The Marx Brothers

Chapter Twenty 'Dee'

"I can't believe you encouraged me to do this" I shook my head at Brody as he drove

"As if your sister is going to say no to that face" He laughed, quickly patting my new pet on the head as she sat on my lap

"What had you been at the mall for anyways?" I asked out of curiosity

He shrugged as we neared my house "I scout the mall for beautiful girls and lure them in with puppies"

I couldn't help but laugh, a sound that Brody had produced from me a lot during the day

"Seriously though, I shouldn't have bought the dog, gone shopping with you for puppy necessities, or accepted a ride from you, or be inviting you into my home when it's just me and a guard dog in training home" I rambled out, part of the speech honest.

"Oh c'mon Eden, you know I would never hurt you"

"I've heard that before" I accidentally thought out loud, earning a quick glance

"I knew that stairs story wasn't exactly believable" He mumbled back with a raised eyebrow

I didn't say anything else. I didn't want to go into it. I wanted a clean slate with this man.

As if pulling into the driveway with a new dog and a new man entering the house wasn't nerve wracking enough

"Phoenix lives across the street from you?" Brody spoke, the name twisting my head

It was then I caught sight of Phoenix and his brother standing out the front of their house, their heads in the hood of the RX-7

Great.

"Uh, yeah, they do" I mumbled, exiting the car with my new friend in my arms

I tried not to make eye contact, but it was difficult with Brody attempting to get a glimpse of what they were doing with the race-car. Perhaps sussing out the competition for the next weekend of drags.

"Brody, are you coming or what?" I pushed, eager to remove myself from the awkward situation, as though it couldn't get any worse

"Yeah" Brody replied, walking back towards me

In a split second decision, I dared look towards my neighbors, and the moment I did, the moment I regretted it. Both Jett and his brother were looking directly at me, as though the vars space between us made no different to the hold they held on my eyes.
Both men were easy to read, and for very different reasons.

Jett gave me a small smile and then he simply went back about his business, but Phoenix, well, it was more of a death glare. It gave me chills, and not the good kind, it somewhat frightened me. It was a gaze that held firmly on me, the sort that you were game to break away from. It had only been about a few seconds, and it was when the beagle in my arms wriggled that I snapped out of it.

As fast as I could, I turned and entered my home, Brody closely in tow.

"Where do you want these?" He asked, holding two plastic bags that held my new friend's belongings

"Just on the bench there" I instructed him, putting the beagle down on the floor, watching as she began to sniff around drastically

"So" Brody sighed, his hands on his hips as he watched the animal dart around the living space

"What are you going to name her?"

I shrugged "I don't know, what do you suggest?"

"She's yours, you have to pick it, you have to be able to imagine yourself screaming it when she does things you don't like"