Chapter 2 - MOVE NEXT TIME
Emily ran.
By the time she hit the front yard, Buddy was already on the sidewalk, tail wagging, trotting toward the curb with his simple collar bouncing against his neck.
Margaret’s car was turning the corner.
For one split second, Emily thought she would stop.
Instead, the engine revved.
The car surged forward.
“BUDDY!”
Too late.
The bumper struck him and knocked his tiny body hard onto the grass at the edge of the road.
Buddy yelped—a high, sharp cry that sliced straight through Emily’s chest.
Margaret slammed the brakes. Her car lurched to a stop half in front of Emily’s driveway.
Buddy tried to stand.
One leg buckled immediately.
Emily’s whole body went cold.
Margaret sat there for one second, hands still on the wheel, then slowly opened the driver’s door and stepped out in her beige cardigan and sunglasses like she had merely parked at the grocery store.
She looked down at the puppy.
Then smirked.
“Move next time.”
Emily sprinted across the grass, dropped to her knees, and scooped Buddy carefully into her arms. He trembled so hard she could feel it through her shirt. One little front leg stayed lifted, and he buried his face into her chest with a frightened whimper.
Emily turned toward Margaret, tears already blurring her vision.
“YOU HIT HIM?!”
Margaret shut the car door with a crisp slam and adjusted her sunglasses.
“Oh, relax.”
She pointed dismissively at Buddy.
“It’s just a dog.”
Emily stared at her, stunned by the ugliness of it.
Margaret stepped closer, gaze dropping to Buddy like he was trash in the road.
“Buy another one,” she said with a shrug. “I’ll pay.”
Something broke across Emily’s face. Not just sadness. Not just shock.
Something darker.
Buddy whimpered again, and Emily held him tighter.
Margaret actually laughed.
“Stop acting like I killed your kid.”
Emily’s tears fell into Buddy’s fur.
Then, as Margaret kept smirking, Emily noticed something over the older woman’s shoulder.
The little black garage security camera.
Pointed straight at the road.
Still recording.
Emily’s trembling stopped.
She lowered her face once more to Buddy, then rose to her feet slowly, carefully, protectively.
When she looked back at Margaret, her voice had changed.
Cold.
Controlled.
“You have no idea who you messed with.”
Margaret’s smile weakened for the first time.
Then Emily turned, carried Buddy inside, and reached for her phone with shaking fingers.
May you like
The camera app showed one saved clip.
But the upload bar beneath it had stalled at ninety-two percent.
