Please don't look at me like that,"

Please don't look at me like that," Zoe whispered, feeling helpless as large brown chocolate eyes looked up at her pleadingly.

"It would never work out between us," she added, wishing Tom, the animal control officer would hurry back so she could leave.

Toby simply cocked his head to the side and let out one of the most pathetic whimpers she'd ever heard, causing her to worry her bottom lip.

"I'm sure a very nice family will come along soon and take you home with them," she rushed on, hoping she'd be able to convince him to stop making her feel guilty. "I'm sure they'll have plenty of kids to play with you and sneak you yummy table scraps. I'm on a diet so anything I gave you would be gross and nasty. You wouldn't want that, now would you?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

Instead of losing interest, he wagged his tail and let out an adorable little puppy bark. She frowned. Could a forty pound dog really be considered a puppy? She didn't think so, but Tom had assured her that the German Sheppard-husky mixed dog was only a puppy. She'd have to take his word for it since she knew absolutely nothing about dogs.

"Please don't look at me like that," she whispered, feeling herself weaken. "I can't have a dog, buddy. I'm sorry," she explained, but the look of adoration on his face said that he simply didn't care. "I rent and my landlord was very specific in the lease that I can't have dogs and if I take you home I'll have to find another place to live and I really like my place so please stop looking at me like that. I'm sure you'll have a new home really, really soon, okay?" she said, having absolutely no doubt that someone would scoop up the adorable dog soon.

"Don't count on it," Tom said as he walked back into the kennel room.

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked, standing.

"He's scheduled to be put down today," he said with a shrug.

"B-but....he's just a puppy," she said, throwing a nervous look at the dog who was still watching her.

"I know," Tom said, not sounding happy about it at all. "But this is a city funded shelter and this little guy has been here too long. I don't have a choice in the matter," he said, frowning up at the clock on the wall. "Actually, he was scheduled to be put down twenty minutes ago, but you showed up just as I was getting the room ready."

As if he could understand, Toby let out a pitiful whine. Zoe tried not to look down at the dog, knowing she was so damn close to doing something stupid.

"Isn't there any way you could give him another week or two?" she asked, already dreading the answer.

"I wish I could," Tom said, gesturing for her to follow him back out to the front.

She threw one last look at the pitiful dog before she followed. It was sad, but this kind of thing happened every single day, she told herself. Besides she really didn't have a choice in the matter. Trevor had been very clear about the rules when she moved in, granted she hadn't known that he owned the house at the time, but there was still a long list of rules that she'd agreed to and one of them had been no pets.

Besides she really didn't know anything about dogs other than they needed to be fed and walked. Puppies needed to be housetrained and she didn't have a clue in how to go about that. There really was no choice in the matter, she decided as she said goodbye to Tom and headed for the door.

Just as she placed her hand on the doorknob Toby let out a pitiful howl. It was one of the hardest things she'd ever done and she knew she'd probably have to cry herself to sleep tonight, but she left, trying to ignore Toby's pleas for her to return.

**********

"Where the hell is the food? I'm starving," Jason complained, again.

Trevor shot his cousin a glare. "Stop bitching."

"Just as soon as you feed me," Jason said with a sniff.

"I'm still trying to figure out who invited you," Trevor said, glaring at his three uninvited guests. Jason ignored him as he searched through the now empty bags of chips, mostly relying on his right hand for the job since three of the fingers on his left hand were still in finger braces. Brad shrugged and Mitch snagged a fresh beer as he tried to discretely text message his wife, again.

He was still trying to figure out how a man as corrupt as Mitch ended up a happily married bastard. He really hadn't seen that one coming. Not to mention the man's wife left him a little confused. She was nothing like the women Mitch usually went for. Instead of the curvy hot little numbers Mitch used to screw around with, Mary was tall, a bit thin and kind of pretty, but more plain than anything, but Mitch couldn't seem to get enough of her.

Thank god he had absolutely no plans on marrying for love. There was no way he was going to allow himself to become as pathetic as these three.

"Well?" he asked, snagging the beer away from Mitch. The man paused in mid-text to send Trevor a glare, but smartly kept his mouth shut and grabbed another beer only to have it stolen away from him by Jason.

"Thanks," Jason said, also ignoring Mitch's sad little glare. After a few seconds the man gave up and returned his attention to his phone. When he smiled like a love sick bastard, Trevor had to look away. It was either that or lose his lunch.

"Since when do I need an invite?" Jason asked, sounding truly confused as he popped the top off his beer.

"Whatever," Trevor said, in no mood to argue. He was fucking starving. The three bags of chips he'd devoured had barely taken the edge off his hunger. He would have had more if his cousin hadn't eaten him out of house and home.

"Maybe we should order some food," Zack, one of the new guys from work, suggested.

Jason snorted at that. "No one will deliver here."

"Why not?" Henry, another guy from work, asked as he looked inside an empty chip bag and frowned.

"Because we're banned," Trevor snapped, wishing they'd all shut the hell up so he could watch the game.

"How-" Zack started to ask only to get cut off by Brad.

"You really don't want to know," Brad stressed.

"But-"

"I'm serious."

"I've never heard-"

"Just let it go," Brad said.

"But, I don't understand how-"

"And you really never will. Trust me," Brad stressed.

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 2:

Jangan menatapku seperti itu, "bisik Zoe, merasa mata cokelat tak berdaya sebagai besar coklat menatapnya memohon." Ini tidak akan berhasil antara kami, "tambahnya, berharap Tom, petugas kontrol hewan akan cepat kembali jadi dia bisa pergi. Toby hanya memiringkan kepalanya ke samping dan mengeluarkan salah satu merintih paling menyedihkan yang pernah didengarnya, menyebabkan dia khawatir bibir bawahnya. "Saya yakin keluarga yang sangat baik akan datang segera dan membawamu pulang dengan mereka, "ia bergegas, berharap dia akan bisa meyakinkan dia untuk berhenti membuat dia merasa bersalah." Saya yakin mereka akan memiliki banyak anak-anak untuk bermain dengan Anda dan menyelinap Anda memo meja yummy. Aku sedang diet sehingga apapun yang saya berikan Anda akan kotor dan jahat. Anda tidak ingin itu, sekarang kan? "Tanyanya, terdengar penuh harapan. Daripada kehilangan minat, ia mengibaskan ekornya dan mengeluarkan sebuah kulit anjing kecil yang manis. Dia mengerutkan kening. Bisa anjing £ 40 benar-benar diperhatikan anak anjing? Dia tidak berpikir begitu, tapi Tom telah meyakinkannya bahwa anjing campuran Jerman Sheppard-husky hanya anak anjing. Dia harus mengambil firman-Nya untuk itu karena dia tahu apa-apa tentang anjing. "Jangan melihat saya seperti itu, "bisiknya, merasa dirinya melemah." Saya tidak bisa memiliki anjing, buddy. Maaf, "jelasnya, tapi tampilan adorasi di wajahnya mengatakan bahwa dia hanya tidak peduli." Saya menyewa dan pemilik saya sangat spesifik dalam sewa yang saya tidak dapat memiliki anjing dan jika saya membawa Anda rumah aku harus mencari tempat lain untuk tinggal dan saya benar-benar suka tempat saya jadi tolong berhenti menatapku seperti itu. Saya yakin Anda akan memiliki rumah baru benar-benar, benar-benar segera, oke? "Katanya, memiliki sekali tidak ada keraguan bahwa seseorang akan meraup anjing menggemaskan segera." Jangan mengandalkan itu, "kata Tom sambil berjalan kembali ke ruang kennel. "Apa maksudmu?" tanya Zoe, berdiri. "Dia dijadwalkan akan meletakkan hari ini," katanya sambil mengangkat bahu. "B-tapi .... dia hanya anak anjing," katanya , melemparkan lihat gugup pada anjing yang masih mengawasinya. "Aku tahu," kata Tom, tidak terdengar senang tentang itu sama sekali. "Tapi ini adalah sebuah kota yang didanai penampungan dan si kecil ini telah di sini terlalu lama. Saya tidak memiliki pilihan dalam hal ini, "katanya, mengerutkan kening di jam di dinding." Sebenarnya, dia dijadwalkan akan meletakkan dua puluh menit yang lalu, tapi Anda muncul hanya karena saya mendapatkan ruang siap . "Seolah-olah dia bisa mengerti, Toby mengeluarkan merengek menyedihkan. Zoe mencoba untuk tidak melihat ke bawah pada anjing, mengetahui dia begitu sialan dekat dengan melakukan sesuatu yang bodoh." Apakah tidak ada cara Anda bisa memberinya seminggu lagi atau dua? "tanyanya, sudah takut jawabannya." Saya berharap saya bisa, "kata Tom, memberi isyarat baginya untuk mengikutinya kembali ke depan. Dia melemparkan satu terakhir pada anjing menyedihkan sebelum dia mengikuti. Itu sedih, tapi hal semacam ini terjadi setiap hari, katanya pada diri sendiri. Selain dia benar-benar tidak punya pilihan dalam hal ini. Trevor telah sangat jelas tentang aturan ketika dia pindah, diberikan dia tidak tahu bahwa ia dimiliki rumah pada saat itu, tapi masih ada daftar panjang aturan yang dia setuju untuk dan salah satu dari mereka telah tidak ada hewan peliharaan. Selain dia benar-benar tidak tahu apa-apa tentang anjing selain mereka perlu diberi makan dan berjalan. Puppies perlu housetrained dan dia tidak memiliki petunjuk bagaimana untuk pergi tentang itu. Benar-benar tidak ada pilihan dalam hal ini, dia memutuskan saat ia mengatakan selamat tinggal kepada Tom dan menuju pintu. Sama seperti dia meletakkan tangannya di gagang pintu Toby mengeluarkan lolongan menyedihkan. Itu adalah salah satu hal yang paling sulit yang pernah ia lakukan dan ia tahu ia mungkin harus menangis sampai tertidur malam ini, tapi dia pergi, mencoba mengabaikan permohonan Toby baginya untuk kembali. ********* * "Di mana adalah makanan? Aku lapar," Jason mengeluh, lagi. Trevor ditembak sepupunya silau. "Berhenti mengeluh." "Segera setelah Anda makan saya," kata Jason dengan mengendus. "Aku masih mencoba untuk mencari tahu yang mengundang Anda," kata Trevor, melotot tiga tamu tak diundang itu. Jason mengabaikannya saat ia mencari melalui tas sekarang kosong keripik, sebagian besar bergantung pada tangan kanannya untuk pekerjaan itu sejak tiga jari di tangan kirinya masih di kawat gigi jari. Brad mengangkat bahu dan Mitch tersangkut bir segar saat ia mencoba untuk discretely pesan teks istrinya, lagi. Ia masih mencoba untuk mencari tahu bagaimana seorang pria yang korup sebagai Mitch akhirnya bajingan bahagia menikah. Dia benar-benar tidak melihat bahwa satu datang. Belum lagi istri pria itu meninggalkan dia sedikit bingung. Dia tidak seperti wanita Mitch biasanya pergi untuk. Alih-alih angka sedikit panas melengkung Mitch digunakan untuk sekrup sekitar dengan, Mary jangkung, agak tipis dan jenis cantik, tapi lebih jelas dari apa pun, tetapi Mitch tampaknya tidak bisa mendapatkan cukup dari dirinya. Terima kasih Tuhan dia benar-benar tidak berencana menikah untuk cinta. Tidak ada cara dia akan membiarkan dirinya menjadi seperti menyedihkan tiga ini. "Yah?" ia bertanya, tersangkut bir jauh dari Mitch. Pria itu berhenti di pertengahan teks untuk mengirim Trevor silau, tapi cerdas menutup mulutnya dan meraih bir lain hanya untuk telah dicuri darinya oleh Jason. "Terima kasih," kata Jason, juga mengabaikan sedih silau sedikit Mitch. Setelah beberapa detik pria itu menyerah dan kembali perhatiannya ke telepon. Ketika dia tersenyum seperti cinta bajingan sakit, Trevor harus berpaling. Itu baik itu atau kehilangan makan siang. "Sejak kapan saya perlu mengundang?" Jason bertanya, terdengar benar-benar bingung saat ia muncul atas off birnya. "Apa pun," kata Trevor, tidak berminat untuk berdebat. Dia sedang meniduri kelaparan. Tiga kantong keripik ia melahap baru saja mengambil tepi dari rasa laparnya. Dia akan memiliki lebih banyak jika sepupunya belum makan dia keluar dari rumah dan rumah. "Mungkin kita harus memesan beberapa makanan," Zack, salah satu dari pekerjaan orang-orang baru, disarankan. Jason mendengus pada saat itu. "Tidak ada yang akan memberikan di sini." "Mengapa tidak?" Henry, pria lain dari pekerjaan, bertanya sambil melihat ke dalam tas chip yang kosong dan mengerutkan kening. "Karena kita dilarang," Trevor bentak, berharap mereka semua akan menutup neraka atas sehingga ia bisa menonton pertandingan. "Akan tetapi" Zack mulai bertanya hanya untuk mendapatkan dipotong oleh Brad. "Anda benar-benar tidak ingin tahu," Brad menekankan. "Tapi-" "Aku serius." "Aku sudah pernah mendengar-" "Biarkan saja , "kata Brad." Tapi, saya tidak mengerti bagaimana- "" Dan Anda benar-benar tidak akan pernah. Percayalah, "Brad menekankan.