Chapter 61

Jimmy's Secret

Finally, I was going to get Ursa back. I couldn't wait to see her again, to stroke her thick, black fur and run with her beside me. All I had to do was go to the pound.

The sun was just starting to go down. Usually there weren't many people out at this time, so it was a surprise when I found someone walking along next to me.

"Jimmy?" I asked. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" Jimmy said. "I don't have my motorcycle and Dad won't let me borrow the car, so I have to walk everywhere like you do. It's a total pain."

"When are you getting the motorcycle back?" I asked.

Jimmy shrugged. "Soon, hopefully. I wanted to get a cheap one, but Dad insisted on all of these annoying safety features."

"It's probably for the best," I reminded him.

"So?" Jimmy said. "I'm not going to crash it again."

I rolled my eyes. "Anyways, where are you going?"

"Taylor's house. What about you?"

"The pound. Ursa's there and I have to get her out."

"You actually care about that dog that follows you everywhere?" I nodded. "Whatever. After this, you really need to stop trying to save the world. Because it's not going to happen."

"I'm not trying to save the world!" I exclaimed. "Wait, Taylor's your girlfriend, right?"

"Well...sort of...not really," Jimmy said.

"Did you break up with her?" I asked.

"No," Jimmy said. "Taylor's not a girl."

"What?" I shouted, because I couldn't think of anything else to say. How had I not known about this? Who else knew? I hated being trusted with other people's secrets, but I had no choice. Jimmy was my brother and I loved him. I had to do this for him.

"Just keep it a secret, okay?" Jimmy said. "You're the first person I've told. I trust you."

"I will," I said.

"Good," Jimmy said. "Anyways, the pound's right here. Do you want me to pick you up when you're done? I can get Dad's car after I'm done at Taylor's."

"Should I get a ride from Jimmy?" I asked the Magic 8 Ball.

Don't count on it.

"No thanks," I told Jimmy.

"Okay," Jimmy said. "Bye Isabelle."

"Bye Jimmy!"

I ran inside and quickly found Ursa. She looked miserable, sitting there in her too-small cage, but she immediately perked up when she saw me.

"Hey Ursa," I said. "I'm going to get you out of here."

The man who worked there was standing in the corner. He looked at me and said, "Oh, it's you. What're you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up my dog," I said. "I think my mom already called."

"Yes, she did," the man said. I handed him five twenty dollar bills and he unlocked the cage. Ursa immediately jumped out and almost tackled me. "She obviously likes you."

"I know," I said. "Come on, Ursa." I looked back sadly. All of those other dogs seemed to be begging me to take them with me. I tried to ignore the guilt building inside of me.

But my work was done. I had Ursa back. That was all that mattered.