me. About to become… not me. I took a deep breath and pressed play. The sight was traumatising and I could only watch it with the corner of my eyes. I saw my bones bend and my skull deform and I collapsed on all fours. A few seconds later, it was over and there was no Alex. Only a young black wolf with red eyes, clumsily trying to untangle from the clothes he got trapped in. Then there were a few shorter clips of four black creatures, playing and wrestling. I was one of them. I had some memories of this but they were like from another life.

I asked her if I could have those videos. She said no and permanently deleted them from her device.

***

"Where have you been all day and all night?!"

Dad was yelling again but this time he was right. I had nothing to say in my defence.

"Your phone is dead, no one knows where you are. We were worried sick," my mum added. "We were on the verge of calling the police!"

"Where were you? What were you doing?" Dad shouted. "Speak up!"

I stepped from one foot to another and fidgeted with my fingers. "I was with Owen."

The silence that followed was even worse than the one caused by the silver whistle. I was really tempted to grasp it tightly in my fist right now. I watched Mum’s eyes glimmer with anger and disappointment. I started regretting my clumsy lie even before she opened her mouth. The look on Dad’s face was full of satisfaction.

“He was here, wasn’t he?” I whispered, looking at the floor.

"Three times," Mum's voice was calm but cold as ice. "He kept coming over and over, asking about you and checking if you were back home. Now stop lying to us and tell us where you've been."

Oh no, what have I done? Why was I so stupid? I should've told them. This was the clumsiest lie that has ever escaped my mouth… actually it was probably the first lie I ever told my mum. I… I never had to. This time, they couldn't know the truth and I was a terrible liar. I had no choice but to tell some of the truth.

"I was at Ryan's," I said and fuck, god damn it, I started crying again.

"Who's Ryan?" Mum asked.

"The black brat from our son's boyfriend's birthday party," Dad answered for me. "Why did you turn off your phone?"

"I… the battery died and they didn't have an iPhone charger," I sobbed through my tears. This very likely was the truth, too.

"Then why did you decide to spend the night away from home without telling anyone!" Mum was out of patience too and it hurt me the most.

"I wanted to come back but… we were playing games and, and, we… we had some beers and I fell asleep…"

Even though I was shaking - or maybe because of that - I managed to make it sound believable. I was only praying I didn't say something stupid they will see right through again.

"I knew that boy was bad news when I saw him," Dad sneered. “Ever since you met that Owen guy, you started hanging out with the wrong crowd. I was warning you, but of course, you knew better.”

Listening to my parents' lecture about the dangers of alcohol and disappointing them more than they could ever imagine, I could only cry. In my head, I was relieved.

"I'm gonna pay this Ryan kid's parents a visit," Dad said after they were finished.

"Their parents are dead," I whispered. "His oldest sister Jessica is taking care of them."

"Then she does an awful job. Maybe someone should check what's happening to the children in that house."

Fuck, fuck. I threw Ryan and his sisters under the bus to save myself. How am I going to recover from this crap…

“Why don’t you hang out with Cayden?” Mum added. “He’s such a nice and polite boy.” Yeah, right. I didn’t say anything.

"Go to your room," she said the sweetest words and I had to stop myself from running.

***

Back in my room, I fell on my bed without taking any of my clothes and took a little time to calm down. This was too much to process. I couldn't keep going like this. I had to tell Owen…

I plugged my phone to the charger and stared at the screen like a maniac. A few minutes later, there was enough battery to turn it on and I dialled Owen's number immediately. He picked up after the first tone.

"Alex! Is that you?"

"Yes, Owen, it's me. I'm fine," I said, unable to hide guilt in my voice.

"Where have you been? I couldn't sleep all night!"

"Oh my god, Owen," I said and had to take a few deep breaths to stop myself from crying. "I'll tell you later, but I'm fine, I promise. I missed you very, very much." These words never felt more true than today. Only the situation got a little bit complicated.

"I thought… oh god, I thought you did something to yourself because you were mad at me."

"I was a little mad, but that’s over now, I promise. I never wanted to do anything stupid. It's just… my phone was dead… I will tell you when we meet."

"Can I come over now?" He said, full of hope.

"I don't know… I may be grounded... I don't know for sure… I will talk to Mum and let you know. They are super pissed at me."

"Alex… does it have something to do with Ryan?" Owen asked.

I gasped. How did he know?

"Uhm, in a way, maybe. I really can't tell you over the phone. I'll call you as soon as I know when we can meet, okay?"

"Okay, babe. Don't hang up yet. I want to hear your voice a little longer."

"Oh my god Owen, I don't deserve you."

"You do, babe. Everything will be fine."

We talked for 15 minutes or so and I was happy to chat about everyday stuff for once. But the untold truth was looming over us and eventually, we ended the call.

I lay on the bed looking at the ceiling. How am I going to convince Mum and Dad to ever let me leave this house again?

***

It took me two hours to gather enough courage and ask if I could go and see Owen. Dad said no way and this time Mum was on his side. They really wanted to show me how unhappy they were with me and there was no arguing. I saw Chris later and I was grateful that he wasn't asking any questions about where I’d been.

"Are we hitting the gym tomorrow morning?" He asked.

Gym was the last thing on my mind, but I remembered Ryan's words - I should act like nothing has changed.

"I'd love to, but I’m grounded."

"Leave it to me," he said.

Fifteen minutes later he was in my room again.

"You're good to go. I am to drive you both ways and never let you out of my sight."

"Uh, okay, thanks," I said and forced a smile.

"You're not getting high, are you, little bro? You've been acting weird."

"No, I'm just… I had a little quarrel with Owen, but it's fine now."

"Trouble in paradise, huh? I know the feeling."

I couldn't focus on anything for the rest of the day.

***

"You seem even gloomier than yesterday," Chris said as we were driving to the gym the next morning.

"I'll be fine. I could use some exercise to get my head straightened out," I said, staring blankly through the side window.

"I don't think any gym could straighten out your gay butt, bro."

"Oh shut up, that was so stale."

I was too spaced out to pay attention where we were and only when we pulled up next to Owen's house did I look around and then at Chris.

He pointed his finger at me.

"In precisely ninety minutes I'm picking you up and we're going home. If you're one second late I will cut off your legs."

My shocked face turned into a wide grin and before I thought about what I was doing, I threw my arms around his neck and assaulted him with pecks on his cheek.

"Get off me, you poof! And get out of the car before I change my mind!"

***

For the first ten minutes, we were just laying in his bed, wordlessly cuddling and kissing. It's been the longest we haven't seen each other or even talked ever since we met. Considering what happened in the meantime, the separation seemed like a lifetime. Owen's skin felt more electric than ever and I inhaled his chest and armpits as if it was a meadow covered in flowers.

"I thought you were going to dump me. Or do something to yourself," Owen said between kisses. We were already just in our boxer briefs by that time and I only wanted to melt into him.

I didn't say anything. I couldn't without having a mental breakdown. I could only hope my eyes were saying it all.

"I missed you so much," he said. I just nodded vigorously and started licking his face. That's how attached I felt.

A few moments later we were naked but honestly I didn't feel like going through our regular suck-then-fuck sex schedule. I don't think Owen did, either. We were on our sides facing each other and grinding our boners. That way our hands and mouths were free to enjoy other parts. Sweet and sexy minutes passed slowly like that when Owen pulled away from the kiss. He pressed his forehead against mine and made our noses touch. In this position, he started humping faster against me. It was amazing to feel him get himself off like that. Our eyes were two inches away and we were looking at each other almost without blinking and working on our orgasms.

To my surprise, I came first. The feeling of Owen's large dick rubbing against mine was too much to bear. I shot violent volleys of cum, covering his dick and belly with my sticky cream. When I came down from the high, I scooped up as much of my spunk as I could and wrapped my small hand around Owen's meaty dick, lubricating it generously. I didn't move my hand away and a few seconds later, he resumed humping. It felt great to find another way to provide him with a nice, wet hole to fuck and he seemed to enjoy it a lot. It took him two minutes of humping inside my curled palm to bring himself to a climax. I smiled widely when I felt the first spurts of hot fluid land on my thigh and ballsack.

"Oh fuck, yes, yes…" Owen moaned, thrusting slowly and shooting the remainder of his ejaculate. Spent, we cuddled and wordlessly enjoyed the closeness.

I desperately wanted to spend all day like this but I knew our time was very limited. If Mum and Dad knew where I was, I would get locked inside my room for the rest of the summer. I didn't want that unless that was with my handsome boyfriend.

I touched his toned chest with my finger.

"It's such a fucking turn on that you're bigger, Owen," I said.

"And I like it that you're smaller, Alex."

We chuckled a little at how retarded we sounded.

"I have something to tell you, Owen," I said after a pause.

"Yeah. Me too," he said.

"Okay, then you go first," I encouraged him. "My thing may take a while."

"Okay. Alex… you’re not going to believe it. It’s not the right moment, but I need to tell you. The guy that ran me over. They found a body near the canal. He had a ripped throat. The police said he was attacked by a large animal.”

"Oh…"

“Yeah. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Owen…”

“I know, I know, I may be paranoid but isn’t it too much of a coincidence? How many people get killed by animals in the area? None!”

“Owen…” I said. I really didn’t know how to even start this story. I lowered my voice down to a whisper. “That’s what I wanted to tell you. It was Jessica who killed him.”

“Jessica?”

“Yes. And listen carefully now. This guy was a shape-shifter, too. He attacked me in your backyard.”

Owen’s eyes were opening wider and wider as I was telling him the story.

“It all happened here?” Owen managed. “Why didn’t I hear anything?”

“I was calling you but you were listening to music.”

“Oh fuck, I’m so sorry… But how did they get rid of the body?” he asked.

“I… I don’t know. After it all happened I… well… Ryan told me to go with him. You know, so no one finds me there with the body.”

I surprised myself with this lie. I was going to tell Owen everything but for some reason, I couldn’t. Not yet. I think it was the fear that he’d tell me to leave his house and never talk to him again.

“Oh my god Alex… I need to talk to Ryan. What’s going on? The guy that hit me with the car… in my backyard. He was hunting for me! We were supposed to be safe!”

He was right. I was so absorbed with my own condition that I didn’t confront Ryan about it. Could there be more of them? What did they want?

“Owen, listen to me. If they’re really after you, I need you to be safe. I’m grounded and I’ll be safe at home. I want you to have the whistle.”

“No way!” Owen protested. “After what happened, I’d rather die than let you walk about without it.”

“I’m not asking, Owen. This time I’m serious.” I jumped off the bed and took the whistle from my backpack. Then I got back in bed, straddled him and put it over Owen’s neck.

“Babe, I can’t let you…” Owen started but I put a finger over his mouth.

“I’m not a baby. I can take care of myself. They might be after you. Once I’m not grounded anymore, we will spend every waking hour together and we’ll be safe, okay?”

“That’s completely out of the question Alex, I…”

“Stop it, Owen, don’t tell me what to do. I already decided. If you don’t want that whistle, throw it in the bin. I’m leaving it here.”

“But babe…”

“Don’t you babe me,” I hushed him again. “Now it’s your turn to wear it.”

“But…”

“And it looks kind of sexy on your naked chest,” I said and touched it gently.

Surprisingly this silenced him and I swear he even got a little red. No matter how much sex we have, he can still get shy over little things. His trusting, caring eyes. I decided I can’t tell him everything at once. That would mess him up more than it did me. I knew he was worried sick about me and if he knew that something happened to me… he would demand to stand guard by my bed 24/7. And there was also stuff I did with Ryan… oh my god…

Owen was about to say something, but just then a brief honk of a car horn from outside the window. I checked the time. Fuck. That was my ride.

"Shit, I have to go," I said. I quickly jumped to my feet and started picking up my clothes. I sneaked to the bathroom to wash myself and got hastily dressed.

I only managed to give Owen a small peck.

“Goodbye, Owen,”

“Alex, wait, what about our date on Saturday?”

I gave him a sad look. “I’ll do what I can but the shit really hit the fan this time.”

"Call me as soon as you get home, okay?" he shouted after me.

"I wish I could stay. I'll call you!"

I swear less than a minute had passed and I smashed the front passenger door behind me and buckled myself up, still panting.

"You probably got more workout than you would in the gym," Chris said.

"Yeah," I smiled and blushed a little.

"Not sure if you're aware but you're wearing your t-shirt inside out."

"Ohh crap," I muttered and quickly pulled it over my head to fix it.

Chris just laughed. "Kids…"

***

Back at home, I unpacked my backpack and what do you know. At the bottom, there was the silver whistle on a chain. Owen must’ve put it there when I was in the bathroom. I let out a sigh but thinking about how much he cared made me smile.