“Nobody likes me anymore,” I whispered softly to myself, my heart breaking in my chest. “They all hate me.”
“Ruff! Ruff!”
“I don’t know if you liking me counts. You just like me cos I feed you and let you sleep inside.” I turned and looked at him as I walked back onto the main road and headed for the hotel. His one yellow eye looked full of compassion, his mouth was open, tongue hanging out as if he was . . . smiling?
I reached down and patted his head. “Thanks,” I said. “You like me, and you’re a good listener.” The thought brought the smallest smile to my face and made me feel just the faintest bit better and less alone. No one had ever just let me vent like this. Not my sister, definitely not Kyle. And it felt good to finally voice out loud everything that I wasreallyfeeling inside. Even if it was allveryconfusing, and I didn’t have a bloody app to un-confuse me either.
CHAPTER 21
After an entire afternoon spent in the hotel room with nothing to do again, other than popping to Jim’s store to buy some doggy treats, I was utterly bored. And because of this boredom, I once again found myself walking down the street. This time it was not towards spiritual enlightenment, but rather towards movie night.
I walked down the street to the barn at the end of the road, Cujo next to me on the leash. He was surprisingly good, he never pulled and seemed to walk in perfect unison with me. If someone was looking at the two of us, they would think we’d been walking like this for years. Perfectly in tune with each other’s movements.
The walk through the town was a pleasant one and the air was much cooler now. It was bearable being outside in the evening like this. And, at this time of day, the town really looked like it was something out of a picture book. It almost didn’t look real, and certainly not of this time; it looked older and more historic in the warm lights shining from the streetlamps and out of people’s windows, a place frozen in time. Like it was trapped in a snow globe, this perfect little place that was somehow separate from the rest of the world outside. If I could, I would have taken a photo of it and posted it on Instagram with some well-thought-out hashtags, but obviously . . .not!This thought saddened me. Sharing what I saw with others was an important part of my life. And now, it was gone. And worse than that, there was probably no one left to share it with anyway.
I found the barn at the end of the street, and automatically pulled my phone out of my bag to check how many steps I’d taken. I was still keeping my phone on me, even though I couldn’t use it. Just knowing it was there made me feel better in some way.
The barn was a big structure with a high roof and no sides. It was full of people sitting on colorful blankets draped over hay bales. A screen had been made on one side by tying a sheet between two poles. Some people were sitting, others were milling about talking, and some were standing in queues ordering hot dogs, beers and milkshakes. I walked over to the milkshake stand and looked at it for a moment. No way to check how many calories were in it. But I was starving and the big, bright pink things seemed to be calling to me. I looked down at Cujo, almost asking for his permission, like I might have done with Kyle. He of course would have shaken his head and told me to “keep my eye on the prize”; keep my goal firmly in sight and don’t let temptations pull me away from my true purpose. Smash Through™ temptation and step into my Massive, Explosive Purpose™.
But Kyle wasn’t here. He was with @Paige_Dreams_ and they were probably both sitting on the sofa right now, the one I used to sit on, phones out, planning their social media posts for the week ahead, or filming some motivation video #couplegoals #screwthem!
So I ordered a strawberry milkshake. I hadn’t had one in years, and it came just how I liked it, thick and creamy and bright pink. Cujo looked up at me and I shook my head at him.
“Not for you.” I reached into my bag for the treats I’d bought him at Jim’s earlier. While there, Natasha had invited me to book club again. I’d politely declined, again.
I glanced around the barn, looking for Mark. But when I couldn’t see him, I walked over to a big hay bale and sat down. Cujo sat next to me and looked at the screen as if he was watching. I was late, the movie had already been on for a while, so I folded my arms and settled in to watch, as an older lady wearing a grey hat was talking to a blonde on screen.
“I think they were after the children,” the blonde was saying, looking somewhat terrified.
“For what purpose?” the older woman replied.
I found myself leaning in as the blonde paused and looked at her.
“To kill them,” she said.
My eyes widened and I twisted my body and looked at Cujo. He was looking at me too. As if he was thinking the exact same thing I was.What the hell kind of movie was this?I raised my brows at him in query and his one good ear stood to attention. Murder Mystery Night, Creepy Movie Night . . . My brain went back to the thought I’d had yesterday in Jim’s store. I looked around the barn; everyone here seemed quite normal-looking, but I guess if I was someone in a murderous town, I would also look normal in hopes of luring people in. Suddenly, the screen filled with hundreds of flapping birds, going for a man’s head, and I jumped in my seat. I didn’t much care for birds, not since that time a dove had flown into the house and flapped around frantically for hours, trying to escape, flying into the window over and over again until it died. I shuddered at the memory, just as Cujo rose to his feet.
“What are you doing?” A sudden jerk from him and I was also on my feet. It felt like my shoulder had just been pulled out of its socket, the tug was so hard. He put his nose to the ground and started sniffing.
“Oh my God, yes!” I grabbed the sieve out my handbag just as Cujo took off. This was it! This was it. I ran behind him as he sniffed and wove his way through the seated crowd.
“Sorry, sorry, coming through,” I said, as I bumped into people, sieve in hand, chasing after the dog. I had his backside in my sights and I wasn’t going to let him get away. But then, he picked up pace. He jumped over a group of picnicking people on a blanket and I almost ran into them.
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,” I frantically apologized but kept on going. People around me were starting to get pissed off, I could hear their murmurs growing louder and louder. A few shouted “Sit down, we can’t see!” but I couldn’t let him out of my sights. I was going to get my immobilizer come hell or high water. And I didn’t really care how many people I had to jump over, stand on, or irritate in order to do it!
CHAPTER 22
The general disgruntled chatter around me got louder as Cujo ran straight up to the front of the barn, casting a massive shadow over the screen and then,then, he started squatting. Right there in front of everyone! Loud boos rang out, but I didn’t care. I ran up behind him with an outstretched sieve and then I heard a familiar voice.
“Frankie! What the hell are you doing?” I turned as Mark rushed up to the screen. More boos rang out, and some popcorn came flying my way.
“I have to get the immobilizer,” I said, pointing at Cujo who looked like he was seconds away from it.
“But you’re blocking the movie!”
“I can’t move him,” I said. “He’s almost there.”
“You have to move him, everyone is watching.” He sounded rather frantic, with an air of sharp embarrassment in his voice. He was looking at the sieve in my hand. “I can’t watch.” He turned away. “This is beyond—”
