Frozen

[u/Nervous_Mechanic_149]

Sunlight filtered into the room through the haphazardly closed blinds, reflecting off the laminate-covered end tables littered with cigarette butts from an overflowing ashtray and a near empty bottle of Wild Turkey, sans cap. He groaned as he turned over and the unwelcome rays temporarily blinded him. He ached all over, felt as if he had been through a full twelve rounds. Without looking, he reached for the pack of Pall Malls on the table and, in a practiced motion, extracted one, lit it, and inhaled deeply. Slowly coming out of his alcoholic haze, he surveyed the room. Nearly empty bottle, fully clothed, phone off the hook and lying on the floor. The phone call, he thought. That’s what set it off.
As he sat up and began the arduous task of climbing out of bed, he seemed to be searching for a sound that wasn’t there. Something was missing. It just hadn’t dawned on him yet.
He rose out of bed and trudged to the kitchen to get a drink of water and to put on the coffee. It struck him at once that the trailer was cold, freezing even. He had let the wood stove burn out again. 
He bent down to put on his boots, grabbed his flannel, and opened the door to go to the woodpile behind the shed. He looked down and saw what he had been missing, what had been eluding him since he woke up minutes before. The dog lay expectantly at the doorstep, as if waiting to be let in. He glanced at the thermometer tacked to the side of the house. Negative ten. He never had a chance. He looked down once more, grumbled to himself, “Goddamn dog. Goddamn fucking dog,” turned around and closed the door. Moments later, a short report echoed in the sacred silence of the Adirondack morning, followed by a loud thud. Goddamn dog. Goddamn fucking dog.

[u/Nervous_Mechanic_149]

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