Chapter 1: The Lonely Boy

 Chapter 1: The Lonely Boy

Johnny lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The room was silent except for the faint hum of music playing from his phone, an old playlist he had made years ago, back when things felt different. Before his father was gone. Before life felt like this.

He closed his eyes, trying to picture his dad’s face. It had been four years, but the memories were starting to fade around the edges. He hated that. He wished he could still hear his voice, still feel his presence when he walked through the front door. Sometimes, he imagined what life would be like if his dad were still here, would he still feel so lost? So different from everyone else?

But reality always hit like a cold wave. His dad wasn’t coming back.

Johnny rolled onto his side and turned up the volume on his phone, drowning out the thoughts that crept in when he was alone. Music helped. So did video games. He could get lost in another world for hours, where things made sense, where he could be a hero instead of the quiet kid nobody noticed at school.

His mom tried her best. She was always there, checking in on him, making sure he ate, asking how his day was. She worked long hours, though, juggling meetings, paperwork, and the stress that came with raising a son alone. He knew she worried about him, but he didn’t know how to tell her that he was fine. Or at least, as fine as he could be.

He didn’t talk much at school. Other kids had their groups, their inside jokes, their weekend plans. Johnny had none of that. He sat alone at lunch, sometimes reading, sometimes just staring at his food, waiting for the bell to ring.

He didn’t like feeling this way, but he didn’t know how to change it either. It was easier to keep his head down, to avoid the kids who whispered about him, to pretend he didn’t care.

The only time he ever felt free was when he ran.

He didn’t run for a team, didn’t wear a uniform or compete in races. He just ran. After school, on the weekends, anytime he needed to clear his head. The rhythm of his feet pounding against the pavement, the wind brushing against his skin, it was the one thing that made sense when everything else didn’t.

His mom had tried to get him to join the track team. You’re fast, Johnny. You could be part of something, she’d say. But he always shrugged it off. He wasn’t ready.

Tonight was like any other. He finished his homework, played video games until his eyes felt heavy, and listened to music until he drifted into sleep.

But tomorrow,  tomorrow would be different.

Because tomorrow, he would meet the beagle in the window.