Mrs. Miller had been adding yellow lace to the sleeves of Lucy-Lou’s Easter dress when she heard Buster bark, and not a playful one at that. She ran into the living room, fearing Buster had bitten Lucy-Lou, but before her feet could stop running, a scream shot from her mouth.
Lucy-Lou’s back faced her, but her head was twisted sharply to the side revealing her good face while the second face gnawed at the belly of Buster, whose legs twitched violently.
“Lucy-Lou!”
Lucy-Lou’s head cranked around until her second face was behind her again, the hair parted to the side. Blood covered its mouth and teeth and its gray eyes glowered at Mrs. Miller.
“Mother!” Lucy-Lou stood and ran over to Mrs. Miller. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened. Please, please don’t send me away! I didn’t mean to.”
Although rooted in shock, Mrs. Miller regarded Lucy-Lou’s genuine remorse, how upset her real Lucy-Lou was. Big tears streamed down her flushed face.
“Please, I’ll be a good girl. I promise.”
Mrs. Miller’s revulsion lessened at seeing Lucy-Lou cry with such desperation. She looked over at Buster. He’d stopped moving and his eyes were frozen open.
“It’s okay, honey. I’m not going to send you back. We’ll fix this. Just do what I say, okay?” Lucy-Lou nodded and hugged her. Mrs. Miller flinched, still afraid at what Lucy-Lou’s second face had done and the image attached to it. “Everything will be all right.”