8

wait until tomorrow for us to play together."

Chapter 13

Victor's P.O.V.

Victor was standing in the living room with his eyes set on the TV. A game of Pokémon played out on the screen. On top of all that, he had to help his grandfather move a lot of furniture into his guest room. All of it was extremely heavy. But Victor refused to let his grandfather carry anything, even though they both knew he wouldn't be able to lift it himself without needing Victor's assistance. It wasn't like Victor didn't want to help but he needed some time to prepare himself, so his grandfather was letting him help by helping him with the moving and carrying part.

Victor didn't mind being a part of the task; on the contrary, he enjoyed helping his grandfather. Even if there were times when it felt more exhausting than useful, his grandfather always smiled proudly whenever he would praise him for what he did and say thanks in return. Victor always liked doing these little chores for his grandfather and seeing him smile brightly everytime was enough to satisfy him.

However, despite feeling relieved after doing such a simple task, he couldn't ignore his worries for his father. Victor had been worried about him for weeks, so naturally it was natural to feel anxious about whether or not his father was safe. He didn' t know how to describe it exactly, since he hadn' t spoken to his dad since their argument that Saturday afternoon. He had no idea what was wrong, nor had he seen his father for the last three days. He had tried contacting his father through social media, sending him text messages or calling him multiple times, but neither response nor reply had come. That was odd, but perhaps he had just completely ignored Victor's attempts. Regardless, Victor found himself hoping against hope that his father would somehow reach out to him.

Victor sighed and stood up straight again from the couch.

"Grandpa?", he said, interrupting the game of Pokémon, "Can you take care of the dishes for a bit? I need to go to the bathroom."

His grandfather nodded and stood up. When Victor went through the kitchen and upstairs, he stopped outside of Makkachin's bedroom door and listened quietly for an indication of his presence. He heard nothing but silence. Victor sighed heavily and then knocked softly on the door before entering the dog's room. He sat on the edge of the bed with his legs folded underneath him and Makkachin rested beside him, watching Victor curiously. After staring at him for a second or two, Makkachin barked and wagged his tail before lying down next to Victor and putting his head on Victor's lap.

Victor smiled slightly and scratched his hand gently through his dog's fur as Makkachin leaned closer to his owner. Victor ran his hand through the dog's fur and let out a sigh as he stared down at his hands.

"How are you doing Makka?", he asked aloud.

Makkachin didn't respond, which was normal for Victor. Sometimes he didn't seem to notice when Victor spoke to him, which usually meant that he either wasn't listening to Victor or didn't understand him. Today wasn't one of those days. However, Victor wasn't complaining. If he didn't get a verbal answer from Makkachin, it meant that he was paying attention and therefore not ignoring him. That was nice, but that didn't stop Victor from worrying and waiting for any kind of acknowledgment. Eventually, after several minutes passed, Victor stood up and headed downstairs to clean up the dishes before heading into the kitchen.

"Are you hungry?"

No reply.

"Come on, Grandpa has dinner ready soon. You're going to need to sit down."

Nothing.

"Makka!"

Still no response.

"Do you hear me?!"

Still nothing.

"Oh my god.", Victor exclaimed, "Please give me a sign that you're alive...".