The growling sound coming from behind the hedges close to the house told me the dog was out, and I moved closer to Sin.
He glanced down at me. “What’s wrong?”
“That dog is mean to me,” I admitted, keeping my gaze on the hedges.
“I don’t see anything,” he grumbled, but he stopped, following my gaze.
I heard the growl again and jumped behind Sin, a small whimper escaping my clenched lips. He sighed but didn’t yell at me for being a baby. Instead, he took my hand, just like Gray always did, and we started walking again.
Before we got completely past the yard, though, I heard the dog start barking. I tightened my hold on hi
s hand, but he stopped and turned to face the mutt now charging toward us. Keeping his eyes on the dog, he pushed me back a few steps, keeping himself between me and the dog. He pulled his backpack off and held it in front of him just as the dog jumped, its teeth sinking into the worn material and tearing it open.
Books fell onto the sidewalk, and the dog pulled back, the backpack still in his mouth, growling and slobbering as he shook his head like he was going to kill us.
He jumped again, and I screamed just as he bit into Sin’s arm. Sin yelled out in pain, blood already running down his hand and dripping off his fingers onto the ground.
“Kassa, run home!” Sin commanded, trying to shake the dog off, but the dog was using him as a chew toy.
I didn’t know how running home would help. Alicia would still be at work, and my brother was at baseball practice. I bit my lip, scared but knowing I needed to help him.
I pulled my backpack off like he had. I had three heavy books in there and a big binder full of all of my homework papers. I grasped one shoulder strap in my hands and swung it at the dog, hitting him in the side with all of my might. He yelped like I had just stabbed him but let Sin go. I swung it again, hitting the dog in his face. He yelped again and ran back into the yard, his tail between his legs.
Breathing hard, I dropped my backpack on the ground and looked at Sin. He was bleeding badly, and his face was twisted in pain. I moved closer and saw that the bite marks were deep and angry-looking.
“Hey, kids, you okay?” A man with gray hair and kind eyes stopped his old, clunky truck beside us. When he saw the blood, he dialed 911 with his cellphone.
Within minutes, there were two police officers and an ambulance in front of the dog’s yard. The cops didn’t immediately go into the yard though. It was like they were waiting on something—or maybe someone. They weren’t happy though, passing back and forth in front of the driveway and talking on their cell phones.
We all knew that the dog’s owners were home. They had opened the door and let him inside before the cops had even gotten there. It made me mad that they hadn’t come to help Sin or even apologize that their dog had bitten him.
The dog catcher and Sin’s mom showed up as one of the paramedics was bandaging Sin’s arm.
“Oh, my God,” Mrs. Sinclair cried when she saw all the blood on the ground. Her face went white then gray, and she tried to hug her son. “Oh, my God. Tate, baby, are you okay?”
He blew out a breath like he was embarrassed, but I figured that it was because she had used his real name and not Sin, like he wanted everyone to call him.
“I’m fine, Ma. I’m not gonna die. Geesh.”
Mrs. Sinclair started sobbing when the paramedic said that they would have to take him in for stitches and a few shots.
“How many will he need?” I asked, even more scared for Sin now. I knew what stitches meant: needles—and they hurt.
“I’m not sure, sweetie. But, from the look of this bite, it will be quite a bit. He’s going to have a nice battle scar to show off though.”
“I can’t leave Kassa,” Sin grumbled when the paramedic said that they needed to go soon. “Gray will kill me if I just leave her.”
“It’s okay,” I told him, feeling guilty that he had gotten hurt because of me. “I’ll be fine. Gray won’t be mad. You saved me.”
He hadn’t even thought about his own safety; he had jumped in front of that dog to protect me.
“I’m not leaving you until Gray gets here,” he grumbled and glared at the paramedic and his mom. “It can wait. I’m not gonna die sitting here for a little longer.”
The screeching sound of tires coming to a sudden stop startled me. I looked out of the back of the ambulance, where the cops had put me and Sin, and saw Alicia jumping out of her car with a look on her face that had the cops rushing to get out of her way.
As soon as she saw me, her eyes filled with tears. “My baby,” she whispered and pulled me out of the ambulance and into her arms, hugging me so tight that it was hard to breathe. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”
I pressed my face into her chest, breathing in the sweet scent of her perfume. I loved that scent. It made me feel safe and loved. “I’m fine. Sin isn’t though.” I lifted my head to look back at him. “He saved me, Alicia. He’s a hero.”