Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Chapter 20

For the second time in two months I woke up in a hospital bed in Portland. But this time, Charlotte was by herself, reading a book that probably weighed as much as I did. I stared at the title for a while. ‘Biomedicine, embryology and the gynaecology of the future’. Wow. That sure was a mouthful.

Suddenly, Charlotte noticed I was awake.

“Angela!” she said, dropping the book onto the chair next to her and getting up and giving me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe!”

“Me too, not gonna lie,” I replied, managing to crack a small smile. Charlotte beamed at me.

“I’m so glad you’re ok I’m not even going to berate you for going into that house all by yourself.”

“To be fair to me,” I said, “I didn’t actually go in the house willingly. I was outside it when Gareth pulled a gun on me and forced me inside.” I shuddered at the memory.

Charlotte’s face softened. “Oh, Angela. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s ok,” I replied, waving away her apology. “You had no way of knowing.”

“Still, I’m really glad you’re not hurt. When Sophie called me and said you were in trouble, I thought the worst. I was so worried, I didn’t want to lose my older sister.”

I smiled at Charlotte’s worried face, took her hand in mine and squeezed.

“Thanks, Char,” I told her. As much as we made fun of each other, I really, really loved my sister, and I knew the feeling was mutual.

Suddenly, Sophie came bursting in the door with Sprinkles.

“Ahhhh, you’re awake!” she said, practically jumping on the bed to give me a big hug.

“Sophie!” Charlotte scolded. “You’re not supposed to greet hospital patients like that.”

“It’s ok, it’s not like there’s anything really wrong with me,” I laughed, hugging Sophie back. “How did you know what was happening, though?”

Sophie looked at Sprinkles. “It’s funny. I was walking up to the movie theatre with Taylor. We saw Chief Gary, he was there with his wife, about ten yards in front of us. Not gonna lie, we were definitely hanging back so he wouldn’t see us. Then Sprinkles came running out of nowhere, with his leash hanging down, and I was like uh oh, this isn’t good.”

She ruffled his hair. “Then Sprinkles spoke to me.”

My mouth dropped open. “Like, you understood him?”

“Yeah. It was so weird. I had no idea at all what was happening. But he told me, clear as day, that the man who hurt Andrea had taken me and was going to hurt me too.”

“So you came to help.”

“Yeah.” Sophie laughed a little bit. “It’s funny, I kind of have a bit of an appreciation for what you go through now. I mean, I couldn’t exactly tell Taylor that the dog said my best friend had been kidnapped. So I told him that you were supposed to have him, and that you must be in trouble. I figured he’d take Sprinkles’ barking as a call for help. Taylor was amazing. He yelled at Chief Gary that there was a situation. Chief Gary’s car was like, thirty feet away, so we all hopped in and sped over.”

I shook my head. “I’m so glad. Thank you. And thank you, Sprinkles.”

I looked over at Charlotte. “Well, I think if any one of us knows why Sophie can magically talk to animals now, it’s going to be you.”

“That’s the thing,” Sophie continued. “It’s not all animals. I tried talking to some of the animals outside, but they just chirped back at me. It’s only Sprinkles.”

“Weird,” I said, looking over at Charlotte, who looked desperate to teach Sophie and I something.

“Magic isn’t this black and white thing,” Charlotte explained to us. “Especially in a case like Sophie’s, where her mom’s a full-on witch and her dad’s as human as they come. While we previously thought Sophie had no magical powers whatsoever, it seems that was wrong. But while Angela and I have the full spectrum of witch abilities, Sophie’s powers are quite a bit more limited. It seems a connection with her favourite dog was what was needed to trigger one of those abilities.”

“You are my favourite doggy, aren’t you Sprinkles? Yes you are!” Sophie said, scratching him behind the ears.

“Thank you, Sprinkles,” I told him, looking down at the happy dog. “You saved my life.”

“And you found the person who hurt Andrea,” Sprinkles told me. “I need to thank you for that.”

“Did you recognize him when he opened the door?”

“Yes. As soon as I saw the face, everything came flooding back. I ran out of fear, and then I remembered that Sophie was going to the movies, and I had to get her. I had to get her to save you.”

“And you did very well to do that,” Sophie said, gazing at him.

“Well, Kelly Dottory’s not going to be happy,” I said as I watched the two of them.

“Why’s that?” Sophie asked.

“Because it’s obvious who’s the best suited to adopt Sprinkles now, and it sure isn’t her!”

“You hear that Sprinkles? You’re going to live with us forever now!” Sophie announced, and Sprinkles nudged his head under her arm.

“I’m really, really glad,” Sprinkles said.

“Good. Bee, on the other hand, is not going to be happy,” I said, thinking of my already grouchy cat. I had a feeling I was going to have to start adding a line item for sushi in my monthly budget.

Charlotte looked over at us. “Now I know how Sophie’s felt all these years, I’m the only one who can’t understand Sprinkles. But all the same he’s wormed himself into my heart as well. I’m glad he’s going to be living with us for good. I had an inkling though, it was obvious from the start that Sophie had completely fallen in love with him.”

Sprinkles sat on the ground, wagging his tail along the floor, thrilled with all the attention he was getting, when a nurse came in, a bouncy blonde haired woman in her 40s who you just knew was the type who was still as friendly and amazing after a 20-hour shift than when she first got to work.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” she said, grabbing my chart off the front of the bed. “How are you feeling, Angela?” she asked.

“I’m alright,” I replied. “Just a little bit weary, I think. You know, the excitement of it all.”

“Of course, you poor dear. Well I’m glad to hear it. We ran a few tests just to make sure nothing was wrong. Your sister here’s going to make an excellent doctor,” she added, beaming at Charlotte, who smiled and blushed slightly. “You’ve got the all-clear, so we’re just going to keep you here overnight, just to be safe, and Charlotte and Sophie here can come and take you home tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thanks,” I told the nurse with a smile.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked me kindly as she re-adjusted my pillow. I shook my head.

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

“Alright! Well, I’ll just remind Sophie and Charlotte not to tire you out, so they should probably leave in the next half hour or so.”

“We will, thanks Nicky,” Charlotte told her, and she got another smile in reply.

When the nurse left, Charlotte grabbed my hand. “Everyone’s really worried about you. We should go though. As the nurse says, we don’t want to overstress you.”

“I’ll sneak you in some Chipotle before we go,” Sophie told me.

“Have I ever told you you’re my favourite person?” I asked her.

“A few times, but I never tire of hearing it.”

The two of them left to get me Chipotle, and after they snuck my veggie burrito bowl back into my room, I found myself alone with only my thoughts – and my phone – to entertain me.

I played Candy Crush for a while as I ate my food, and tried not to think too hard about what had happened. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to hold off for too long, as I got a visit from Chief Gary about an hour after Sophie and Charlotte left.

“Hey, Chief Gary,” I said, greeting him with a smile.

“Hi, Angela. How are you feeling?”

“Great, thanks to you,” I replied. “Thanks for, you know, saving my life. I mean it.”

Chief Gary waved away my thanks, but I did notice a bit of a blush creeping up his face.

“Not a problem. All part of the job, after all. But speaking of the job, I do need to take your statement. Gareth Sims has lawyered up, one of those big cartel lawyers from LA, and I wanted to get your statement as soon as possible.”

“Of course,” I answered, although deep down my heart sunk a little bit. The last thing I wanted to do was relive that experience right now, but I knew it was what I had to do.

For forty minutes I told Chief Gary exactly what had happened and answered his numerous questions. When he was finished, which was helped along by Nicky coming back and shooing him out for tiring me out too much, I fell back into a deep, deep sleep which thankfully didn’t involve any dreams.