The others didn’t talk about it much.
Not because they forgot — but because they knew Tank hadn’t.
That house.
The blue one with the white trim. The one at the end of the street. The one with the smell of grass and peanut butter and old tennis balls.
It used to be his.
His people. His porch. His walks. His heart.
Until the day they left.
No warning. No goodbye. No bags packed where he could see.
Just silence.
Tank had waited. Days. Then weeks.
The Forest wrapped around him like a blanket when he broke.But that house?
That house stayed empty.
Until now.
He didn’t mean to growl when he saw the new girl.
He didn’t mean to bristle when he saw her dog.It wasn’t them.
It was the memories.
And sometimes memories sting before they heal.
“You okay?” JJ asked, trotting up beside him.
Tank didn’t answer. He just watched.
The girl sat in the yard. Quiet. Thoughtful.
Her dog — that new one with the soft coat and calm eyes — sat beside her like they were born to wait together.
JJ tilted his head. “She kinda looks like you when you first showed up, you know?”
Tank grunted. “I don’t growl at rakes.”
“Fair,” JJ said, sitting beside him. “But she might grow on you.”
Tank didn’t respond.
But he didn’t walk away, either.
🐾 The Door to Tank’s Heart is Lexus
The Forest doesn’t erase old pain.
But sometimes it helps you plant something new beside it.Something that grows.
Lexus is the Quiet One Who Tank Didn’t know He Needed!