Chapter 20
As excited as I was about moving in with Colter, the big bulk of it would have to wait until after the holidays. After Christmas he had a couple of back-to-back shifts, and I couldn't very well push my friends to help with the move over the busiest family time of the year.
Which meant that until I could move all my stuff in, I would have to either make do with what I had packed in my mad dash to get to Colter's place or do a quick trip home so I could get what I needed.
The problem with that was that Colter had to go into the clinic for an emergency as he was on call, so he couldn't go with me, and I really didn't want to go alone.
I knew it was in the middle of the day, in a busy neighborhood, and nothing was likely to happen, especially two days before Christmas, but that didn't stop the paranoia clawing at me when I even just thought about going there alone.
But dammit. I wanted a few more outfits, and there were a few games and toys that I didn't bring over in my rush.
I huffed out another annoyed breath, kicking my leg up and down drawing Daisy's attention. She slowly got up from the dog bed Colter had gotten her and lumbered over to me to lay her head on my knee. Large, soulful eyes stared at me as she let out a long sigh.
Without a thought, my hand reached over and stroked my special girl's ears and I watched as her eyes fell closed at the casual contact.
She was such a soft, mushy, anxious creature for a dog of her size.
A dog of her size.
Okay... so maybe she wasn't ferocious, vicious or particularly mean, but she sure looked it. So why couldn't I just take her with me? Why couldn't I just take Daisy as a buffer between me and the scary place my old home had become?
In the end, the need to grab my things won out. I clipped on her leash and told her we were going on a little adventure. She wagged her tail like I'd just promised her a T-bone instead of a trip to our old home.
The drive over was mercifully short, but my stomach was in knots by the time I parked outside. Everything looked the same, but it felt wrong. The kind of wrong that gave you chills... and not the good kind.
"Just a quick in and out," I told Daisy as we reached the front door. "Quick as possible."
Inside, the place smelled a bit musty after being closed up for a few days. More than that, it felt abandoned.
A faint chill crept in from the damaged doorframe, the splintered wood still marked with the police tape from where they'd secured it.
I moved through the rooms fast, gathering a few clothes, my console, a couple of sentimental things I couldn't live without any longer. Daisy stayed close the entire time, my special girl knowing exactly when she was needed.
I was zipping up my duffel bag when the front door creaked open.
My heart stopped.
And then a familiar voice cut through the air.
"Wow," Oscar said, his tone a mockery of surprise. "You're off your leash, then? Where's the big bad vet you've been leaching off of?"
I froze, my breath catching in my throat as I turned to face him.
He looked awful. His hair was greasy, dark circles hollowed his eyes, and there was a twitchy, wild edge to his expression that made my stomach twist. He smelled like alcohol and the cigarettes I used to hate that he smoked.
"Oscar," I said carefully, my voice barely steady. "You shouldn't be here. The cops—"
"Oh, the cops." He laughed, the sound high-pitched and off somehow. "Like they care. Like anyone cares about you. You're a fucked up runt, Jericho. Fuck knows what that vet is doing with you. Probably just using you for a good old Christmas shag."
I took a slow step backward, my pulse hammering in my ears. Daisy let out a low whine, moving instinctively closer to my leg.
"Oscar, I don't want to do this. I just came to get some of my things."
"You were supposed to choose me," he snapped as if I hadn't just spoken.
"You were supposed to give up the damn pests, start fresh with me.
But no... you had to keep them, didn't you?
Because you never listen. You don't know what's good for you.
But I do! I know exactly what you need and how to get you to listen to me. "
He's full on ranting now, hardly paying attention to me as he runs his hands though his hair making them even more messy.
"I could have made you special, Jericho!" he called out. "I could have fixed you."
Something inside me snapped, a mix of fear and red, roaring rage. "You don't get to talk to me like that anymore, Oscar! I'm not something for you to make into anything. Not something to be fixed. Now, you've said your piece. It's time for you to get going."
He moved fast. Faster than I thought he was capable of. Grabbing my arm in a bruising grip, he drew me closer to him. "Don't tell me what to do!" he spat, his eyes wild. "You ruined everything!"
And then out of nowhere, Daisy lunged.
She didn't bite him. She barreled into his legs with the full force of a solid sixty pounds of anxious animal. Oscar went sprawling backward, letting go of my arm in his shock, hitting the floor with a startled curse.
The shock gave me the opening I needed. I grabbed my bag and bolted for the door.
"Daisy, come!" I shouted. She scrambled after me, her claws skidding on the tile as we burst outside into the sunlight. My lungs burned, my heart slamming against my ribs as I first opened the back door, letting Daisy jump in, and then threw my bag into the passenger seat and fumbled with the keys.
The engine quickly roared to life, my hands were shaking so hard I could barely keep them on the wheel. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was me, getting away.
I didn't look back, not even in the rearview mirror. I couldn't. Because I was terrified I'd see him there. The only thing I could focus on was getting home, and then calling my Daddy.
He'd know what to do.