Chapter four: Death by Cookie

“You’re kidding me!”

I pulled my phone away from my face, wincing. Chloe’s voice was loud enough as it was, but her yelling was just too much for my sensitive ears.

“Quiet down a bit Chloe,” I sighed.

“Alright, fine.” She said in a much gentler tone. “But please explain more.”

I dove into my bed with my phone still at bay in my hand.

“I don’t even know myself.” I admitted. “She just came inside all bloody and my mom helped her out. She’s not speaking to anyone.”

I listened to the sound of Chloe gasping. “I hope she’s alright. Who was she anyway?”

“One of my mom’s friends.”

“You’ve got to be careful Char…”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh relax. My mom called the cops yesterday. That rapist will be caught soon enough. He can’t hide for that long.” I pointed out.

“I know, it’s just…I don’t know.”

I smiled. “I’ll be fine Chloe.”

A soft sigh came from the other end of the line. “Alright. I’ve got to go now Char. My mom is blowing up about using electronics on our vacation.”

I chuckled. “See ya.”

“Bye!”

I sighed as I ended the call. Throwing my phone to the side, I stared at the ceiling. My thoughts kept coming back to the horrid scene I had seen last night. Everything was a blur after she came into the house all bloody and tired. How she managed to walk or crawl all the way to Ella’s house surprised me.

I rose my hands up and glanced at them in disgust.

I could’ve helped her.

Forcing the thoughts away, I instead focused on the TV that was softly mumbling in my bedroom. The exhaustion started to sink in from over thinking everything, and I finally fell asleep in a sweet dreamless slumber.

*****_*****

“Morning Charlotte!” My mother greeted me as I groggily set myself down for breakfast.

I nodded in response, eyeing the bacon greedily.

“Wait for your father.” Mom warned me.

I don’t think I’ve ever hated proper etiquette as much as I did now.

“Hello ladies!” Dad finally came strolling into the kitchen with a big grin on his face.

Grumbling out my usual feeble response, I lunged for the bacon as soon as dad sat down.

“I saw Mrs. Net this morning when I was watering the lilies.” Mom commented.

I shoveled bacon into my mouth, uncaring to my parents’ usual boring banter. Mrs. Net was just a sweet old lady that lived next door to us. I always tried to avoid seeing her since she always asked for ridiculous favors. I still remembered the time when I had to get gum out of her poodle’s fur. It took forever, and in the end I had to bring out the scissors and just cut off the patch of fur that contained the sticky gum. Her poodle, Cupcake, now had a patch of uneven fur growing in her lower back.

“She was actually asking for you dear.”

I choked on my bacon instantly. “I’m sorry…” I sputtered out. “What?”

“She needs help with Cupcake and the yard since she’s traveling to Florida soon. She just wanted to know if you could walk her every morning. Her grandson and granddaughter are actually staying next door in her house for the Summer to help out. She just thought it would be nice if you could help them out too.”

“You’re not going to let me refuse, are you?”

She grinned at me. “Nope! She goes to Florida two days from now, but I want you to start tomorrow. She’ll be busy anyways with packing and all that stuff so it’s best you help her out.”

I nodded, not bothering with arguing.

“Actually,” mom glanced out of the window, “I see her outside right now. Why don’t you help her out right now?”

“Now?”

“Is that a problem?”

I shied away from my mother’s stern glare. “No, not at all! I’ll be on my way!”

With one last piece of bacon, I ran up to my room to fix up my appearance. I threw on an old faded t-shirt that had unrecognizable words on them thanks to the countless paint stains that occupied it. I always wore this shirt when I did something that required my hands, including painting. Since it wasn’t all that hot out, I just decided with a pair of capris. Running a brush through my hair, I tied it up to the world’s sloppiest side braid and rushed out of the house to Mrs. Net’s yard.

As soon as I stepped outside, the summer air greeted me lazily. The wind was barely existent as I ambled over to the neat and tidy yard that was owned by Mrs. Net. As usual, she was hunched over pulling a nasty weed out of the ground. I gave her props for being so active at her late seventies, but I wished her eccentric personality could dial down a bit.

As usual, she was sporting a neon green sundress followed by a bright pink shawl. Her hair was pulled back into an odd bun and she had yellow crocs on her feet. Mrs. Net looked more like a rainbow than an old lady, but her kindness made up for it.

“Mrs. Net?” I called out.

“Hang on dear! This damn weed here won’t budge.”

Oh, I forgot to mention her excessive swearing.

“Do you need help?” I stepped onto the green grass and walked over beside her.

“Nah, these muscles were made for something hun. I can manage with this little fuc-

“Hey Cupcake!” I greeted the snowy white poodle as it bounded its way towards me. I immediately spotted the little patch of fur that was uneven. “How’s my favorite poodle?” Cupcake cocked her head to the side, which caused her ears to flop wildly.

“Aha! I’ve got you now!” Mrs. Net held up the pesky weed proudly in her hands. She glanced over to me, smiling. “Since you offered, could you give Cupcake a bath?”

I felt my face pale. “A…bath?” I repeated meekly.

“Yes dear. The hose is over there and I’ll give you some shampoo in a minute.”

“You shampoo your dog?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to use.”

“Oh, well I guess that wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Very good!” She clasped her hands happily. “I’ll go fetch the shampoo right now! Oh, and don’t be afraid to make yourself feel at home. My grandson will be here to help you in about an hour, so don’t you worry!”

“He’s coming here already?” I followed her as she went inside her cozy little house.

“The other reason why he’s staying in my house for the Summer is the fact that his parents are going to Hawaii for the Summer. He didn’t feel like going so his parents just let him stay with me. The poor boy just wants a Summer with his friends, so I agreed. He’s old enough to take care of himself and his sister anyway. He’s coming here today since his parents’ flight leaves in about…” She glanced at her watch. “Three hours.” She handed me a glass of milk and a brownie as she led me to her kitchen. “I’ll be back soon with Cupcake’s shampoo. Just eat up first.”

“Thanks.” I chewed the brownie happily and slowly. Mrs. Net always made the best pastries in town. That’s partly the fact why Chloe and Trish come over my house so much. Everyone in the neighborhood always had some sort of treat from Mrs. Net.

Speaking of Mrs. Net, she came bounding into the kitchen with a package of shampoo in her small frail hands. I gulped the last of the milk and took the shampoo from her.

“I’ll start right away!” I hobbled out to her yard and made a beeline towards the hose.

“Cupcake!” I called out. I struggled to drag the hose all the way to the lazy bum of a dog. Cupcake was curled up on the grass, enjoying the warm sun. “Come here girl!” The dog wouldn’t move an inch, so it left me with no choice but to drag the entire length of the hose near her.

Finally managing to heave the hose near, I gently turned it on until a steady stream of water came running out. I guess Cupcake knew what was coming, since she hopped out of her lazy trance and started to wildly run around Mrs. Net’s entire yard.

“Come over here!” I pleaded. I sighed as I tightened my grip around the hose. “Please don’t make me do this..” I muttered.

Cupcake wouldn’t heed her actions, so I did what any sane person would do.

I chased her around the yard with the hose still running. I was lucky to even get a squirt of water on her. There was no denying that Cupcake was way too fast for me. Nevertheless, I refused to give up. Taking the tube of shampoo, I squirted some onto my hand and arched my whole arm back in preparation to strike Cupcake with a whole glob.  I squinted my eyes to make sure I wasn’t going to miss my target. Using my best tennis athlete grunt, I swung the glob of shampoo way to the left of Cupcake. Groaning, I got ready for another strike.

“Charlotte!”

On instinct, I flailed my arms wildly which caused the shampoo to splatter everywhere.

“Argh! I got some in my freaking eye!” A person complained behind me.

I whirled around to see Mrs. Net and Cody standing side by side. Cupcake was still running around, splattering water with every stride she took.

“Wow, I’ve never seen someone bathe a dog like that before.” Cody snorted with one eye partly closed.

Mrs. Net smacked Cody on the back of his head. “Manners, dear.”

“Fine.” He turned to me again with a smirk on his lips. “You’re technique on dog bathing is so unique and creative.”

I was too much in a daze to pay attention to his snaky insult.

“He’s your grandson?!”

Mrs. Net smiled adoringly at Cody. “Why yes! isn’t he just a charmer? I’m telling you, this boy took after me. Those dimples and blonde hair were all mine.” She proudly stated.

I had trouble erasing the image of Cody wearing a green sundress and yellow crocs followed by one half open eye. Though I guess his eye was my fault. I hadn't meant to catapult shampoo into them.

“So why don’t you two get acquainted inside while I take care of Cupcake?”

Refusal was ready on my lips, but Cody beat me to it.

“It’s fine, we already know each other.”

“It never hurt anyone to talk to each other, right?” She shooed us in the direction of her house. “I insist! There’s a plate of brownies and cookies on the kitchen table if you two are hungry.”

With the mention of treats, I dashed inside her house and into the kitchen. Assortments of various treats other than cookies and brownies were laid neatly on the table. My heart stopped as I was met with the wonderous sight.

“So…beautiful.” I squeaked in joy.

“So…pathetic.” I heard Cody mimic me.

I helped myself to Mrs. Net’s classic chocolate chip cookie ignoring Cody for the time being.

I glanced at Cody curiously as I grabbed a second cookie. I noticed him eyeing me peculiarly. “Aren’t you going to eat some?”

He blinked rapidly, snapping out of trance. “Nah, I never really liked sweets anyway.”

I gasped. “Really?”

He rose an eyebrow. “What?”

“You don’t like sweets?” I rushed over to him with a cookie. “You’re insane if you say you don’t like these.

“I don’t.”

“Just try one.”

“I know how chocolate chip cookies taste like.” He scoffed.

“Then eat one.”

“No.”

“One bite?”

“What’s your problem?”

Giving up being nice, I ended up attempting to shove the darn cookie into his throat.

“Are you demented?!” He shrieked.

“Are you? Just eat the cookie!”

“Cupcake’s already-” Mrs. Net froze as soon as her eyes landed on the two of us.

Cody’s arms were shielding his face as I was attempting to pry them open with one hand while the other held a cookie.

“I see that you’re well acquainted now.” She chuckled. “I was going to ask Cody where Sadie was.”

Cody shoved me away lightly. “She’s in the guest room playing with her toys.”

“Well continue whatever you two were doing! Don’t mind me!” She winked at the two of us and went upstairs probably to greet Sadie.

I glanced at the cookie that was still in my hand. “What just happened?”

“I believe you were trying to kill me with a cookie.” Cody muttered next to me.