Page 21 of Echo
“You let that giant imagination fucking take over, and you lose grip on reality.”
“Look at him.”
He made a show of coming around the corner, gluing his gaze to this dog for a whole two seconds, then glared at me. “It’s your dog.”
I turned my focus onto pouring my food onto a plate.
“Honestly, Madison.” Mark’s voice went soft and gentle. “I’m worried about you. I know I’m a dick, but your stories are getting more and more out of hand. You need therapy and probably drugs. When you took off, you scared the fuck out of me.”
He never listened to me. I gestured to the dog. “That’s not my dog. You have to see that. Please. Please.”
He sighed and kissed my forehead, as if I was the most precious thing in the world. “We’ll get you the help you need. But you’ve got to stop lashing out at me.”
“You put me in the hospital.” I shoved his chest.
“No I didn’t.” He shook his head. “You freaked out and threw yourself into that glass table. I didn’t do that.”
“Then why did Ranger attack you?”
“Because you said his attack command and sicked him on me.” His fingers caressed my face. “You know a lot has changed since your grandmother’s day. Maybe they can help you in a way they couldn’t help her.”
I narrowed my eyes at his mention of my grandmother. “She had Alzheimers.”
“I’ve heard the stories, Madison. She was ill before that.” He kissed my forehead again, and it made my skin crawl.
“What was the command?”
“What?” He chuckled.
“What was the command I gave Ranger to attack you.”
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t remember what I yelled to make him attack you?”
“You told him to attack.”
“You’re a big shot lawyer, Mark. I assume you know what plausible deniability is.” My dad drilled it into my head. If you’re going to commit a crime, don’t be stupid about it. Always have a way to weasel out.
The smile wiped off his face, knowing I caught him in a lie.
“What did I say that made him attack you?”
“Fine, the dog attacked me of his own accord.” He threw his hands up and left the room.
“That’s what I thought. You lying sack of shit.” I rolled my eyes. I was not crazy. I looked to where the strange dog was only to find he wasn’t there. I clicked my tongue and whistled for the dog to come back.
I heard the paws clicking on the hardwood upstairs, and I waited until the sound reached me. Ranger trotted into the room with his bright, kind eyes and tail wagging. The energy was so different; it was amazing that I hadn’t realized the other dog wasn’t him sooner.
I pet him and he sniffed at my hands, like he wanted to inhale them. Then gave a little bark, before going back.
“I didn’t mean to cheat on you, buddy. He looked like you.” And I needed to find him. I couldn’t have a wild dog in the house.
I searched high and low and found no evidence of the other dog.
Maybe this place was fucking with me. Either way, I had bigger problems than a stray dog in my house.
Chapter 8:
