A horrible thought suddenly struck her. What if Mum had taken Sky back earlier than planned? What if Sky had already gone?
She sped ahead of Amber and Izzy, and flung herself through the gates. Her mum had put the box down on the driveway while she closed the garage door, and it was open at the top, its flaps not folded together. It was empty.
Lucy knelt down beside it and looked in, knowing it was no use, but hoping that somehow Sky was there after all, she just wasn’t looking properly. But there was no kitten. Lucy was too late. Holding the flaps of the box, Lucy started to cry.
“Lucy!” Her mum was staring at her in horror. “Lucy, what is it? Whatever’s the matter?”
Lucy was crying too hard to speak. Izzy and Amber had now caught up with her. Izzy stared down at the box. “Oh no! She’s gone already?”
Lucy nodded, her shoulders heaving.
“Girls, what is going on?” Lucy’s mum asked.
Izzy looked up at her. “Lucy was going to tell you she didn’t want to give Sky back after all. It was all a big mistake.”
Lucy’s mum gasped. “Lucy? Is this true?” She bent down and pulled Lucy up, putting an arm round her. Lucy clung on to her, still crying quietly.
“Yes,” she gulped. “Sorry!”
“But why didn’t you say?” her mum asked, confused.
Lucy heaved a shuddering sigh. “Because I thought you only gave me Sky to make me forget about everyone back home, and I didn’t want to forget my friends!”
“That’s not why we gave you Sky!” Her mum sounded hurt. “Although … I suppose I can understand how you’d see it like that. Oh, Lucy.”
“And now it’s too late anyway,” Lucy sniffed.
Her mum smiled. “Actually it’s not.”
Lucy looked up at her in sudden hope. “Can we get Sky back?”
“We don’t have to. I was just getting the box out of the garage ready, that’s all. Sky’s inside somewhere. I’m not sure where, I’ve only been back ten minutes.” Lucy’s mum smiled as Lucy, Izzy and Amber dashed over to the front door. “Would you like me to let you in, by any chance?”
The girls burst into the house as soon as she opened the door, calling eagerly for Sky, expecting her to come running. Lucy couldn’t help thinking how lovely it was not to have to pretend she didn’t care about her lovely kitten. Her kitten! Sky really was hers now!
“Have you found her?” Lucy’s mum called a couple of minutes later, once she’d put the box away. “I’d better ring the breeder and tell her we’re not bringing Sky back after all.”
But Lucy, Izzy and Amber were coming down the stairs, looking worried.
“What’s the matter?” Lucy’s mum asked, putting her coat away.
“She’s not here,” Lucy said anxiously. “She couldn’t have got out, could she, Mum? She’s disappeared. We’ve looked everywhere.”
Her mum shut the cupboard door. “I don’t see how she could’ve got out. She was definitely in when I left, I saw her sitting on the back of the sofa as I went out. Come on, let’s look again. She’s probably hiding, and playing a game with us.”
But they looked and looked, and when Kieran got home he joined in, too, and Lucy’s dad a while later. By the time Amber had to drag Izzy home for tea, they still hadn’t found her. Sky had disappeared completely.
Tucked away in her warm little nest, Sky had heard everyone searching and calling. She’d almost come out, but maybe they were only trying to find her so they could take her away? The voices calling her name sounded frightened and upset. She thought Lucy was crying, and that made her feel sad, too. Maybe she should come out, and make Lucy feel better? It was so hard to know.
Sky wanted her basket to go back in its proper place in the kitchen. If she waited till they all went to bed, maybe she could go and see if they’d put it back for her? Yes, she would come out then. She was awfully hungry, though, and it was a long time to wait.
Sky tunnelled underneath a tasselled scarf to make her bed more comfortable. The cupboard was chilly, and so lonely. Oh, she wished Lucy would come and find her – the nice Lucy who stroked her so lovingly, and told her how beautiful she was. That Lucy didn’t want to give her away, she was sure!
“Lucy, I know you want to keep looking, but it’s really late. You have to go to bed – you’ve got school in the morning. We’ll search outside tomorrow, even though I still don’t see how Sky could’ve got out.” Lucy’s mum looked anxiously out of the window into the darkness.
Lucy stared out of the window as well, and shivered. It was so dark and cold now. Sky had only been outside the house that once when she’d slipped through the front door. She couldn’t stop imagining poor little Sky out there on her own, perhaps hiding under a bush, cold and frightened.
She hugged her mum sadly, then slowly climbed the stairs to her room. Was it only this morning that Sky had woken her up by licking her face? It seemed so long ago. She got into bed, and lay there wishing she hadn’t been so stupid. If only she’d told her parents sooner that she’d changed her mind, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
