Chapter Prologue: How It All Started

Everything really changed for me when my first dog died. Her name was Caterpillar and I had gotten her when I was ten. Despite the fact that I’m told it was because I was a very lonely and emotional child, I loved her with every ounce my ten year old heart could hold. When I was happy, I was ecstatic, but once I was sad I became depressed and it was nearly impossible to console me. I still believe that part to be a little exaggerated; mostly because I refuse to believe it’s true.

My emotional state became one of the main reasons that my parents bought me Caterpillar. It’s kind of amazing how quickly I became so attached to her due to the fact that I was a very detached child. I was considered a lonely child with wild emotions and nowhere to put them. I was surrounded by so many people that just didn’t understand me, until I met her. She was a beautiful black lab that was always excited to see me and I never even saw her coming. My parents have no idea what it meant for me to have her in my life. What it meant for them to get her for me. Eventually, I had to learn the hard way that she was the only real friend I had. She was the only one I could trust without having to always look over my shoulder. For the next six years, my brain tried to beat it into me that my so-called friends couldn’t be trusted, but my ego wouldn’t listen.

Then she died.

She was just gone.

I was ultimately crushed… utterly destroyed.

I cried for days. My heart felt like it was shattered and placed into the cardboard box right alongside her. I became nearly inconsolable. It felt like a piece of me was now gone; I couldn’t sleep and I wouldn’t eat. I barely came out of my room anymore. All I ever did was go to school, cheer practice and come right back home. I had grown very depressed and wouldn’t even talk unless spoken directly too.

During the last week of school, I came home to a very welcomed surprise...new puppies! My parents had explained that a friend of their dog had a litter of pups and they couldn’t keep them even if they wanted to. So I ended up coming home to three new puppy Shih Tzu’s and I cried my eyes out while hugging them. They were beautiful. Two girls and a boy. It was almost instantaneously that I found the perfect names for them. Butterfly, Caterpillar Jr and Cocoon. I was completely in love with them.

It was because of them that I met and made my first real human friend nearly a month later. They were the reason I began to find myself again, and he helped more than I ever knew someone could. Back then, I had no idea how crazy things would become; nor all of the things that would come from the unexpected union.

On one particular evening, the same day that we met to be exact, I had been at the park all morning with the dogs. I was hungry and exhausted from running around with them. We were in the midst of training them and they were helping me lose my summer weight by walking. They’d proven to be fast learners and reliable dogs, but it was only within reason. I mean they were still young, only pups. They knew our block well and where the house was, so I’d usually let them off of the leash by that point. To my surprise they began to bark excitedly before taking off full speed without even worrying about me. I was confused as I ran behind them. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. They’d also grown attached to my dad, but it was too early for him to be home.

My heart skipped a beat as I lost sight of them. I didn’t know where they’d gone, but I got worried after seeing they weren’t by our home. I barely noticed the muddy pawprints on the neighbors walkway before it finally clicked that they had to be theirs. Besides it hadn’t rained and we hadn’t had a neighbor for months so the grass shouldn’t have been wet. Then I heard his laugh. I breathed a sigh of relief figuring that they must’ve gotten curious and smelled him.

“When did we get new neighbors?” I mumbled to myself as I headed around back to retrieve my dogs. I smiled seeing as he was playing with them and rolling around in the grass. Already these new neighbors were in my good graces. They weren’t animal haters like the last ones who kept calling animal control for no reason complaining about insistent barking from dogs who barely bark. I cleared my throat to get his attention and felt as if I swallowed my tongue. He was so freaking handsome. The moment he realized I was there he stood and I could see that he was both shirtless and very, very tall. He looked as if he was about six feet tall; maybe a few inches taller, but he definitely would tower over me. He had long dark black hair that he was currently wearing in a low ponytail and it still went past his shoulders. I couldn’t help wishing that I could run my fingers through those long locs repeatedly.

It was clear that he worked out or at least was some kind of athlete, with broad shoulders, six rock hard abs and a kind of chest that I had no words for no matter how close he’d get to me. His teeth were perfect as they hid behind plump pink lips. Simply put he was fucking beautiful… gorgeous. I couldn’t seem to find my voice as he took long strides over to me on those long muscular things he called legs. He had to be an athlete, no normal sixteen year old looked like that and if I didn’t know any better, I would swear that this inhumane creature with a godlike body and beauty was moving in slow motion.

“Hello. I’m Dave. You must be our new neighbor, my parents and I just moved in late last night. It was a very long drive.” he laughed. I was still trying to cough up my tongue so that I could speak. Not to mention that I hadn’t heard a single thing last night and I didn’t really believe what he was saying. Still I had no choice but to. All the signs pointed that he was telling the truth. I must’ve been sleeping harder than I thought not to be able to hear the loud engines of moving trucks. “Anyways, are these your dogs? I love dogs more than I probably should.” he smiled again, knocking me breathless. I couldn’t speak still as I just smiled and nodded my head yes. After a minute or so of awkward silence, he was the one to break it. “Well I can see that you’re really pretty and I’m hoping that you’ll be someone I can talk to. I’m sure we’ll get to have more awesome and stimulating conversations in the future...you know if you ever decide to talk and aren’t actually a mute.” I knew he was joking by the way that he laughed and damn that laugh was beautiful also. It sent a chill up my spine catching me off guard; but the amount of sarcasm in his tone caught me before I could float off.

“I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting to see someone like you.” I gasped my hand going over my mouth in disbelief. Great, I finally found my voice and it sounds like I’m insulting the guy. Mentally slapping myself I whistled for my dogs and were surprised when they didn’t obey my call. “Wow, they must really like you. They always come when I call.”

I thought. “By the way my name’s Maria.” I pouted, feeling hurt and betrayed as he nodded.

“Or they could sense how sad and lonely I was starting to feel back here and led you here to cheer me up.” he grinned.

“Excuse me?” I asked, wondering if he was trying to flirt with me. The last thing I needed right now was a boyfriend or love interest. I just wanted a friend. I wasn’t trying to be full of myself, but I’d heard lines like that before. They always ended when the guy wanted more than friendship. They always ended with the girl being hurt.

“Rumor is that dogs can sometimes sense people’s emotions. So I’m guessing that they knew how much I wanted to make a friend. So they brought you here. I was getting lonely back here anyways.” he shrugged as I just stared at him. “ Besides, I’m pretty sure that you’d appreciate someone that could talk back instead of just licking your face as much as I would right now.” Well he had me there.

He started to walk away as I just stood there shocked at how straightforward he was. It took him a minute before he realized that I wasn’t following before he paused and just stared at me. I guess that was my cue to follow him.

If we decided to become friends, he was definitely going to take some getting used to.

He led me across the yard past an empty pool that really needed to be cleaned, over the backyard walkway and towards a hammock where he had a book lying facing down. I didn’t bother trying to hide the fact that I was trying to read the title. The minute I realized he was reading I almost jumped out of my seat excitedly.

“Oh my goodness! I love that book! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it.” I squealed.

“It is a good read. I’m rereading it. Just to make sure I didn’t really miss too much the first few times.” I smiled before sitting back on the side of him on the hammock.

“Does the hospital scene shock you as much as it does me?” I asked a goofy grin, slapping itself across my face.

“My jaw drops every time,” he agreed.

“I can’t believe the author did that. I had no idea it was him, I really believe she was the bad guy.” I sighed feeling myself get frustrated as I thought about the story all over again.

“I think that’s the point.” he laughed. “We’ve been conditioned to only see black and white that we constantly miss the little gray areas. In this case, everyone is the villain and the hero. It’s a matter of perspective.” My jaw dropped. Maybe a friendship with him wouldn’t be so hard after all.

“I can understand that. Which makes me wonder, why did she choose to write it from Andrea’s point of view instead of someone like Alicia?” I asked him honestly, curious over what he would say.

“I think it’s because Andrea is so self-aware. Like she’s not hiding that she’s full of shit too. She makes it known, but she’s still quick to play the victim. She doesn’t like liars, but she tells lies. It’s a vicious cycle they can’t find their way out of. Alicia doesn’t see wrong in her actions, but she’s right about one thing. She never lied.” and just like that he couldn’t get me to shut up. For a while we talked about the book as the dogs ran around the yard happily tiring themselves out. Somehow the conversation had switched and we spent the rest of the time just getting to know each other a bit. I found out that I was right and he was an athlete. He played both football and basketball. I told him that I was a cheerleader, but I was still one of the most unpopular kids in school and that I would go into detail on why when I knew him better. I knew he was going to find out anyways when school started, but I’d rather that he heard it from me. At least then it would be the truth and not some made up rumors. We realized we had a lot in common. From a shared love of reading to a shared love of chocolate cake. We had gotten so caught up in each other that we’d forgotten everything around us. It was nearly midnight by the time we called it a night.

We exchanged phone numbers before going into our respective houses. We spent nearly every day that summer together and when junior year started I had a friend to eat lunch with and more. We realized just how much alike we truly were. Everyday back then and even now going into our senior year, we are dressed alike. It’s a weird coincidence that we’ve learned to love.