EMILY
I should have felt at ease under the early morning sun, but every instinct whispered something’s off. My steps slowed, eyes sweeping the quiet side street. Empty sidewalks. Neatly clipped hedges. Nothing extraordinary… yet my pulse thudded like I’d stepped onto a live wire.
“Mia,” I called.
She turned, ponytail swinging… and froze. Her eyes were locked on the space behind me, widening until the hazel almost vanished. “Mia?” I tried again, but she shot past me, shoes slapping the pavement.
I spun just in time to see her running toward… A dog?
Relief poured out of me, even though the prickle along my skin didbt go away. A powder-puff poodle bounced in place, ears flopping, delighted by the whirlwind racing toward her. Mia scooped the little fluff ball up, cradling her like a newb
