No Happy Endings// Tom Wilson

Prologue

At an early age, I learned to not get too attached to anyone. No matter how close you are with someone, they never stay. When I turned three, my parents bought me a guinea pig. His name was Spike, and I took care of him as if he was my child. He was my best friend for a long time, until the year I turned seven. Spike died of old age, and my heart was crushed. Even though my parents had offered to get me a new one, I refused. No guinea pig they could give me would be the same as Spike.

Then, I met Della. She was my age, and had just moved into the neighborhood. Her father was working at a base, here in Washington D.C.. My mother had forced us all to get dressed up just to bring a lousy container of cookies to the new neighbors. We were invited inside, and I remember seeing her sitting in front of the TV watching my favorite show at the time. I took a seat next to her, and she smiled at me. And suddenly, I had a new best friend. We did everything together. Sleepovers, swimming, pedicures, manicures. You name it, we did it.

This all changed when Della's father was relocated to a base in Japan. Della moved to the other side of the world, and I was alone again. My heart was crushed just as badly as when I lost Spike. My parents had assured me I would make new friends. None of them were like Della. None of them would do the same things Della and I enjoyed doing together. It wasn't the same.

The year I turned ten was when I endured the biggest loss in my life. My parents were killed in a 'traffic collision' as the police called it. I still don't know exactly what happened that night. I was too young to perceive a lot of the information given to me. I was moved into home after home. But of course, none of them reached my standards. There wasn't a family the agency could give me would ever be the same as my real one. I don't remember a lot from those years in my life. I block it out of my mind. All I learned was that nothing was permanent. Not pets. Not friends. Not even family.

But this story isn't about a guinea pig, or Della, or even my dead parents. No. It's about a boy named Tom, who was the closest thing to permanent I've ever had. He changed my life, and I am forever grateful of him for it.