Aiden is sent to Hawaii to stay with his father, whom he has never met. But when he arrives there he discovers there is no one to meet him. He has no money, and his mother and stepfather do not want him back. Devastated at their betrayal, hungry and heartsore, he walks away from the airport in a random direction, only to be beaten up and have his belongings stolen by vagrants. But Aiden is a fighter. The next morning he determines to find help, and on his way he sees three children being attacked by dogs. He jumps in to save them, and the consequences of this act of bravery leads him down a brand new path. Aiden soon learns that he can choose his own family, and that his past need not always define his future.

Dog Days

The next time I surfaced, I was hot and sweating and shaking. I thought it was because the sun was shining in and maybe it was on me, making me too hot. There were people talking behind my back, and beyond them I could hear Sol and his ex talking quietly together, with ‘bitch please this’ and ‘bitch please that’. I wanted Lefty. I tried to roll over but hands stopped me. My butt hurt but my back hurt higher up too. Naturally, I started to cry.


I heard Todd’s voice. “Fun’s over, Aiden,” (no ‘sweetie pie’ now with others there), “This bite is infected and we’re doing a spinal on you. It will be over in a minute. I’m sorry you woke up to this.” Infected? Blood poisoning? Germs? Goo? Maybe it was that flesh eating bacteria. Maybe I was going to die. I didn’t want to die. I wanted Lefty. I didn’t want to be sick or scared or crying.


Chapter 19