Pretend (johnnyboy & curtis sister x cherry)

Chapter 9: Wet Noses

The three of us somehow find ourselves in a pet store looking at all of the puppies up for adoption. My family used to have a black mouth cur named Daisy, but she was in the car with my parents when they were in that auto wreck. I miss Daisy every day. I miss mom and dad, too, of course. But Daisy was really special to me. I still remember the day when dad came home from work and sat all four of us down in the living room. At that time Pony and I were six years old, Soda was eight, and Darry was twelve. Dad said he had a surprise for us and told us to close our eyes. Then dad said "Open em'" and there was Daisy. We got her at ten weeks old so she was still really small. Daisy ran to me first. She loved the whole family, and the whole family loved her. But Daisy and I had a very special bond. She used to let me dress her up in costumes. Once I even painted her nails. God do I miss that dog.

A woman approaches us and glances down at Johnny. She smiles but I can see the sadness in her eyes. She's pitying him, I can tell. If only she knew how he ended up in that chair. If only she knew how tuff he is. If only she knew... Then she would respect him instead of pitying him. "Would you guys like to go into the pen and meet some of the pups?" She asks us, still looking at Johnny. He nods his head, yes and the woman opens the gate and lets us into the pen, "All of these puppies are from the same litter.". There were seven of them. "Five girls and two boys. They are pitbull mixes. I know pits have a bad rep but they are honestly big sweethearts." She places a copper-colored puppy on Johnny's lap, "This is Penny. She's the laziest of the litter.". Penny instantly fell asleep. Then she hands a black one to Dallas, "This is Shadow. She's the trouble maker.". Shadow tries to wiggle out of Dally's arms and almost is successful. He sets her down and they start play fighting.

When the woman turns to me and places a white puppy with gray patches and blue eyes. I fall in love with him the second I see him. His wet nose presses up against my cheek and he licks me. "His name is Ryder and he really seems to like you. So what do you think about taking this little fella home with you?" the woman asks. He's so cute. His personality reminds me of Daisy's. I would really love to give him a home, but I can't we can't afford him. It's hard enough with Darry and Soda having to provide for Pony and me. And now we have Johnny, too. Adding a dog into the mix would only make things complicated.

"No, I'm sorry. I can't afford to keep him." I say and the three of us leave the pet store without saying another word. I start thinking about what it was like losing mom, dad, and Daisy and start to cry. I never cry in public. Shit.

"Oh my gosh, Lavender are you okay?" Johnny asks, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." I quickly wipe away my tears.

"You guys hungry?" asks Dal.

"Sure am." Answers Johnny.

"Alright then," Dally says and with that, we get out of the car and walk into the nearest diner.