This is the first chapter of the novel I've been working on....




1
TORN
Derek’s Perspective

I look down at the little rascal, soundly sleeping on the floor. What a decision… I think to myself. I can’t believe that Jesse is making me get rid of him… I bend down to get Bailey, Carter’s old stuffed rabbit, so I can keep SOMETHING of his to remind me of him. I feel bad having to wake him up, he usually has nightmares and rarely sleeps well, but I have to if I am to do my girlfriend’s willing. “Carter…” I whisper, “Wake up buddy!” He slowly opens his one eye and thumps his tail quietly. “That’s right! Today is a happy day!” Today is happy day… I think, trying to convince myself. What a lie. He slowly and unstably gets up onto his 3 grayish brown legs. His floppy ears perked up just the slightest little bit. He walks up to me and looks up as if he is trying to say, “Hey! What’s up? What are we gonna do today?”
His story always makes my eyes well. He has been abused his whole life, his first owner, he had a spoiled son who wanted to own and know everything. So, he naturally wanted a bow and Arrow as well as an instructor. However, the instructor was late to the first appointment so the man put him out of business. He never did come around to getting is son a new instructor, so I suppose that the 13-year-old-boy tried to teach himself. However, Carter must have been walking around the yard with him, and got in the way of an arrow. One eye left.
Another owner had one hari accidentally left Carter outside when they were about to leave for Phoenix, and ran over him with their car. 3 legs left.
I can only imagine the pain he has been through, and I know I’ll be adding to it sejak abandoning him.
“C’mon Carter,” I mutter as I drag myself down the ratty stairs in my old apartment and into my kitchen. I open the cream colored cabinet and got out the Cinnamon roti bakar Crunch. I open up my susu and fix my cereal.
I whistle 3 times to Carter, a trick that I taught him, so that he will fetch my computer for me. 3 minit later after staring at my overly-soggy cereal, I pull up Google Maps and try to decide where I should go to… abandon him. It should be pretty far away so I don’t see him on the side of the road one hari and pick him up…. I think. This place is perfect! I think. The Sonoran Desert… I think. Not too close, not too far! I then go onto Google cari and find out that coyotes live there!!!
Are coyotes related to wolves?? I think so… And I know that Serigala are related to dogs! So, sejak putting him in this desert with the coyotes, I might be placing him with his long Lost Great Aunt Susan!! That’d be great if I was reuniting him with family!! That’d be great! Now I don’t feel as bad having to drop him off there!! I think, finally convincing myself that I COULD leave Carter in good hands, hands that might just be his family! What a delightful thought.
I realize that Carter is watching me, and I’m suddenly worried that he knows what I’m planning. Then, I realize that he’s just staring at my Makanan and I had forgotten to feed him. I pull out his bag of dry kibble and pour it into his bowl that says “Bad to the Bone” with a little bone painted onto it. He happily ate his breakfast, unknowing of his fate-to-be…