Success just keeps building :)
Chapter Four
After I give Chloe a ride home, telling her all about how Noah decided to be my partner for some odd reason, I head to my own home. I park my car behind both of my parents cars- my dad's 2010 Toyota Tundra and my moms 2012 Honda Accord-Â and go inside.
My house is nothing special. It's a two story, standard home for a three person family. No stone driveway, no brick siding, no golden doorbell, just a regular neighborhood home. Light brown siding, dark brown shutters, sky blue door, and a black asphalt driveway.
As soon as I open the door, I'm just about tackled to the ground and licked to death by my two pit-bulls, Angel and Bruce.
"Hey! Hey I see you! How are my puppies doing?" I ask as my voice gets mushy and deeper. It's my dog voice, everyone has one. And if they deny it, just bring them towards a dog and that lie will go flying out the window.
I set my keys on the table beside the door and kneel down to pet them, still getting attacked by a bunch of doggy kisses.
They may not be puppies by any means since they're both seven years old, but I call any dog I see a "puppy." Because, let's be honest, they're all puppies at heart.
"Thank you," I say as they both give me one final lick on my face. They sit back down and just wag their tails at me and I grin. "Alright! You can each have a treat. But only one!" I say sternly, and I swear they nod at me.
They follow me into the kitchen, and that's when an amazing, mouthwatering scent enters my nose.
Yep. Mom ordered Chinese food.
Score.
"Hey, honey." My dad greets, giving me a small hug and a kiss on my head as I enter the kitchen.
"Reagan, sweetie, how was school?" Mom asks from her seat at our little dinner nook. It's supposed to be like a breakfast nook, but we eat every meal there since it's just the three of us.
I sigh, "It was lovely aside from the fact stupid Hayden almost rammed right into me." I grumble.
I see mom chuckle with an eye-roll and dad puts paper plates on the table for us. Mom knows all about my annoyance with Hayden since we share everything with one another. She's pretty much my best friend; I tell her almost everything that goes on if it's interesting enough. I know some kids act in different ways to impress their parents or whatever, but I am 100% myself around mine.
I get out a treat for Bruce and Angel who are practically stepping on top of one another to get to me first. "Easy," I say as I feed them.
Bruce pretty much scarfs his down, but Angel eats hers only slightly more delicately. Then, when they realize they aren't going to get anymore, they scamper off into the living room side by side.
"So, who burnt dinner and who decided on Chinese?" I smirk as I take my seat.
Mom looks over at dad with hard eyes and he sighs. "Fine. I burnt the Hamburger Helper. But your mom had her music so loud that I couldn't hear timer go off." He accuses, stabbing some orange chicken as he puts it on his plate.
"I turned it down when you asked." She retaliates.
"Yeah, after the food was burnt." He snaps.
Mom just sighs deeply and rolls her eyes, but not in playful banter, and I look down quietly. We fall into an awkward silence as we each pick at our food.
I hear Angel and Bruce trot back into the kitchen and they both come right up to me since they know I'm the softie of the family and I'm the only one who will give them food. Plus they love me the most. I'm not saying it's a competition, but if it was I would totally win.
They each rest their heads on my lap and give me their best puppy dog eyes, and since mom and dad's eyes are trained tightly on their food, I slip both Angle and Bruce a piece of chicken. Once they got their treat from the table, they both lay down just next to me with their heads resting against one another.
Yes, my dogs are a couple.
We found them on one of my class field trips years ago. They were abandoned under a bridge in the city with a litter of puppies protected behind them. I, being the young kid I was, walked right up to them and pushed past them to pet their flea infested puppies. I couldn't help myself- I see a puppy and I go for it. It doesn't matter if two possibly rabid pitbulls are standing in my way.
My dad was a chaperone and had no clue what to do. No one did. I had just walked up to two growling and barking, menacing pit-bulls, pushed past them, and picked up one of their puppies.
The odd part is that Angel and Bruce didn't even care; the two of them even seemed surprised, even though they're dogs. Angel walked over to me as I pet her puppies, leaving Bruce to stand guard, and she stared at me for a while. Then Angel finally decided I was no threat and started licking my face to show her approval.
Next thing I knew, Bruce was standing guard over me as well, growling at anyone who tried to come and take me away. I wasn't scared though. I didn't see why I even had to be taken away, I was in dog heaven. My dad was busy having a panic attack because his little girl was being held hostage by a terrifying, stray dog. Finally animal control was called.
Bruce and Angel and all three of their puppies were taken to the vet and treated carefully, and the puppies were soon adopted. Bruce and Angel had nowhere to go, so I begged dad and mom to let us keep them since they had obviously taken a liking to me. And voila, here they are.
The awkward silence is still lingering at our dinner table until dad finally breaks it.
"So, did you finish The Great Gatsby?" He asks, smiling at me to relieve any tension he may have caused.
I shove some fried rice in my mouth before answering. "No. I got bored and stopped."
"Well...isn't it like a grade to read it?" He asks, scrunching his brow.
I shrug, "I mean, yeah..." I trail off, avoiding eye contact.
"So that means you're going to finish it tonight, right?" He asks, giving me a look that says if I don't he's going to take away my hidden tub of ice cream from the freezer that's not so hidden since he knows where it is.
I smile at him, "Way ahead of you!"
"What do you have to do with this book anyways?" Mom asks.
Her question brings my mind back to Noah and I try to hide my smile behind another fork full of fried rice. "Project. We have to write an essay and do like a presentation on what message we got from the book. But we get to work with a partner, so that's fun." I say, shrugging it off nonchalantly.
"Oh good! Are you working with Chloe or Logan?" She asks, her eyes light as she mentions my best friends.
"Mom, I've told you. Neither of them are in my English class." I say for the umpteenth time.
"Who are you working with then?" Dad asks, finishing his last piece of chicken.
My eyes divert to my plate and I grab a dumpling. "Uh, Noah." I say as I toss the dumpling into my mouth, muffling my words.
"Who?" Mom asks, craning her neck to hear me better.
"Did you just say a boys name?" My dad asks, narrowing his eyes like the protective parent he is.
It's not like my dad won't let me date, as a matter of fact I'm sure he wouldn't mind me finding a boyfriend. It's just that he's protective of his 'little girl,' as are most dads. So the thought of me kissing and cuddling and whatnot with a guy probably doesn't sit very well with him.
I grin sheepishly, "Yeah."
All of the sudden we hear Bruce growl from his place on the floor, his head popping up at the knowledge of me working with a boy.
Dad glances down at him and nods, "I agree Bruce. I don't like him either."
I raise my brow at him, "You haven't even met him. Heck, you don't even know his name." I laugh.
He crosses his arms to make himself seem more threatening, but he doesn't have to try hard. My dad was your classic jock in high school and college, and had the build of one too. Sure he's not ripped anymore since he's in his fifties, but he's still a big and scary dude. I wouldn't want to mess with him.
"I don't like any boy that wants to date my little girl." He says sternly.
I look at mom and she just chuckles, shrugging at me. "I do."
I catch sight of my dad sending her a disbelieving look, but I divert my gaze to my food and pretend I never saw it.
We finish dinner and I head upstairs into my room to do my homework with Bruce and Angel hot on my trail. They leap onto my bed as soon as I open the door, sprawling out all the way across my queen sized mattress. Angel is sitting with her paws crossed like a true lady, but Bruce is on his side with all of his paws scattered around, taking up the majority of the bed.
"You couldn't even leave room for me?" I pout at them.
Bruce only moves so that he takes up more room, and I scowl. I may love my dogs, but I hate them sometimes too.
"All I'm asking is why you didn't back me up!" I hear shouted from downstairs, causing me to jump slightly.
"Because it was ridiculous! She's seventeen!" My mom shouts back. "If a boy is interested in her then we should be excited for her!"
I close my eyes and let out a dejected sigh before going to close my door to muffle some of their fight. I glance over at Bruce and Angel who are staring at me, making sure I'm okay. I smile at them and pat them on the head, lying between them as mom and dad continue to fight.
I can tell they're trying to stay hushed, but I can still hear. My room is right above the kitchen.
Angel moves her head to rest it on my shoulder, and Bruce rests his on my stomach, giving me some comfort while I listen to my parents accuse one another of one thing after the other.
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