Chapter Forty

Time passed.

Kiera was in and out of consciousness. Whenever she was conscious, she’d think of the dog that attacked her and panic. She would try to get up or scream but soothing hands would push her back down on the soft and warm surface (a bed?) and she’d feel automatically safe. She could never see anyone but her mind was filling in the gaps.

It was on the fifth day that she woke up without feeling lightheaded. She didn’t know it was the fifth day but she was aware that she spent a long time resting. It was all she knew. She remembered everything that happened before the dog attacked her. Mikael. His strange confession. The machete. Everything. What she still didn’t know was why he decided to do such a thing to her.

She looked around. She was in her bedroom. Home. She was glad to be home but her fear hadn’t left her. She looked down at her body but saw nothing because she was covered by her blanket. She tried moving her legs and felt pain shoot down to her ankle. She stopped mov