A Chance For Love

  ***

  I spent the rest of the day with Amarachi and Flora, giving Raheem close to no chance to steal away a glance. I'd told them about his proposal. Amarachi seemed more than excited to keep me away from him, although she believed in the end I would give up on keeping him at arm's length.

  Once the closing bell rang, Amarachi and Flora guarded me to our car. Raheem stared from the top floor. His wounded look aimed to make me feel sorry.

  Thoughts of him crowded my mind. Only when I arrived home did I remember Bruno. I would find a way to sneak him out of the house. That way, he would be safe. Cynthia would hate me for it, but I didn't have a choice, did I?

  "No!" Cynthia's scream cut through me like a sword. I bolted in the direction of her voice and found her sitting on the kitchen floor with a mass of fur in her arms. Bruno.

  I drew nearer to the scene. "What happened?"

  Tears spilled out of Cynthia's eyes as she cradled Bruno's limp body. My eyes adjusted to a half-eaten loaf of bread lying across the floor. And then it hit me. Bruno had been poisoned. How could my stepmother have done this?

  Tears flooding my eyes, I sprinted to my room and slammed the door behind me. Flaring voices sailed to my hearing. Cynthia's and her mother's. Cynthia's brittle voice rose and fell with every word she said. I reached for my phone and called Stella. She rejected my call and called back almost immediately.

  My sniffle caught her attention. "Vicky, what's wrong?"

  "She's killed him," I said. "She killed Bruno. I should have taken him out of the house when I left for school. If I had, none of this would have happened."

  "Calm down, please," she said. "I can barely even get a word you said. Try to calm down and tell me what happened. In."

  I inhaled.

  "And out. Now, tell me what happened."

  "Remember the dog I brought in last night?" I asked.

  "Yes."

  "Stepmother killed him," I said.

  Stella gasped. "What do you mean she killed him?"

  "She poisoned him. I just feel so terrible."

  "Victoria, this is serious. Anyone who kills an innocent little puppy is capable of killing a human being! Now I'm afraid, Vicky. I'm afraid of what she could do to you. She's crazy."

  Regrets flooded my insides. "I shouldn't have brought him in. It's all my fault."

  "Shh. Hush now. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. The dog snuck in when Cynthia opened the gate for your stepmother. And then you brought him indoors to save him from the cold. You did your part, Victoria. Don't let anyone make you regret your fine works."

  "I'm just so broken right now," I said. "Why did she do this?"

  "You've seen what she did to Bruno," Stella said. "Now we know what she's capable of. What if she did that to you?"

  "I thought of that too," I said. "But she wouldn't-"

  "Well, we won't wait to find out. There's no way I'm letting you stay with that woman."

  "What? Are you implying I leave? But you said it yourself that you wouldn't let me leave this house to them."

  "You're not leaving the house," she said. "You're only going away for a few days. Just until I think of something. That woman has to pay for her crimes. I told you from the start that justice must be served, but you're bent on making her accept you as a daughter. That will never happen. Do you see it now? You want a chance for love, but with her, the only realistic thing you can hope for is a chance for death. Do you not see this?"

  I kept mum. Stella sighed, breaking through the silence. "Victoria, do you trust me?"

  "Yes."

  "Then you must do as I say," she said.