Read Online Alpha Dog by Jennifer Ziegler - Free Book Online Page B

people I wasn’t allowed? Or complained to Mrs. Krantz? Or—even worse—to Mom?
    “You didn’t tell me you were getting a dog until yesterday,” I pointed out, my voice wobbly from all the cardiac activity. “You never asked me either.”
    Christine’s eyes met mine. I couldn’t tell if she was furious or just shocked.
    “Think about it,” I added quickly. “This could be good for your dog too. He’d have a friend to hang out with when we’re in class.”
    She stared back down at Seamus, who was now jumping up onto my legs, his toenails making tiny holes in my blue workout pants.
    “Whatever,” she muttered finally. “Let’s just get out of here.” Veering wide around me and Seamus, she shouldered her leather messenger and stalked out of the building.
    I stood in a daze, listening to the sound of traffic grow suddenly loud and then diminish as she headed out the door. My senses reeled with both relief and disbelief. Somehow I’d done it. I’d gotten my way.
    “Come on, boy,” I said, giving Seamus’s lead a gentle tug. He looked up at me and wagged his tail, smiling that doggie smile of his. A warm, gooshy feeling spread through me and I reveled in the sweetness of the moment. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he turned and raced toward the exit, sending me sprawling sideways on the vinyl floor.

4
    “W hat the hell is that?” Robot was stretched across the couch when we got back, surrounded by a colorful mosaic of food wrappers—snacks
I
had bought the day before at the corner Fresh Mart. He picked up the remote and turned down the volume on a Bugs Bunny marathon. “That doesn’t look like a wiener dog.”
    “It’s not mine. It’s Katie’s,” Christine snapped. She threw her car keys onto the coffee table and flopped down beside Robot.
    She hadn’t spoken much on the drive home— except for the times when she shrieked at Seamus to quit scratching the dashboard or slobbering on the window. He was acting a little nuts, but I could tell he was just overjoyed to be out of that shelter. It made me feel more than ever that I’d done the right thing.
    I shuffled behind her to the sofa, cradling Seamus with one arm and lugging a bag of pet supplies with the other. After we hit the Starbucks drive-through, Christine had been nice enough to stop at one of those giant pet department stores on the way home—although I thought she was going to leave us stranded when Seamus accidentally knocked over a display of elderly-dog diapers.
    So far, owning a pet was turning out to be expensive. Along with the ninety-five dollars I spent to adopt him, I also had to cough up an additional one hundred and fourteen dollars for kibble, a dog dish, a collar and leash, a special flea comb, a brush, some breath-freshening snacks, vitamins, and a chew toy fashioned like a miniature beach ball. There were tons of other things there I’d considered buying, but I’d already dipped heavily into my summer savings. Besides, I figured I could always go back later.
    I sat down in the striped chair, still cradling Seamus as best I could. By now my face was glistening with dog saliva and my arms had red crisscross marks from his toenails. Now that I had Seamus safely back in the condo, I wasn’t exactly sure what to do. I felt like there should be some formality associated with his homecoming, but I had no idea what it should be.
    “I didn’t know you were getting a dog too,” Robot remarked.
    “Yeah, well . . . I’ve always loved dogs. I’ve been searching for one for a while,” I lied. Actually, the only pet I’d ever had was a gerbil named Farley who escaped after three weeks and somehow got into the dishwasher. I was pretty traumatized when I discovered his boiled little corpse, and we never did get a replacement.
    I stroked Seamus’s back as he wriggled around on my lap.
    “Why’d you choose that dog?” Christine asked. I could tell she didn’t feel any kind of pull toward Seamus.
    I shrugged feebly.