• When you first meet her, you never would’ve guessed all the pain she’s been through. She always acted happy around people, but how could an orphan ever be truly happy? Hailey, a 13-year-old girl, had lost her parents in a terrible car accident when she was only 5-years-old. She always was cheerful and smiling when she was around other people. I guess she was just naturally popular with people. She had shiny, long, dark brown hair with natural blonde highlights, had perfect gray eyes, played soccer, volleyball, and was the star in her track team. She was even extremely smart with straight A’s. Everyone admired her even though she didn’t even admire herself…
    One day, while she was walking home from school, she came across a little lost stray puppy. It was a cute, golden brown and white Jack Russell Terrier. Since she wasn’t around people, Hailey didn’t look like her “socialized” self. She looked at the puppy’s face and saw a reflection of herself. She saw the little girl without any parents. She felt she was going to cry. Hailey automatically knelt down and hugged the puppy. She felt the strange need to help the puppy; to protect it.
    Hailey took care of the puppy; she was always happy around him. She named him Butter and she was always happy around him; not her “fake” socialized happy. Butter grew to be a young dog. Hailey laughed when he saw a cat pass by and he chased it. She rubbed his tummy and he licked her. They became the best of friends and Hailey learned to laugh and love.
    After finding Butter, Hailey wasn’t sad or lonely anymore. She loved Butter more than anything in the world. When she was in soccer games or volleyball games and thought she couldn’t win, she thought of Butter and that changed everything. She gained the confidence to win and she succeeded. But, one tragic day, a car came speeding down the street.
    Butter ran onto the street to retrieve a ball Hailey accidentally dropped. Hailey saw the car seeding down the street, completely unaware of Butter on the road. “NO BUTTER!” Hailey screamed as loud as possible.
    The car hit Butter, but not hard enough to send him flying. He was hit hard enough in the back to break bones though. Butter dropped to the ground.
    “Butter!!” Hailey screamed and ran to her dog. She tried calling for help. A neighbor ran out of their house to see what was wrong. He saw a teenage girl crying and a dog lying on the ground hurt, on the street. He quickly ran to her and helped her get Butter into his car and rushed quickly to the pet hospital.
    While Butter was being tested, Hailey wept and wept. She thought about the worse thing that could possibly happen. What if Butter doesn’t make it? What if he dies? What am I going to do?! As these questions came into her head, she cried even harder. “God, please help me! I need Butter in my life, I need him!”
    Right when she said her prayer, the veterinarian came out. “Miss?”
    Hailey wiped her eyes and replied, “Yes?” she said sniffling.
    “I have great news! Butter is going to be alright!” he exclaimed.
    Hailey sat still for a short moment. Her happiness was stored way deep down. Instead of screaming in delight, she cried. She cried tears of joy. “Thank you! He’s going to be okay!” she cried.
    “The bad news is he’s going to have to stay for a few days to recover slightly,” the vet said.
    “Okay, I can wait,” Hailey replied still crying. Three days? What the hell am I supposed to do for the next three days?! Hailey thought to herself. Anguish and devastation washed over her features.
    Hailey thanked her neighbor for helping her out but she told him that she would walk home.
    “Walk home? But that’s a few miles away from here! Are you sure?” he asked in worry.
    “Yes I’m sure, don’t worry, I can find my way home. I need a little while to clear my mind,” Hailey said with a warm smile.
    “Oh, okay, I understand, well I hope you and Butter get better,” he added with an awkward smile of his own.
    “Well I’ll see you later then. Thanks again,” Hailey said, waving as she walked out the door.
    Hailey walked home in deep thought. She walked slowly and took the long way home. She felt lonely without Butter by her side. She sighed. “Well, at least he’s okay,” she told herself. “Oh boy, this is going to be a long three days!” She sighed again.
    A couple hours later, Hailey got home to her grandparent’s house. Naturally, Hailey had stopped crying but a sniffle occasionally escaped her. Her grandparents heard about what happened to Butter and they hugged her in an attempt to comfort her. They had also grown attached to Butter. He was so easy to love. Hailey could tell it was going to be a loooong 3 days.
    The first day passed and Hailey felt as lonely as ever. Two more days of this, Hailey chanted to herself over and over again. No one could understand why she felt so sad. No one was as attached to Butter than she was. They didn’t understand. They wouldn’t, they couldn’t! Right? She sighed. Just two more days of this Hailey! After that you can go get Butter and you wont have to be tortured any longer. No more sadness, no more loneliness, and no more sorrow…it’ll be over as soon as Butter is back by my side! She sighed a happy sigh. Two more days, Hailey, two more days!
    Another day passed and Hailey grew anxious as ever. Come on Hailey, you lived through two days, one more wont kill you! Will it?! No, no that’s crazy talk, of course it won’t! Why do I keep asking myself these stupid questions?! Ugh, get a grip Hailey!
    The day Hailey could see Butter came; Hailey was going crazy! She chose to just run to the vet hospital. She’s an athlete, she can totally make it! She took off to the vet hospital around 10 o’ clock, a little while after she woke up. Of course, she took the shortest way possible and ran as fast as she could. This girl had some impressive stamina!
    Hailey made it about ¾ of the way when she started to get tired. She didn’t give up though, she ran without stopping. She kept Butter as her motivation. She bursted into the hospital and everyone stared at her. She didn’t care, she asked the assistant where Butter was and ran to where he was. He was lying on a bed that looked a lot like a hospital bed.
    As soon as she saw him, she yelled in delight, “Butter!!” She ran straight for him and he barked in happiness.