Throw Away Teen Read Online Free Page A

“They’re supposed to be watch-dogs. Ted says they’d watch the robbers come, watch them load everything up and then watch them go.”
    “ I don’t know about that.” Hoping none of them had noticed my apprehension, I jerked away from Carol. I was so going to get her for this fiasco.
    Liz took one of my hands and held it out for the dogs like it was a treat. I tried to pull away, but she held it in place. The German Shepherd took one whiff and slunk back. “Fifi’s previous owners beat her a lot,” Liz explained.
    I felt a twinge of sympathy, but only for a moment. She was a freakin’ dog after all. Liz crouched down, tugging my fingers toward the fluffy piranha twins who practically drooled at the prospect of snapping off my fingers. And for this, I’d painted my nails bright red.
    “ These two darlings are Samson and Delilah,” Liz said. “They’re pom-a-poos.”
    The poo clones licked my fingers, but I pulled my hand back before they could actually bite me. I hadn’t realized dogs were like raccoons and washed their food before they ate it. Fifi and I looked at each other, but she hunkered by Bull and kept out of reach. We might get along just fine. She felt the same way about strangers as I did.
    The pom-whatevers were a different matter. I carefully circled around them and followed Liz down the hall. Carol stayed behind with the dogs, petting them and talking to them in that stupid voice adults use when talking to babies. She’d obviously met them before and deliberately didn’t tell me about them. Bitch!
    Did she know how scared I was of dogs? Probably. It was one of the many secrets I kept from those around me, but it wouldn’t have been hard for her to figure out. And if she’d mentioned the word dogs , screw our deal. She could win all the poker games she wanted, but when it came to dogs, all bets were off.
    Liz led the way down the hall to a closed door. “Go ahead, honey. Open it.”
    Maybe this was the torture chamber. I could hear a tiny, thin barking sound coming from the other side. Great, just as I thought, more dogs. I might be scared, but I refused to show it. I had a reputation to uphold after all.
    Bull came to join us, squeezing his sleek body between me and the door. Then, he whined and pawed at the door, wanting me to open it, too.
    Taking a deep breath, I twisted the knob. A little black, gray, and white dog charged forward. I jumped back just in time. It yipped at Bull, bypassed Fifi and tackled the poops twins. It landed on Samson, or was it Delilah? The little puff ball barked and took a running leap at them again, only to have Delilah, or was it Samson, snarl and bat him away.
    It rolled, tumbling toward my feet. I resisted the urge to bat it away as well. He righted himself and sat in the middle of the hallway, emitting a noise similar to that of a baby crying. I waited, but Liz and Carol just stood there letting the little dog howl. His cries reminded me of the younger kids at the youth center when they woke up from nightmares.
    Delilah, or was it Samson, continued to snarl at him. Not wanting the dust-mop piranha to use him as a football again, I picked him up, holding the crybaby at arm’s length. “Oh, stop sniveling. If you act tough, the other dogs won’t push you around so much.”
    He whimpered again then wiggled toward me, his tongue seeking out my face, and covered my cheek and mouth with doggie kisses before I could pull him away again. Yuck! I had a mind to drop the little scumball on his rump again. But then he would be at the mercy of the bigger dogs. He didn’t have a clue how to protect himself, not to mention he was a total pushover. I carried him over to Liz and held him out to her. “You better lock this back up again.”
    “ He’s half Purple Heeler and half Collie, just eight weeks old.” Liz gently pushed the fur-ball toward me. “Ted got him for you.”
    “ What? For me?” I stared down at the dog. Okay, puppy . He was trying to lap at my face