Heart of Hope

Here's the next chapter of the story. Sorry for the long wait everyone and I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter two

A few weeks went by for Robert and his human family, and lets just say that some of those weeks weren't the best. When they had first moved into their new home of San Francisco, things started out fine. The family quickly settled in within their new house, while also sorting out a few boxes within the process. Then Molly's Aunt came over for a visit with her two children, Rebecca and James, and her husband, Karl. Sierra and her family were nice as they interacted with Molly and her family, but Robert was a little hesitant at getting to know the new family. He couldn't help but feel like there was something wrong with Molly's relatives and that he needed to protect his human friend from them.

His suspicion about Aunt Sierra and her family grew when Molly's family had to leave for a while. The reason for their sudden departure was that they needed to write out a few forms to confirm that they had moved into their new home. The only problem with that was that they had to drive all the way back to New Orleans to do it. Molly's father asked Aunt Sierra if she and her family could watch Molly for a while until they got back. Sierra was happy to look after Molly while her parents went to New Orleans to sign the forms. Robert stayed behind to look after Molly as well as her parents traveled all the way back to New Orleans to finish the paper work. That was when Sierra and her family started to show their true colors around Molly and Robert.

Karl turned out to be a cruel man that would bully Molly, while slapping her across the face if she ever said anything out of line. Sierra was a woman who had a sharp tongue and would scold Molly for no good reason. James and Rebecca were actually spoiled children who would make fun of Molly, while also bullying her in the process. Things became hard for Molly and Robert as they continued to live with Sierra's family.

Molly was forced to do all of the house chores within her aunt and uncle's home, while also forced to sleep in a small cupboard underneath the stairs. Molly's relatives tried to make Molly feel inferior among them, but Molly never let what they did get to her and she had Robert to cheer her up whenever times were rough. As weeks went by, Robert grew more protective towards Molly and vowed to look after his human friend until her parents came back from New Orleans.

It was on one of those days when morning came over the city of San Francisco. Robert was sleeping with Molly within their small bedroom cupboard as they kept each other warm. The two friends slept peacefully with each other, unaware that they were about to be visited by a small creature that also lived within the house.

Underneath Molly's small bed was a tiny hole that had a small door covering it. After a moment or two, the little door opened and a mouse came scurrying out of it.

The mouse was a young female with light brown ginger fur and a white furred stomach. The mouse had deep brown eyes that sparkled with mischief and bravery. The name for this little mouse was Etta, and she had been living in the house for a month now before Molly and Robert came to live with Aunt Sierra and her family. Etta had moved into the house after leaving her family to find a new home for herself.

Etta stretched out her limbs to loosen them before she ran out from underneath the bed then headed towards the leg of the bed. The little mouse scurried up it before reaching the top edge of the bed. Etta poked her head up over the edge and came face-to-face with Robert's nose.

"Seriously, you're still asleep?" muttered Etta before she climbed up onto the bed and made her way towards Robert.

Once she was in front of Robert's muzzle, Etta quickly jumped up and came to stand on the nose of the sleeping dog. She then proceeded to wake him up by jumping up and down on his nose, while shouting out his name at the top of her lungs.

"Robert! Wake up!"

Robert let out a little growl before he opened his eyes half-way to glare at Etta's small form jumping up and down on his nose.

"Really, Etta...every time?" questioned Robert in a grumbling voice.

Etta stopped bouncing on his nose to glare right back at him: "It's already morning, you over grown Chihuahua! It's time to get up!"

Robert let out an annoyed growl again as he gave Etta a deadpanned glare: "Sometimes I wish I'd let that stupid cat eat you."

"Then you and Molly would be quite lonely within this house if you had let that overgrown flea-bag eat me," countered Etta with a smirk.

Robert huffed at that comment with a small smile appearing on his muzzle. He remembered how he had met Etta. It had been about a week ago since Robert and Molly had to live with Sierra and her family. It had been raining and Robert had been forced to stay inside with Molly so that he wouldn't bring mud into the house. The two of them had been left to stay inside the house, while Sierra and her family when out to see a movie together. Unfortunately they weren't alone within the house. Staying inside the house with them was the family's fat lazy cat, Horus, who was always trying to get Robert into trouble.

Robert was sleeping on the carpet within the Living Room, while Molly was in the kitchen preparing supper for her relatives before they came back. He was quickly woken up by a loud cry and he quickly lifted his head up to see Horus chasing something brown and small towards him. Robert blinked in surprise when the small brown blur suddenly leapt towards him and buried itself in his furry chest. Horus had quickly stopped in his tracks when he saw Robert and grew nervous as he gave the dog an awkward smile. Robert only glared at the cat before giving the feline a low half-hearted bark, which sent the cat running the other way. That was when Robert discovered that the little brown blur hiding within his fur was actually Etta the mouse. At first Etta was a little nervous around him, but quickly grew to like him after realizing that he was just a big softy. That was the day Etta and Robert became friends with each other, along with Molly after she discovered and befriend Etta after saving her from Horus again.

Etta quickly jumped down from Robert's muzzle before he opened his mouth to let out a yawn. He then stretched out his body before he decided to wake Molly up by gently licking the side of his human friend's cheek. Molly let out a tired moan before she opened her eyes to see Robert looking down at her.

"Morning, Robert," said Molly in a tired voice as she slowly sat up and yawned.

She stretched out her limbs before noticing Etta standing on the bed: "Good morning to you too, little mouse."

Etta only squeaked in reply before turning and climbing down the bedpost again. She then ran back into her mouse hole, while making sure to close the door behind her. Molly let out another yawn before she swung her legs over the edge of her bed.

"I guess it's time to get ready for the day," said Molly as she gave Robert a smile.

Robert let out a low bark of agreement, though he wasn't looking forward to spending another day with Molly's annoying relatives.

'I hope Molly's parents get back here soon,' thought Robert with a light frown. 'I don't think I can stand another week within this stupid house.'

To be continued