Reality Check : : Barry Allen/The Flash

02

"Oh, it's adorable!" My mum squeals as soon as I step through the front door. She takes the puppy from my arms.

"Hello, Elise. Thank you for getting the eggs. You were always my favourite child." I say for my mum, making her chuckle.

"Parents aren't supposed to have favourites." She reminds me for the billionth time.

"Mum, you know better than anyone that just because you're not supposed to do something, that doesn't mean you can't." I say as I put the eggs in the fridge and walk back towards her and our new furry friend.

"What's his name?" She asks as I take the puppy from her. I raise an eyebrow as it licks my fingers.

"How do you know it's a he?" I ask suspiciously. Mum shrugs.

"Same way the doctor's checked you and your brother." She smirks. My eyes widen and I cover the puppy's ears.

"Mum." I gasp in mock horror. "That is a violation of privacy." She just rolls her eyes at me.

"So what's his name?" She asks again. I look down at the little furball, biting my lip in thought.

"I don't know if I should name him." I say with a frown. Mum tilts her head to the side in confusion.

"Why not?" She asks. I sigh.

"I need to take him to the pound tomorrow. I don't know how long he was in that box and we have no way of checking to see if he has any viruses or bugs. I don't want to get attached to him if he's just gonna have to be put down." I tell Mum, scratching the puppy's head. As if to prove my point, it sneezes.

"Honey, I know you." Mum gives me a sad smile. "You love animals, and you've always had a weird connection to dogs. It's obvious that you're already in love with this little guy."

"Mum, we don't even know how old he is." I don't like talking about my apparent connection with all of animal kind.

"I think we shou--" Mum cuts herself off when the front door swings open. "Ben!" She squeals happily, making my brother cringe as she practically hangs off him. Sometimes I feel as though my mother is the child around here.

"Don't like hugs." Ben grumbles with that permanent frown of his. I sigh and put the puppy down.

"Come and meet our new friend." Mum ignores my brother's complaints and pulls him over to where the puppy is sitting at my feet.

"Really? You brought home another stray?" My brother asks me, sounding completely disapproving. I don't get why he has this attitude towards me; it's not like he has any control over my life. "Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"Puh-lease. That was your fault. If you had been watching where you were going, you would've seen that innocent little turtle before you ran over it. Shelly was only a week away from going back to the swamp." I spit, clearly remembering the sight of turtle shell and guts spread over the driveway.

"Alright, calm down. Ben, if you wanted a say in whether we keep 'strays' or not, you should never have left." Mum says calmly. Dayum. She just wrecked her own son. "And Elise, you will have to train it and look after it yourself. He's your responsibility." I smile.

"No problem. I think he's already got a little bit of training." I tell her. We're all looking down at the little fluffball, which means we all see when he makes his way to Ben's feet and sniffs them.

"I must be a good person; dogs like people who're kindhearted." Ben says smugly. I raise an eyebrow and I'm about to say some witty comeback when the dog starts to pee on his shoe.