“Did Liam annoy him so Rex bit him and you went out after him to hit him?” It was nothing but an accusatory tone. “Didn't I tell you two not to bother him? Why don’t you get it?”
I wanted desperately to tell him that his son had passed away. Yet, in the heat of my anger, the words lodged in my throat, refusing to come out. Deep inside, regret gnawed at me, realizing the immense mistake I had made in marrying someone like him.
The dog was going to die anyway and I didn't want to waste time explaining, so I turned and walked away.
Just as I took a few steps, someone suddenly shouted in a shrill voice, “There's something wrong with the dog!”
The dying dog was foaming at the mouth, his limbs were all twitching uncontrollably. He was thrashing around, hitting his body to the walls. The onlookers were horrified. “This dog really must have rabies.”
Eileen collapsed, broke free from Dale's grasp and ran towards the dog, crying uncontrollably.
“Shut the fuck up! There’s no way my baby has rabies. It definitely because this damn woman kicked him so hard in the head!”
She distanced herself from her beloved pet. She was surely too afraid to approach the dog, seeing how crazy it was.
A few minutes later, the dog fell on the floor. He convulsed violently, emitting a pitiful whimper as his final breath left his body. Eileen turned towards Dale, tears streaming down her face. Her lips moved but no sound came out.
“Dale, what are you waiting for? Go take our boy to the vet!”
As soon as her words dropped, the crowd erupted in shock.
“Wait, what? Am I hearing this right? Their son? So the dog was her pet?”
“Oh my goodness, I always thought they were just friends.”
“It seems like she found out they were having an affair and therefore took out her anger on this dog.”
The people around started to show sympathy towards me, though not everyone did. Because a second later, some of them started speaking up for the dog.
“She has every right to be angry after finding out her husband cheated, but that doesn't mean she can take it out on this dog. The dog is innocent.”
“Exactly,” answered the other.
Not wanting to bother arguing with them, I turned around to leave. However, before I could take a step, Eileen rushed towards me with surprising speed. Her hand swung and struck my face with force, the sound echoing in the tense atmosphere around us.