Frenemies ✔

Chapter 17

I didn't remember running back inside the house, still sobbing. Choking on my sobs. I remembered Grandma calling my name numerous times. I walked to her bedroom and collapsed on the bed. I remembered her asking me what was wrong and why I was crying the way I was. I didn't answer her question, I just sobbed in her arms, choking on them. I didn't dare mention Cupcake. Robbie's words still clung to my mind. I remembered the gruesome scene I encountered. Poor, lifeless, little Cupcake lying in her own pool of blood. There had been so much of it. The smell of her blood overwhelmed my sinuses. Her body smashed in. Her head smashed in.

I cried and I scooped her up from the floor, despite the fact that she was bloody. My clothes got stained with it badly.

Grandma asked if I got hurt, but I shook my head in response. She demanded to know why I had had blood on me. I didn't answer. I just kept crying.

I remembered dragging myself to my bedroom. It felt like it took me an eternity to get inside. I also remembered slipping into a different nightshirt (even though I really wasn't going to sleep). Carelessly, I dumped my blood-stained clothes into my hamper. It was going to reek of metal later, but I didn't care. Not at that moment. I didn't remember climbing into my bed, pulling the covers over my head. I just laid there in fetal position, trying blocking out everything. The beams of the sun shining through my window, life, Robbie. The one thing I couldn't block out was the disturbing image of my now deceased dog.

Now, I didn't have a dog to pet if I felt down or just wanted company. No dog to feed. No dog to bathe or put cute, little bows on her hair. No more of that.

It was then that I stopped sobbing. I didn't want to stop, but I cried out all my tears. Instead, I just lay under the sheets, silent, and staring blankly at them.

A few days afterward, Tuesday evening, I sat by my desk. I had my homework spread out and they were taking up pretty much all of my desk space. I also had my pencil in my right hand, tapping it absently against the edge of the desk. I'd meant to do my homework, but I felt that my mind wasn't really there. It was somewhere else.

Prior to today, I told Mom that I found Cupcake by the road, but she was killed. It looked like she got run over by a car or something. Of course, she was devastated. We had her in our family since I was ten-years-old. Yesterday, we had her cremated and placed her ashes inside a bottle. We placed the bottle inside a small shoebox and buried it in our backyard. It made me feel a little better that she didn't have to go through the pain anymore. I'm sure what she went through was horrible. I couldn't possibly imagine her suffering. But I still missed her a lot. I missed her coming to greet me when I'd come home from school. She was gone forever.

Then I had this sudden thought pop into my mind. I wanted to get even with Robbie. I wanted him to feel the pain I went through the past few days. And the suspense he put me through as well. But I knew I couldn't. Robbie was a guy and men tend to be a little stronger than women. How could a 5'3 little girl bring down a 5'10 guy? He was so much taller than me, stronger than me. He would overpower me in a heartbeat. None of these things eased my angry conscience. As these thoughts raced through my mind, I heard my door creak open.

"Ava?" a voice said.

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I pressed my hand against my forehead.

"Oh, Mom, it's you."

"Hi, sweetheart." She walked into the room with a coffee mug in both her hands. "I made you some hot cocoa."

She set the mug down on the desk.

"Thanks," I mumbled.

She knelt beside my swivel chair. "How's school going?"

I shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I'm...I'm not really in the mood to do anything. My mind isn't there."