I sat down, struggling to breathe as I buried my face into the side of Luke’s neck, clinging to him helplessly as I imagined Chester dying, how awful it would be to never see him wag his tail again, or bark excitedly when I came home from school. We’d had him since a puppy and I couldn’t bear to lose him.

Time seemed endless as we sat there waiting for news. Finally, one of the vets that were working on Chester opened the door and called us through. I studied his face, trying to guess what the news was. He looked grave, and my heart gave another painful thump in my chest as I imagined the worst. Luke’s hand closed over mine as we walked into the room. My eyes flitted to the table, the last place I’d seen Chester before I was ushered out, but the table was now empty apart from some handheld equipment, tape, and a pair of used gloves.

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I waited for him to say the words and tell me the bad news, so it surprised me when he smiled softly.

“He’s stable at the moment. We’re running a full toxicology report, but preliminary tests suggest that he’s ingested some sort of rat poison. We’ve cleared as much as we can, and given him some activated charcoal. That will hopefully stop most of the poison being absorbed in his stomach and intestines. We’ve also started a course of vitamin K which will help too. You did the right thing by bringing him in here so quickly,” he said, smiling kindly.

I sniffed, closing my eyes as the fear that gripped my stomach loosened marginally. “So he’s going to be alright?” I croaked.

“The first twenty-four hours are crucial. Rat poison can be fatal if not treated in a timely manner because it causes internal bleeding. I think we caught it in time, but due to his age I can’t be sure. We’ll keep him in the emergency room overnight and keep a constant vigil over him. We’ll do everything we can,” he answered.

Luke’s hand tightened on mine as the vet spoke. I nodded helplessly, knowing there was nothing else I could do but wait and see and trust them to do the best for my dog. “Can I see him?” I asked weakly.

The vet nodded, waving his hand at a door at the back of the room. Silently, I followed behind him, down the corridors and into a larger room full of medical equipment. Everything was white and green and looked sterile and clean. Chester lay on a table, a nurse sat next to him, scribbling on a clipboard. She smiled when we walked in.

A little whimper left my lips as I stumbled over to his side, looking down at him through teary eyes. He looked peaceful now, not twitching anymore. His breathing had evened out a little though it still wasn’t back to normal. I didn’t know what to say so instead I just bent my head and kissed the side of his face.

“He’s sedated now. I’m working all night so I’ll keep a close eye on him, don’t worry,” the nurse said kindly as she placed her hand on my back in a comforting gesture.

I smiled gratefully and nodded. Luke was talking to the vet on the other side of the room, looking over a piece of paper before he shook his hand and came to my side. “We should go now, baby. We can call for an update first thing in the morning,” he said softly as he wiped one of my stray tears away. With his other hand he stoked Chester’s head.

“Okay,” I agreed. Luke led me out of the place while I followed numbly behind, unable to think of anything other than my poor little dog and how ill he was. As we got to the front door I stopped as a thought occurred to me. “Wait, don’t I need to give them my details and pay or something?” I croaked, glancing back at the reception desk.

Luke shook his head. “I’ve sorted everything, they’ve got your details, and mine, so don’t worry.” He pulled me against his side, wrapping a protective arm around me as he guided me out of the building and over to his car. As he opened my door I pressed myself against him, closing my eyes, grateful that he was here with me and taking care of everything so that I didn’t have to. He hugged me tightly as I silently wondered what on earth I would do without him in my life. Luke was my rock, and while I was in his arms, I knew he always would be.

By the time I climbed in the car my legs were weak and my tears had dried up. I sat there almost numb because the horror of what I’d just been through had crushed me inside. Luke got into the driver’s side, starting the engine. “Are you alright?” he whispered. I shook my head and turned in my chair to look at him. He smiled sympathetically and reached out, stroking the side of my face with one finger. “He’ll be okay,” he cooed, leaning over and planting a soft kiss on my forehead.

I smiled weakly and closed my eyes. “Thanks for sorting everything,” I mumbled. “You were so great. Thank you.”

He pulled back and waved his hand dismissively. “You don’t need to thank me,” he replied, shaking his head. “I would like to know why you think someone would have poisoned him on purpose though.” He raised one eyebrow, his brown eyes locking onto mine as he cocked his head to the side curiously.

My thoughts instantly flicked to Sandy again. I clenched my jaw tightly as anger built up because she’d definitely gone too far this time. Chester was an innocent dog; he didn’t deserve anything like this to happen. Hate wasn’t a strong enough word for what I felt for her in that moment. “It was her,” I spat, shaking my head as my hands tightened into fists. I wanted to go around to her house and kill her, force her to eat poisoned meat so she would suffer like Chester just had. I wanted to watch her struggle for breath as her organs started bleeding like his had.

“Her?” Luke questioned, taking my hand and squeezing gently.

I nodded, sniffing and swiping at my face roughly. I needed to stop crying, I silently wished I wasn’t such an emotionally week person. “Can we just go home and then I’ll tell you everything,” I mumbled, not really wanting to have this discussion in the car. He frowned but nodded, immediately putting the car into drive and pulling out of the parking lot.

The ride home was silent. He held my hand the whole time, tracing soothing circles on the back of it while he drove. I sat there stewing inside, plotting and planning on what I was going to do to her tomorrow. If I knew where she lived I would go there tonight, but I would have to settle for tomorrow instead. When we pulled up outside my house I noticed that Alex wasn’t back yet. That was a good thing though because I wasn’t ready to say the words about Chester yet, it was still too raw. Luke opened my car door for me and led me towards the house, taking my keys out of my hand and opening the front door. I chewed on my lip as I stepped inside. Even though I knew he wasn’t there, I still looked up the hallway, waiting for Chester to skip around the corner yipping excitedly. I wasn’t used to coming home to him not being there.

Luke sighed as he flicked on the lights and slipped his arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go sit down and then I’ll make some coffee or something. What time is Alex due home?” he asked, kissing the side of my head as he guided me to walk into the lounge.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. He won’t be too late,” I mumbled, sitting down on the sofa.

Luke sat next to me, pulling me close to his side as his hand stroked across my hip softly. “So, will you tell me what you were talking about earlier?” he asked quietly.

I nodded and pressed into him as I told him about the hate campaign that someone had started against me recently. The silent phone calls, the scribbling on my notebook, the letters typed on red paper, and the flowers that I initially thought were from him. His body stiffened when I told him that the flowers were the same type as what someone had left next to Chester in the back yard. His jaw was tight; his fingers were digging into my waist as he seemed to be struggling not to let his anger show. I knew he would be angry, he was almost as protective over me as my dad and brother were.

I looked up at him and shrugged sadly. “See, he was poisoned. How else can you explain that he ate something and that there was a flower there?”

He gulped loudly, looking a little lost for words as he shook his head slowly.

I sniffed, knowing I needed to tell him everything now, I couldn’t keep anything back. “I got a box on Saturday too. It had a flower in there and a teddy bear that had been mutilated. The note in with it said I was next,” I whispered. “Obviously she decided to hurt Chester instead and punish me that way.”

Luke’s mouth dropped open as he jerked in his seat. “Someone sent you a mutilated teddy bear and a death threat? Did you call the police? Christ, Maisie! What the hell did your dad say?” he ranted, standing up and looking down at me, clearly outraged.

I shook my head, shrinking down into my seat because of the annoyance I could see on his face. It was then that I realised that I’d been incredibly stupid. If I’d called the police when I got the box, maybe then the police would have dealt with it and then Chester wouldn’t be fighting for his life. I’d buried my head in the sand and made everything worse.

“I-I didn’t tell my dad,” I stuttered, wincing as he let rip a string of expletives, gripping his hands into his hair. “At the time I didn’t think it was a big deal,” I continued, trying to explain my actions.

He made a scoffing noise in his throat. “You didn’t think it was a big deal? Someone heavy breathing down a phone and sending you notes and stuff is a big freaking deal, Maisie!” he chastised.

I nodded, my chin trembling. I didn’t know what to say. There was no way I could make this better.

He sighed and plopped down next to me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. “Look, sorry, I shouldn’t have shouted at you, but you should have told someone. You could have at least told me. Why didn’t you tell me someone was sending you stuff?” he asked. His eyes searched mine and I could almost see the hurt there that I’d not confided in him.

I smiled apologetically. “I should have, I’m sorry. I thought she was just trying to scare me, I thought she was trying to get a reaction from me so she could laugh about it with her friends.”

His frown deepened. “Why do you keep saying she? Who exactly do you think is sending you stuff?”

“Sandy!” I almost spat the word because I was so angry.

Luke burst out laughing as he looked at me like I’d lost the plot. “Sandy? Seriously?” he scoffed, shaking his head in amusement.

I frowned and pushed his arm off of me. “Yes her! This all started after the party, when you two…” I swallowed loudly, unable to say the words. He squeezed his eyes shut and sighed sadly; obviously thinking about what he’d done again. “It’s her. She’s a witch, and she’s doing this now because I embarrassed her at the party after,” I added for good measure. I crossed my arms over my chest defensively as I glared at him, daring him to challenge what I was saying and defend her again like he did after I’d fought with her at school.

He didn’t say anything, just looked at me as if he was choosing his words carefully. “Show me the box,” he finally ordered.

I nodded, standing up and motioning towards the lounge door. “It’s in my room.” Taking a deep breath I walked out, trying not to think about anything else as I marched up the stairs to my bedroom. Luke was following close behind me; a comforting hand rested on the small of my back. As I stepped into my room we both headed over to the closet where I pulled down the box and handed it to him, frowning distastefully.

He opened it, his teeth clenching as he looked at the contents and pulled out the note. He hissed a cuss word under his breath as he read it. “We need to call the police,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

I didn’t answer. I knew the time had passed for me to brush this under the carpet now; I was going to have to face it and tell the police everything. My eyes wandered over my room as Luke put the box down on my dresser and pulled out his cell phone, dialling 911. Something white caught my attention on my bed, resting up against my pillows. I frowned and walked over to it, seeing that it was an envelope. There was no writing on the front of it. I picked it up quickly, ripping it open curiously. As my fingers closed around what was inside I let out a little whimper. Pulling out the card of the envelope I read the two words on the cover, ‘With Sympathy’. It was one of those cards you sent when someone had lost a loved one. I gulped and opened it, expecting to see a typed message in there like from the notes. But other than the standard poem that was printed inside, there was no writing on it at all. Instead, something small and silver slid out and clattered to the floor. My eyes followed it, and I whimpered when I saw that it was Chester’s tag from his collar.

“Oh God,” I croaked as I looked up at Luke and burst into a fresh round of sobs. The person who had poisoned Chester had obviously concluded that he would die from it.

Luke’s eyes widened in shock, his gaze going from the tags to the card in my hand. “How did that… how did that get in here?” He still had the phone pressed to his ear as I threw myself at him and cried into his chest. He cleared his throat suddenly, his arm wrapping around my shoulders as I gripped fistfuls of his shirt. “Yeah, police please.” He gulped. “Someone’s been in my girlfriend’s house,” Luke said into the phone, his voice a little shaky as he spoke.

Chapter 18

It took over and hour for the police to arrive. Our complaint wasn’t deemed urgent because no one was in immediate danger.

Luke had finally managed to calm me down, and he’d also managed to get hold of Alex and tell him to come home from the gym. To say that Alex had been shocked would be a severe understatement. He’d looked from me to Luke several times, asking stupid questions over and over before the penny finally dropped and he switched into overprotective, angry brother mode. He didn’t seem to believe my suspicions over Sandy either.