Chapter 14: A Siberian Husky?

ROSE

I ran.

Out of the building. Take the left turn. Up the slope. Past the exits that led to the small alleys. Past the convenience shop. And stopped. Right in front of my apartment building—a five storey red-brick block of twenty-five two to three rooms apartment units with an old and vandalised sign board that reads SP_ING TOW_RS.

My face felt wet and cold, my eyes swollen, my nose stuffed, my brain congested.

Rum’s words were looping at the back of my mind like an endless nightmare. His silky voice echoing like his tuneful singing in his songs, which I repeated on my phone, but the lyrics were snarky and mean—chastising me for being a loser, and his toy.

Just as I had allowed Annie to take daddy’s creations, I’ve let Rum walk all over me and call me a toy.

I dropped to a pitiful squat on the walkway.

Why me? It was just that one time I threw a fit at mum and dad for not buying me the necklace that they had promised as my birthday gift… just once! I paid for it dearly,