The Patchwork Heart

Chapter 1

My life was changed forever in an instant. Little did I realize how much. I suppose I should start at the beginning, with Dexter and myself. We grew up together, attending kindergarten all the way to grade twelve at the same school. He was the son of a fourth generation farmer and my family had owned the general store in our small rural community for three generations. Dex and I couldn't actually remember when we had met, it was long before either of us could remember. Where I came from, people in our community were like your family. They were always there; it was impossible to recall a time without them.

Dex was a handsome guy from an early age. He never went through an awkward teenager phase, he was tall, strong, tanned and confident. He had a million-dollar smile with dark brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. He was the running back for our high school football team, the goalie for our hockey team and the skip of our curling team. Dex was good at everything he liked to do, which included school. He was on the honour roll year after year, despite his involvement in sports. He worked hard to get good grades so he could go to a top university someday.

Dex was the kind of guy all the girls chased. He had his share of girlfriends before we started dating. I wasn't particularly interested in him in a romantic way until our tenth grade year. Then he started to pick me up before school, drive me home after, hang around my locker waiting for me after classes. Dex made it pretty clear he was chasing me, he wanted to be my boyfriend exclusively. I didn't make it easy for him of course. I tried to push him into the friend zone but he refused to stay there. My friends thought I was crazy to put Dexter Leys on the bench but I wasn't sure I wanted to date someone I had known from the time we made mud pies together.

He was relentless though, he pursued me our entire grade ten year. It wasn't until the grade twelve graduation party that year that I gave in. If there was a party to attend each year, it was the grade twelve grad party. Dex had picked me up with his best friend, Garrett Levesque and my best friend, Jessica Hafford. I hadn't bothered to dress up, and I refused to wear make-up, believing that would deter him from his pursuit.

The party was huge and loud. Jessica disappeared the moment we got there, chasing after some senior guy she'd been eyeing all year. I rolled my eyes and went to the coolers to get a beer. These sorts of parties were called 'safe grads' which meant underage drinking was allowed but parents had to sign consent forms in order for their children to attend the parties. Each of us were given a certain number of drink tickets we could cash in for cans of beer, there was no hard alcohol on the premises. As I handed one of the chaperones my drink ticket they handed me a beer. I sipped it and scanned the farm yard.

It appeared the barn had been emptied out of equipment and was where the music and dance floor had been set up. There were picnic tables all around the yard for the teenagers to have a good time drinking. There were three port-a-potties next to the barn. A few senior class parents were preparing burgers and hot dogs for everyone to ensure we all ate while we were drinking. Around the outside perimeter was snow fence, so no one could wonder off and pass out in the bushes somewhere. It was my first grad party; I was impressed with the set up.

"Come on, let's dance." Dex whispered in my ear. I shook my head at him, "I don't want to dance." He didn't hear me, he just pulled me by the arm toward the barn. It was a fast song so I just swayed a bit and sipped my beer. After it ended a slow song came on. Before I could get away, Dex wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to his chest. I rested my free arm on his bicep and continued to hold my beer with the other. He swayed us to the music, letting his hands slip a little lower down the small of my back. Dex didn't go too low, but I got the message he was trying to convey.

I glared at him, "What's gotten into you tonight?" He shrugged, "I just want to hold my girl, what's wrong with that?" I shook my head, "I'm not your girlfriend, Dex." He sighed at me, "Oh believe me I know."

We moved around the barn floor, it was kind of intimate despite the smell of hay and dust. Dex leaned his lips to my ear and whispered, "Remind me again why you aren't my girlfriend?" I shivered from the sensation of his breath on my neck. I felt him smirk against my ear. I sucked in a deep breath, "Because we know each other two well to go down that road."

Dex chuckled, "I don't know you in every way that I would like to." I rolled my eyes and pulled my head back to face him, "Dirty mind." He nodded proudly, "Of course. If you only knew the thoughts, I have about you when I'm alone." I pushed him away and sneered, "That's gross."

I stalked off and got myself another beer. I left Dex on the dance floor by himself. I wondered around the party for a while visiting with various other teenagers. It was a lot of fun. Garrett found me after a while and brought me a loaded burger to eat. We sat down at a picnic table and ate together in silence. Garrett was a nice guy. He was very quiet, not as outgoing as Dex was. He was still handsome, athletic and popular but he wasn't the golden boy. Dex was the star and Garrett was his wing man. I'd known him forever as well.

Garrett and I just sat together at the table drinking beers for a long time. Every now and then we would chat about a song they were playing or how the party was going, but for the most part we let the silence hang in the air. I didn't mind, with Garrett it was comfortable. After the sun went down it got a bit chilly even though it was June. Garrett took off his hockey jacket and put it over my shoulders. I hadn't asked him to but he noticed I was cold. I smiled at him, "Thanks, Garrett." He didn't say anything, just nodded at me with shy eyes.

After another hour passed with us just hanging out together, Dex came up behind me and took the jacket from my shoulders. I shivered from the loss of warmth. He replaced Garrett's jacket with his own and tossed his friend back his jacket, saying with a smile, "Thanks for keeping her warm for me, man." Garrett nodded slowly and pulled his jacket back on. Dex sat down next to me and pulled me up to his chest as he sat sideways on the bench.

"I've been looking all over for you, Bree. You got away on me." He told me. I shrugged, "Garrett and I have been sitting here for about an hour and a half. I wasn't hiding or anything." Dex smiled and leaned over and kissed my cheek suddenly. Garrett took that as his que to stand up and leave.

I sighed, "Look, Dex, you just made Garrett uncomfortable. Now he's leaving." We both watched him walk away, Dex chuckled, "Nah, he is just giving us some time alone." I rolled my eyes, "And why do we need to be alone?"

Dex smiled down at me and kissed my cheek again, "Because I want to ask you to be my girlfriend officially." I tried to push him away but he had his arms around my waist, holding me in place.

"You are ridiculous. You can have any girl you want, go chase one of them." I told him. Dex shook his head, "Correction, I can have any girl except the one I want. I want you, Bree. I love you." I stared at him, was he serious? Had he just told me he loved me. I had lost all ability to speak at his confession.

Dex ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair and looked into my eyes, "I love you, ok. I think I have always loved you. You are perfect for me, you get me. I don't have to anyone else but myself with you, I don't have to 'on'." I understood what he was saying, being a popular all star in a small down came with a lot of expectations and status. Some of it must weigh on him heavily.

"So, what? You want to be with the girl next door then?" I teased him. Dex smiled, "I want the girl I trust the most. I want the girl who actually cares about me as a person. That's what I want." I smiled at him, his words had moved me. I wasn't expecting his confession of love. I wasn't expecting him to bear his soul to me like that. Dex was smooth, I had to give him that, because his words were working on me.

"Alright." I whispered. His eyes went wide as a smile crossed his face, "Alright? Is that a yes?" I rolled my eyes and nodded, I let a small smile cross my face. Dex lifted my chin up and kissed my lips hard. I had never kissed him before, I had to admit it felt right. My heart was pounding out of my chest and my head was spinning. I wanted to blame it on the beer but I knew it was him.