Page 214 of Texting Dr. Stalker

But…I was better now.

I wouldn’t let him win.

Balling my hands, I stood in the dark and dared the phantom of my past to mock me.

And nothing.

The only thing I heard was the pounding of my heart and silence. Painful, heavy silence that I hadn’t heard since I’d gotten Peng. Just having his little soul in the house had eradicated that emptiness. That cavernous loneliness that seemed to have its own frequency.

Fresh horror filled me. “Peng?” Racing back down the stairs, I turned on all the lights. My eyes scanned every nook and cranny, searching for the ginger fluffball.

“Penguin?”

Not in the kitchen.

Not in the living room or snug or laundry.

“Peng?!”

Bolting outside, I stood on the deck and blinked into the overgrown garden. “Peng!”

No meow.

No hiss.

My knees threatened to buckle. Tears broke my control and rolled.

“Here, kitty, kitty. Where are you?”

I stood trembling, waiting, begging him to answer me.

I-I have to find him.

Flying off the deck, I ran barefoot over the grass. The blanket flared out; my fingers lost their grip. The heavy protection plummeted to the ground, leaving me completely nude beneath the stars.

Shit!

I couldn’t go running through the neighbourhood naked, no matter how closeknit we all were.

“Peng!”

Still no reply.

Had he run away? Got hit by a car? Stolen?

“Penguin, please!”

Fear choked me as I galloped back inside. Gritting my teeth so I didn’t give into my sobs, I wrenched on the same clothes I’d been wearing before X stripped me, then shot back into the night.

Slamming through the back gate, I skidded down the garden path and tripped onto the road. “Peng? Come here, little man. Where are you?”

Turning on the spot, I looked up and down Ember Drive.

No flash of a tail.

No gleam of green eyes.

Doing another circle, I spied a car parked next to Zander’s on his drive. I’d seen it before. It belonged to Colin, his colleague.

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