A Different World by Hayley Smith (shoe dog free ebook TXT) 📕

And Falling Away

Maria

's POV

I was sick of being tossed around like a rag, he thinks he can cheat on me and coming running back! Never again!
I stormed out of the kitchen to where David was, sitting on one of the soft plush couches I had bought with my money, his shoes kicked in a corner, and he was reeking of a nasty smelling perfume for the third time this week, the same perfume.

"Get out of my house!" I shrieked at him and he jumped up, his form lazy and he rolled his eyes, about to sit back down but I pushed his dirty ass away from my couches, "Out!" I grabbed his suitcase from work and shoved him hard towards the door, tossing his suitcase out of the door, "You are never coming back!" he grinned lazily as I headed for his boots, throwing them out too.

"Aww, come on baby, you don't mean it," Kyle mumbled, trying to grab me in a hug, but this time I absolutely meant it.

"I'm sick of you coming here everyday reeking of that slut! I'm over it!" I shrieked, shoving him towards the door.

"Fine, but Juliet is coming with me," Kyle said and I kicked his shin, no way in hell was he getting my daughter, she was my very being, the only thing that kept me willing to breath and push through another terrible day.

"D-Daddy, M-Mommy" I heard a small voice say and Juliet wobbled on her skinny legs over to my side, clutching at one of my long legs with a hand,t he other one occupied by her big stuffed teddy-bear, Teddy. I saw her noise twitch and I knew she could smell the disgusting perfume "Daddy smells weird, he doesn't smell like you," she mumbled, glaring at him with her fierce brown eyes.

"Daddy has been away with someone else, he was just leaving," I said softly, patting her head as Kyle just watched.

"Daddy doesn't have to go, sweetheart, mommy wants him to," Kyle said in his softest voice which wasn't very soft as he looked down at her tiny frame.

"Yes you do, Teddy said you've been hugging other women, he says you are being a meanie, he says you should go and not come back. Ever." Juliet said, her longest sentences always had something to do with the bear, it annoyed me by far.

"Whatever, I wasted six years of my life for nothing, that's soothing," Kyle said, heading for the kitchen but Juliet- well, Teddy- stopped him, she had jutted a arm out and the bear was in front of him.

"Teddy said now, he also said to do this," Juliet said before swinging out her small bony foot at his shin and it hit, she didn't even wince and he did, he turned and walked out while I slammed the door behind him, locking it on the doorknob and chain, and when I turned around, Juliet was gone.

They Pass Quickly When You're Always Alone

Juliet

's POV
10 years later...

I smiled to myself as my dog Tripp padded by my side, he was my protector, my best friend, my only friend, my savior from my terribly lonely life. I had discovered him as a pup in the woods when I was eleven, wasting no time, I had brought him home and cleaned all of his scratches. From all of the dog books I have read, I discovered he was a Bernese Mountain Dog- a very dirty one at that. I had bathed him for a full hour before drying him off that day, there had been mud everywhere in the large lake that usually had clear water so you could see the trout everywhere, and occasionally bass, nothing else except that and millions of minnows. Then I had dried him and brushed him with a come, thank goodness he had been a puppy otherwise it would have taken ages to untangle the snares in his soft fur, but I had done it, I do it every week since then, yet he still looks young, not grey hairs anywhere.

"I'll race you, Tripp," I said, knowing he would understand, he always did. He tilted his head to the side and my bare feet took off over the grassy ground and into the forest, I could hear his soft footsteps following me, probably gaining, I could never beat him at anything, not even wrestling, he would pin me to the ground and lick my face everywhere.

Tripp's footsteps suddenly seized to make sound and I turned around, a laugh coming out of my mouth, he had tripped again, like his name said, I hurried over and untangled his paws from the tree's vines, running my hands through his soft hair and kissed the top of his head "Be careful, Tripp, you could get hurt one of these times," I said before turning and running towards the lake-well, the creek part of the lake- again. When I saw the tree I always sat on, I rushed over, touching it, but I looked down and saw Tripp's nose on it and I sighed, rolling my eyes as he gave a triumphant bark.

"I'm beginning to think you cheat," I said, smiling at him as I sat on the curved tree, my body fitting on it perfectly and Tripp curled up beside me, resting his head on my leg as I pulled out my book form my undergarment, I wore dresses so they had no pockets, I loved them usually, especially the one I was wearing at the moment, my mom had made it for me two years ago, it had cost a fortune since it was a type of soft material, usually I wore makeshift shorts I had stitched together from my old dresses I had wore when I was a little girl, though my mother said I still was- I disagreed of course, being alone a lot has to count for something, doesn't it?

I flipped open my book and took the vine bookmark out and rested on hand in Tripp's fur and the other on the book as my long wavy brown hair covered the sides of my face, I barely cut it, and that was only when my mom had to trim it because of split ends, I hated them because they looked weird ticking out of my hair. My hair was dark, a couple of shades darker than my brown eyes, it reached my knees but I was planning on cutting off a inch or two.

I looked at the pages, reading it as I became lost in the tragedies of Romeo & Juliet. I loved that she had the same name as myself, yet I had no desire to kill myself or die any time soon, I had Tripp and my mother to take care of, my mother was unstable ever since my father sent a death threat if I didn't visit him, and I did visit him- for five minutes before I left to buy thread for my mother.

My mother made good money, but she said it was for me to get a education and move out, have a fantastic life- but I would never leave her. When she gave me three dollars a week, I would buy a dress for myself and a giant dog bone for Tripp. I had no job, yet I was determined to find one, so far I was making money by selling trout, bass, and minnows to butcheries and fishermen, and the occasional kid who thought they could keep a minnow in a glass jar and feed it worms cut in small pieces- the minnow died from lack of fresh water, or overfeeding, or lack of water, or being squeezed in a child's fist.

I had never met many people, I only occasionally saw people in town when I went there, but it usually was the same people, only a couple travelers, maybe three every year.
I frowned slightly as I read on in my book, i had read it many, many times, but each time I understood it better, yet I had trouble trying to find the good guy and bad guy, and the reasons, but I wasn't one to give up. Ever.
I heard Tripp's tail swish, but it was a sound far away, like it was in another world, because the world I was in now, was Romeo & Juliet's.

In A Way They Are

Juliet

's POV
(WARNING: POV's may switch in this chapter)

I had returned later than usual that night, Tripp had wanted to play around a little, he ended up getting wet in the lake, making myself burst into fits of laughter until he shook water on me and I chased him back to our home, a cozy cabin in the woods, I had lived here my entire life, though I was born in town sixteen years ago.
I sighed, climbing into my bed with Tripp already laying on top of the blanket like usual. I rested my head on the pillow and held my bear Teddy against my chest, feeling Tripp's warm back against my thighs.
***
I woke up and saw Tripp still asleep, today we had to go and sell fish for money to get clothing and food. I scratched behind his ears and he slowly woke up, knowing what we had to do since we had been doing it for five years now, he bounced up, running for the storage shed out behind the cabin to retrieve the empty buckets and the couple that had rare fish in them already.
I stood, pulling out my nicest dress that ended above my shins a little, and laid it out before walking to the bathroom and taking a quick bath, shaving my legs and scrubbing my hair hard.
I stepped out and dried myself well before brushing my hair and hurrying into my room, putting on my undergarments then pulling on the dress that had spaghetti straps. It was a pale blue and had soft fabric unlike most of my dresses.
I smiled at Tripp as he came in, having already brought out the buckets to the front of the house, I grabbed the brush I use for him and brushed all of the dirt