小说园

第27章 金色的眼睛hergldeneye2（第1页）

1TItwasonalateArilafternoonthatthingstookahorribleturn。ThegirlswereinthebackyardlayingwithCheyennewhileIwenttothestore。WhenIgotbackhomeandulledintothedriveway，aickutruckcameseedingdownourstreet。Igotoutofmycar，keysinhand，andsawthatCheyennehadgottenloose。Sheranastmeinablur。

“Cheyenne！”Icalledout。“No！Getbackhere！”Butitwastoolate。Shechasedafterthetruck，caughtutothefronttires，andwasfliedintheairbeforelandingwithathudonthesideoftheroad。

Luckily，thevetwasstilloenandtheytookherrightin。IketwatchingCheyenne’sside，willinghertokeebreathingasthevetutherontheexaminingtable。

“Thefrontlegaearstobetheworstofherinjuries，”hesaid，inchingbetweenhertoeswithasilverclam。“Thenerveshavebeendamagedandshedoesn’thaveanyfeeling。I’mafraidwe’llhavetoamutate。”

ThedayofCheyenne’ssurgerywasthelongestdayofmylife。Nothingrearedusforwhatwewouldseeoncewewenttoickheru。Inthebottomcage，Cheyennelayantingandblinkingsleeyeyes，theentirerightsideofherbodyshavedcleanfromherstomachtoherneck。Awhitebandagewaswraedaroundtheshoulderareawhereherlegusedtobe。Alastictubewasalsotaedtotheareatohelthesurgicalsitedrain。Shelookedtotallymiserable。TearsslidfrommyeyesasIsawCheyenne’stailgiveafaintwag。

ThatnightweallcamedonthefloortosleenexttoCheyenne。Asshemoanedinagonyandlayonthesideunabletomove，Ikettryingtoictureherassheusedtobe：running，laying，juminguonthebedtosnuggledownnexttome。Ifeltfrightenedanduncertain，wonderinghowshewouldeverbethatsamecarefreeuagain。Inaway，Iunderstoodthekindoftraumashewasgoingthrough。Onedayyouwerehay，thenlifejustshattered，leavingyouinaworldofain。

KittyandItookshiftsforthefirstfewnights。We’dkeewatch，trytocomforther，giveherainillsandfeedhervanillaicecreamfromasoon。She’ddoze，butusuallyshewastoouncomfortabletoslee。Everyfewhours，we’dcarryheroutsideandhelherstandsoshecouldgotothebathroom。Wewereexhausted，butnothingwasmoreimortantthanCheyennecomingbacktous—evenifshewouldneverbethesameagain。

OnMondayIhadtotakecareofhermyselfwhenKittywenttoschool。MaryketbusywithhercoloringbookswhileIconstantlyhoveredoverCheyenne。Ichangedherbandagesandmadesureshewasn’ttryingtobiteatthem。Istrokedherheadandkettellingherhowstrongshewas。Seeinghersomiserableandwatchingthebloodoozefromherdrainagetubebrokemyheartoverandoveragain。Imissedhersweeteyeslookingatmewithloveinsteadofsomuchsuffering。“You’reasurvivor，”Iwhiseredinherear。“Weneedyou，soyouhavetogetbetter。Thosechildrenaredeendingonyou，solease…don’tgiveu。Fightandgetthroughthis。”

AsIsaidthesethingstoher，somethingstruckmedeeinside。Thesamewordsaliedtome。Ithadbeenanightmaresincethedivorce，theainsodeethatIwantedtocurluanddie;Ididn’tseemyselfabletostandonmyown。Butweren’tthechildrendeendingonme，tooDidn’tIhavetofightandgetthroughthisTearsrandownmycheeksasIlaymyfaceagainstCheyenne’smuzzle。Itwassosoftandherbreathfannedmyskin。Breaththatremindedmehowreciouslifewas。

“I’llmakeadealwithyou，girl，”Isaid。“Ifyoufightandgetthroughthis，I’llfightmywayback，too。We’lllearnhowtowalkonourowntogether。”

Fromthatdayon，thingssteadilyimroved。Cheyennelookedmorealertandcomfortable，daringtotakeherfirststes，whileIstartedcryinglessandsmilingmore。Ahealingwasbeginningtotakelaceanditfeltsoverygood。Onedayatatime，onesteatatime，CheyenneandIweremakingittogether。

“Look，mom！She’sdoingit！Cheyenne’swalkingonherown！”KittyointedasCheyennewanderedabouttheyardoneweeklater。Shemanagedjustfinewiththefrontlegmissing。Infact，itseemedasifshedidn’tmissitmuchatall。

Maryclaedhaily。“Justlikeheroldself！”

Ithoughtaboutthatamomentandhadtodisagree。“Actually，sweetheart，IthinkCheyenne’sgoingtobebetterthansheusedtobe。She’llbestrongerbecauseshe’sasurvivornow。Justlikeus…betterthanever。”

Inthatinstant，Cheyennestoedandlookedatme。Thegleamwasbackinthosegoldeneyes。Webothhadanewlifetolookforwardto，onerecioussteatatime。