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if anyone wants to give me constructive criticism and feedback about my writing PLEASE I BEG DO!!! I'm kinda sensitive though so please be gentle :,)
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If her parents didn't want to tend to her needs, she'd have to do it herself.
But it wasn't all so bad.
Emily had her dog, who was also her best friend.
Though, Emily never understood why her parents began to just... forget about her.
Had she done something wrong?
Emily's parents had pulled her out of the public school she was attending and began to 'homeschool' her instead.
Well, more like left her without any form of further education.
Regardless, she still had her best friend by her side! And that was all that mattered.
Which was why Emily turned the house and yard upside down when she woke up to an empty room.
Her best friend was gone.
"Mommy... Daddy... have you... have you seen Cocoa? I looked everywhere... everywhere..."
The tears in Emily's eyes clouded her vision, she couldn't see her parents' expressions.
But... were they laughing?
"Don't worry about the dog. Aunty and uncle are coming over later with a delicious surprise for Thanksgiving, make sure all your chores are done!"
Emily nodded, giving her parents a sweet smile.
Despite the harsh throbbing of grief in her heart, she covered the ache with excitement.
She loved whatever her aunties and uncles brought for her, food or not.
Cocoa would come back... she knew it. Cocoa wouldn't leave her.
Emily scampered up the stairs to her room, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Her sweet baby was gone.
She sat on her bed, her blanket wrapped tightly from the top of her head to her toes till her aunty and uncle arrived.
They'd make her feel better, they always did.
Sometimes, she did truly wish that her mom and dad... weren't her mom and dad.
"Emmy, come down, now!"
Her mother's voice sung up to her from the bottom of the stairs, the sweetness in her tone foul.
Emily forced herself to throw the blanket aside and make her way down the stairs.
"Emmy!"
Her aunt's voice was way more genuine and pleasant to hear than her own mother's.
Emily felt herself melting into her aunt's hug.
"Aunty and uncle made you, mommy and daddy something yummy!"
Her uncle came out of the kitchen with what looked like a stuffed turkey on a silver platter.
But... why did the turkey look so... weirdly shaped? It was a boxy shape and looked... smaller than the usual turkey she had.
Perhaps her aunty and uncle just shopped at a cheaper market.
Emily jumped into her chair next to her mother and waited for her plate.
The smell of the turkey and garnishing was amazing.
She began to daydream about her and Cocoa sharing her small portion of turkey.
Cocoa always loved turkey meat.
She wasn't here, though.
"Emmy, why do you look so sullen?"
Her aunt's voice had worry drizzled all over it.
"It's just... Cocoa ran away, I can't find her."
The table went silent after Emily choked that explanation out.
Her mother gave her a menacing side eye, shoving a spoonful of the meat into her mouth.
"Y'know, Emms. Cocoa didn't run away."
Emily's face brightened up at that. She turned her face to her mother.
"Really? Is Cocoa coming back, then?"
Her mother let out a soft giggle, placing her utensils onto the empty plate and wiping her mouth with a handkerchief.
"Cocoa's not coming back."
What did that mean?
Emily's face fell and her shoulders drooped.
She finished her plate with a cloud above her head.
Her aunt and uncle began to discuss about Thanksgiving and how they were going to celebrate with her parents, which allowed her to sneak away back up to her room.
In her room, she hid under the blanket again and begin to think about Cocoa.
Then, her mind drifted to her mother's words.
Realization hit her like a truck.
What did she eat? How could she?