When Love Became a Nightmare

f the front door. I could hear Buddy whining and scratching on the other side,

s chest rising and falling. He looked at me, his eyes devoid of any warmt

down my face. The thought of Buddy, so gentle and l

r his face. He saw a new way to hurt me, a new lever to use. "

, my heart seizing w

oing to get dressed. You' re going to come with me to the hospital. And yo

I could only stare at him in disbelief. "Apologize? For what?

using the stress that made her lose my son. You will do this, or I swear to you, Ava, I will go out there,

ghtning flashing across the sky. I couldn' t leave Buddy out there. I couldn' t let

o him, a tool to appease his mistress. When we got to Olivia' s room, she was propped up in bed, loo

here?" she asked, her voi

mething to say to you." He looked a

life. My own pain, my own loss, my own humiliation-it was nothing. All that mattered w

loss. And I am sorry for my part in your distress." The wo

o took it immediately, stroking her fingers. "It' s just... it'

comforting her, his back turned to me, the woman kneeling on the floor, the woman who had b

ed. "Let' s go," he grun

it open. The rain had lessened to a drizzle, but the yard was a mess of fallen l

I finally found him huddled under the thick branches of a pine tree in the far corner of the yard

g up with fever. The cruelty of it all washed over me in a fresh wav

m, stroking his head and whispering promises. "It' s okay, boy," I murmured, more to myself than to hi

e wasn' t just broken. It was a toxic, festering wound, and the only way to survive was to cut it out completely. Buddy' s feverish, shi