-Pete's POV-

I sprinted up the stairs and locked myself in my room, sliding my dresser against the door to barricade me in even further. I could hear heavy feet slam down on the stairs as they gained on me. Powerful fists pounded against my door rapidly, as my father yelled various profanities through the splintering wood. I descended down onto the floor and backed up against my dresser to hold the door with my weight as well as the dresser's. I covered my ears and closed my eyes. Hemingway barked and snarled at the door but the booming noises wouldn't cease.

"Hemmy come here," I squeaked through tears. Hemingway instantly quit growling and bounded over to me. He sat down in the spot next to my leg and whimpered softly. He rested his head in my lap and allowed me to stroke his silky fur.

"Come out here you dumbass!" My father bellowed. I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut. I held my hands over my face. I acted as if my hands were a shield protecting my eyes and ears from all the bullshit that was happening around me. Hemingway nuzzled his way into my lap and sighed. He licked my arm, trying his best to comfort me and stop the shaking that had invaded me.

I hugged the bulldog against my chest. Hemingway licked the tears as they escaped my eyes and put a paw on my shoulder.

Finally, the pounding and screaming stopped. I gently guided Hemingway off of my lap and looked through the crack under the door. The hallway was empty and quiet. Hesitantly, I stood up and moved the dresser back to its original place next to my bed. Hemingway hadn't left his post, staking out the door. It's nice to know that he would protect me.

I opened the door and checked the hallway. My hands were still shaking and I bit my bottom lip out of nervousness. I looked left and right but nobody was there. I closed my door again and locked it.

I quietly crept over to my laptop and decided to check out that chat site that popped up on my phone earlier this morning in the park. I plugged in my earbuds to my phone and blasted music through my head while I waited for the page to load. I thought that maybe meeting someone online would ease my pain and help me become less lonely.

When it finally loaded, it asked for some basic information about me for my profile.

Username: P3t3rthe3rd
Name: Pete
Gender: Male
Age: 17
State: Wisconsin

I uploaded a picture from the a couple months ago. I was holding Hemingway in my arms, grinning down at him. (Picture above). I clicked 'create profile.'

I decided to look around and browse through the different usernames and pictures if they were provided. I don' t know why I chose to scope out the profile of PStump84, but I guess he looked like a sweet kid considering what his profile picture looked like. But if I was to take the word of my teachers, this PStump84 kid could be anything but his picture. I chose to risk it and send him a simple "hi." I waited around for a response for maybe ten minutes, but didn't get one.

I gave up and went on Twitter instead. I scrolled through pointless sentences that my family and celebrities would post and sighed to myself.

About twenty minutes later, I heard a chime from my computer that would change my life forever.

PStump84: Hi