Canon | (Harry Styles AU)

[thirty eight]

I didn't read it.

The envelope with Jo's letter stayed shoved in the pocket of my wheel chair till the end of the night that Fourth of July.

It was there when Annette finally found me for the final round of fireworks. I could see Jo sitting on her lawn with her brother James, her mom and the people that had been in her house that day her mom was in the hospital. No sign of her dad. I hadn't seen him since the day he mocked me. And I was grateful..not because I feared him.

The letter stayed there when Zayn sadly went home after his stay, promising to come visit for thanksgiving.

With Jo no longer around, I honestly didn't think of the envelope at all. I was too busy putting together the final lose ends of my portfolio so that I could enter it on time. I think that if I hadn't needed to return the wheelchair after renting it, I would have never given the envelope another thought.

"..everything seems to be healed correctly," The doctor with cold hands says looking at my x-Rays while feeling around my knees and shins.

"I'll prescribe you a small dosage of ibuprofen just in case you feel any sort of mild pain now that you'll be back to walking," He smiles, grabbing a hold of his pen, writing down the order.

I stare down at my slightly ashy looking legs and nearly laugh at how much thinner they are from lack of usage. My muscles felt stiff and fragile but that didn't stop me from wobbly standing when the doctor asked me to.

"We can give you some crutches, but I think you'll be just fine without them," He smiles, gesturing got me to sit after walking back and forth a few times.

"You look like a baby learning to walk for the first time.," Annette teases while the doctor finished up on the computer.

"How original," I laugh, shoving her shoulder playfully.

"You think you'll get the hang of walking again by the time school starts?" She asks me, looking over at the doctor probably waiting for an answer from either of us.

"School starts in like what?..two weeks?"

Two weeks. I'd be forced into one more year of high school in two weeks.

"Mhmm," She nods.

"Plenty of time," I answer confidently,"You and Lou can help..I'll walk across the living room from one pain in the *ss to the other,"I tell her lightly shoving her again, making her laugh, shoving me right back.

"You'll only have one pain in the *ss next week remember?" Annette jokes, reminding me she'll be gone to some doctor program bullsh*t..well it was bullsh*t to me because she'd be gone so long meaning Id be left with Louis as help for school prep which really meant I was on my own since it was basically the blind leading the blind.

"Just me and Lou..I guess it won't be so bad," I shrug truthfully, giving it a little more thought.Now that I was free to walk and lay how I pleased I noticed Annette's beauty..that f*cking perfect body..that much more. What she told me about trusting me and wanting me to take her virginity ran through my mind nearly everytime we were together. I could potential be f*cking her as much as I wanted and that scared me. Just because she trusted me didn't mean it was right..at least that's what that voice in my head constantly said. A part of it was really due to the guilt I felt continuing with the project using Jo as my subject. In order to take shots of where she "could have been" I have to actually thinks about her a little and then take the shots. It made me guilty just thinking about her and how different she seemed..

Either way, having sex with someone for the first time would forever connect us and I wasn't sure if I could afford hurting Annette if things ever went wrong because let's be real for a minute, we're only seventeen.