is
because Chris stopped to talk to him after saying bye to me and I saw them
there. The next thing I know, Jeremy is running over the top of a car
right next to me and hauling major booty to get to you. I’ve never seen him
move that fast. Never really seen anybody move that fast. Adrenaline, I guess.”
“Huh. Weird,”
Melanie replied.
“You are changing
the subject,” Tara said in a sing-song voice. “Get to it, missy. I want
details, and I want them now.”
Tara started the
car and backed out of the parking space. She put the convertible top up so they
could talk. Melanie told her everything on the drive home.
Chapter 7
After dinner,
Melanie kissed her mom goodnight and went to her room to study. She had a hard
time concentrating because thoughts of Jeremy swirled through her mind on a
repeated loop. His eyes, his hands, his mouth…
She jumped up from
her small corner desk and went to her bedroom window. Darkness had overtaken
the day, which suited her mood. She decided to stop torturing herself. Jeremy
was her friend. That’s it. Whatever she and Tara were reading into it wasn’t
real. It was make believe. A fantasy. Melanie knew she needed to live in the
real world and not screw up her friendship with him.
Just as Melanie
was resolving to accept things as they were and not how she wanted them to be,
a movement to the left of the yard caught her eye. She reached over and quickly
snapped off the desk lamp. Her room was now shrouded in darkness, so whoever
was out there could not see her. Her pounding heart almost sent her running
downstairs to tell her mom when she saw the movement again.
“Oh, God. It’s
him,” she murmured between rapid breaths. “He’s found me. Oh, no. Oh, God. Oh,
no. Oh, no. Oh, no. What do I do?”
Just as her world
started to spin, the figure moved into the yard. Her breath stopped short and
she leaned forward to rest her forehead against the glass.
It was the dog! At
least, it was a dog. She couldn’t be completely sure it was the dog without a closer look. She left the window and darted out of her room and
down the stairs. She grabbed her sweater off the hook by the back door, yelled
something to her mom about getting some fresh air and ran out into the night.
Melanie raced to
the middle of the yard, where she stopped dead in her tracks as common sense
finally caught up to her. She realized that running hell-bent toward a strange
dog was not the greatest idea she ever had. She held her breath and scanned the
perimeter. Her backyard met the woods on two sides, so the dog could have run
off through the trees and disappeared. Or it could be hiding just out of sight,
ready to pounce.
Melanie wasn’t sure
what to do. She wanted to see the animal up close. She needed to know that he
was real and not some figment of her traumatized imagination. Of course, even
if her dog was real, this dog might not be the same one. This dog could be a
mangy, rabies carrying mongrel intent on taking a bite out of her.
Movement to her
left caught her eye. Melanie jerked her head in that direction and scanned the
tree line until she saw it: a dark shadow with two eyes gleaming softly in the
light of the moon.
She held out a hand
and softly whispered “Come here, boy.”
She heard a soft
whimper before the animal slowly crept out of the woods and into her yard,
keeping his belly low to the ground. She stood completely still as the dog
moved forward and stopped several feet away from her. He kept his head lowered,
as if showing submission would make her more at ease. It did.
Melanie held out
her hand, palm down, and made kissing noises. The dog slowly straightened his
legs and raised his head. He was huge! He looked kind of like a German
shepherd, only solid black and with longer hair. He slowly edged closer and
reached out his nose to sniff her fingertips. Melanie didn’t move until he
licked her fingers and came closer. She rubbed his head and gave him a scratch
behind the
because Chris stopped to talk to him after saying bye to me and I saw them
there. The next thing I know, Jeremy is running over the top of a car
right next to me and hauling major booty to get to you. I’ve never seen him
move that fast. Never really seen anybody move that fast. Adrenaline, I guess.”
“Huh. Weird,”
Melanie replied.
“You are changing
the subject,” Tara said in a sing-song voice. “Get to it, missy. I want
details, and I want them now.”
Tara started the
car and backed out of the parking space. She put the convertible top up so they
could talk. Melanie told her everything on the drive home.
Chapter 7
After dinner,
Melanie kissed her mom goodnight and went to her room to study. She had a hard
time concentrating because thoughts of Jeremy swirled through her mind on a
repeated loop. His eyes, his hands, his mouth…
She jumped up from
her small corner desk and went to her bedroom window. Darkness had overtaken
the day, which suited her mood. She decided to stop torturing herself. Jeremy
was her friend. That’s it. Whatever she and Tara were reading into it wasn’t
real. It was make believe. A fantasy. Melanie knew she needed to live in the
real world and not screw up her friendship with him.
Just as Melanie
was resolving to accept things as they were and not how she wanted them to be,
a movement to the left of the yard caught her eye. She reached over and quickly
snapped off the desk lamp. Her room was now shrouded in darkness, so whoever
was out there could not see her. Her pounding heart almost sent her running
downstairs to tell her mom when she saw the movement again.
“Oh, God. It’s
him,” she murmured between rapid breaths. “He’s found me. Oh, no. Oh, God. Oh,
no. Oh, no. Oh, no. What do I do?”
Just as her world
started to spin, the figure moved into the yard. Her breath stopped short and
she leaned forward to rest her forehead against the glass.
It was the dog! At
least, it was a dog. She couldn’t be completely sure it was the dog without a closer look. She left the window and darted out of her room and
down the stairs. She grabbed her sweater off the hook by the back door, yelled
something to her mom about getting some fresh air and ran out into the night.
Melanie raced to
the middle of the yard, where she stopped dead in her tracks as common sense
finally caught up to her. She realized that running hell-bent toward a strange
dog was not the greatest idea she ever had. She held her breath and scanned the
perimeter. Her backyard met the woods on two sides, so the dog could have run
off through the trees and disappeared. Or it could be hiding just out of sight,
ready to pounce.
Melanie wasn’t sure
what to do. She wanted to see the animal up close. She needed to know that he
was real and not some figment of her traumatized imagination. Of course, even
if her dog was real, this dog might not be the same one. This dog could be a
mangy, rabies carrying mongrel intent on taking a bite out of her.
Movement to her
left caught her eye. Melanie jerked her head in that direction and scanned the
tree line until she saw it: a dark shadow with two eyes gleaming softly in the
light of the moon.
She held out a hand
and softly whispered “Come here, boy.”
She heard a soft
whimper before the animal slowly crept out of the woods and into her yard,
keeping his belly low to the ground. She stood completely still as the dog
moved forward and stopped several feet away from her. He kept his head lowered,
as if showing submission would make her more at ease. It did.
Melanie held out
her hand, palm down, and made kissing noises. The dog slowly straightened his
legs and raised his head. He was huge! He looked kind of like a German
shepherd, only solid black and with longer hair. He slowly edged closer and
reached out his nose to sniff her fingertips. Melanie didn’t move until he
licked her fingers and came closer. She rubbed his head and gave him a scratch
behind the
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