Chapter 5
Chapter
Five
Ewan
Pascal bolts out the door and down the stairs of the porch before I can catch up. He’s on a mission. And then I realize he’s headed straight to Maddie’s house.
I bought the house as soon as it became available. The opportunity to move in across the street from Maddie was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Maddie’s door stands ajar, and Pascal goes right inside, pushing it all the way open. I run up the porch stairs, and that’s when I see her feet and her legs.
My heart races, and my lungs burn, as panic tries to set in.
And then I take control of myself and gather the facts.
It’s Maddie, and she’s face down on the floor, in the doorway. The most horrible possible scenarios run through my mind.
She’s dead?
No, she can’t be dead. I won’t allow for that.
I kneel next to her while Pascal is nudging and licking her head. I feel for her pulse, and it’s there. I blow out a breath.
With my hand on her head, I feel heat through her hair. She’s burning up with fever.
“Maddy, can you hear me?”
I call 911, and while I wait for the first responders, Pascal lies half his body on Maddie’s back and nuzzles her. He looks back at me, and if he could speak, I think he’d be telling me to go upstairs and pack her a bag for the hospital. And that’s exactly what I do.