“I didn't want you to hate him again. He needs you. It’s hard to explain. He was so weird when you were gone. Getting closer to me helped him feel closer to you.”
I couldn’t resist laughing at that thought. “Whatever. Hurry up. I’m starving.”
“Are you mad at me?”
“No.” I met her gaze. “I promise I’m not. I don’t like it, but I get that he’s struggling with something. At least he’s not trying to strangle you. Progress, right?”
She flushed a deep red as we caught up to the others. The four of us headed towards the best chipper in town, Emma skipping on and off the kerb as we went.
Chloe looked up at me. “I heard dogs from your training classes will be performing in the charity event.”
I cringed. I wasn’t looking forwards to being part of the act. “Just a few tricks. Nothing too crazy. I think they’re trying to fill up the time, to be honest.”
“Get real,” Margo said. “I’d bet anything that those dogs will be more popular than us and our tone-deaf musical.”
“Speak for yourself,” Emma called out from ahead of us. “I can sing.”
“You’re about the only one,” Chloe muttered. “It’s going to be so embarrassing. I know it’s only a couple of songs, but still, I don’t know what Tammie was thinking.”
“It’s not her fault. The committee kept bugging her for a short musical after they decided the play was too long,” Margo said. “She was so irritated that she agreed. I swear she’s trying to punish them by forcing them to listen to us sing out of tune.”
She froze, squeezing her hand around mine in a painful grip. Her mouth dropped open, releasing a gasp of air. Her expression went slack, and her eyes turned blue. Dread gathered around me.
“What is it?” I asked under my breath.
She turned to point at Emma.
“Emma, get off the road,” I said gruffly.
She ignored me completely.
“Emma,” Chloe said, sounding worried.
Margo breathed very hard, and the chill around her pushed outward as though crawling all over us.
I dashed over to Emma, grabbed her by the hood of her jacket, and hauled her back onto the path.
“What are you doing?” She brushed me off. “Seriously, Dorian!”
“Not enough,” Margo said in a cold voice I didn’t recognise. Chloe kept staring at her, her eyes wide.
A car came squealing around the corner.
Chloe pointed at the fence. “Let’s jump it.” She helped Margo over.
Emma stood there, her hands on her hips, looking at her friends as though they had lost their minds. I didn’t hesitate; I picked her up then practically threw her over the fence before jumping over myself.
We all backed away from the fence as the speeding car reached us. The vehicle swerved onto the path as it passed by before peeling away and out of sight. If we hadn’t moved, it could have hit any of us. The way the car had recklessly driven onto the path made that look like it had been on purpose. The windows were tinted, so I hadn’t been able to see inside, and I had barely made out the registration number.
The cold around Margo began to recede, and I guessed it was over.
“What the hell?” Emma was panting. “Were they trying to hit us?”
“Looks like,” I said, reaching for my phone.
“Did you get the reg?” Chloe was already typing on her phone. “I have the first few digits.”
I used her help to take down the entire registration on my phone. “We should go to the police with this. Margo, are you okay?”