Crossroads

This is the tale of a girl with a choice. Read on to find out what that choice is. This could either be a short story of the first installment of several. Let me know if you would like to see more.

Arabelle was resting by the lake, staring up at the gray blanket that covered the sky.  She knew it would rain soon and she should probably head back, but she hated her home. Abusive farther, a mother that was normally too drugged up to even function properly...she would much rather spend the night in the park.  She sighed softly, wishing once more that she had a friend to talk to, but all of her peers thought she was odd. Wearing long sleeves and pants during summer and never being able to go out had made her an outcast.  Tears began to slide down her cheeks, and she closed her eyes.

"one more year...", she murmured, rolling onto her side.  When she opened her eyes she found a pair of friendly brown eyes staring back at her.  She gasped and a pink tongue came out and licked her face.  She sat up giggling as the chocolate lab began licking her all over.

"Hey boy!", She said, scratching his ears.  She checked the collar and smiled as she read the name. 

"So Bandit's your name?  Don't you have a home boy?  A cute puppy like you must have a loving owner."

The dog just layed down and rested his head in her lap.

She stroked his soft ears for a minute and then got to her feet.

"Come on boy!  I'll take you home!"

Bandit jumped up, barking playfully as Arabelle took off running for the city.

 

She arrived at a one story house that was white and blue, a black mustang in the driveway.  The rain started to pour and she ducked under the roof awning, knocked and waited for the owner of the house to answer the door.  Bandit nudged his nose under her hand and she scratched the top of his head. Warmth and light pour out of the house as the door opened.  A man stood there.  He looked to be about in his twenties, dark brown hair and gentle green eyes.  His face lit up as he saw Arabelle and Bandit.

"My dog!  Where did you find him?"

Arabelle smiled back as Bandit shook himself before padding into the house.

"In the park. He found me.", she said with a soft smile.

The man smiled and opened the door wider.

"Come in and dry off. Whats your name?  Mines Darin."

Arabelle walked in and he shut the door, giving her a gentle nudge into the kitchen.

"I'm Arabelle. It's nice to meet you."

"Same here!  Go sit down and I'll grab you a towel and a change of clothes."

She nodded and went to sit next to Bandit, who had already made himself comfy, curled into a bed right next to an air vent.  At the moment, warm air was coming from it, so she sat down to warm herself.

Darin walked back in and handed her a towel.  He lay a pair of sweatpants and a large t-shirt on the table.

"I see you've found his favorite spot.  I'll leave while you dry off and change and then maybe we can eat dinner here, if you haven't already."

Arabelle nodded and he walked out of the room, shutting the door.

 

 

 

Author's Note

Alright guys! I want opinions! Should I keep going with the story? Are you interested in reading it? Should I change anything? I know its a bit short, but I want your opinions before I reveal too much. The chapter will continue if you guys want it to.

Reviews

[Mackenzie K.]

I would love to read more! It's a compelling beginning. The only thing is, at first you say Darin is in his twenties, but then you call him a boy, which implies that he's younger...might wanna change it to "man". That's the only thing I noticed, though...this story is just begging for a part two! :)

[Brick a Brack]

I say go for it. I like what you have so far.

[Noah]

I would definately love to read more of this, I'm hooked. I would like to see a little more detail as to why Darin was so quick to offer clothes and dinner, though. It feels a little quick for me. Other than that, Well Done.

[Alana Michele]

Definately want to read more. I do not like how he immediately offers her a change of clothes.. if its someone he just met, even if they brought his dog back home, most people wouldn't be that nice(though we could wish). maybe you could explain that the girls pathetic look tugged on the softer side of him or something to give him more of a reason to be so generous..and if he expects to see her again to get his clothes back..i still would love to read more

[~*~Peace Keeper~*~]

Yeah i kinda wanna know what happens now XD lol
Great Job

[M. Elizabeth Archer]

There are a few punctuation errors: check your capitalisation and apostrophe use or disuse. Be sure to keep your tenses consistent: there are some parts in present and some parts in past. I think that stopping it where it is would not make sense: the characters are undeveloped, and there is more background than plot. Oh, did I mention that it's intriguing and I want to hear more anyway?