Second Chances: An Unexpected Angel

Chapter 1

It was mid April, and I was getting ready for a date with my boyfriend. I used my fingers to apply my makeup. I can't see well enough to use a mirror, so it's much easier for me to use my sense of feel. I slipped into a pink dress that my mother bought for me. It was one of my favorite dresses, nice and loose and sensory friendly. Then, I slid my feet into my favorite white dressy sandals. I brushed my hair, put on my lipstick, and sprayed myself with my favorite perfume, I sat on my bed, and patiently waited for him to pick me up. I began to lose myself in thoughts of him, and I couldn't help but smile.

For many years, I had known nothing but heartbreak, betrayal, and yes, even abuse, from past relationships, both platonic and romantic. The only person who ever truly understood me was my older sister, Hayley.

We always had an unconventional relationship. Most sisters fight and bicker, but Hayley and I were best friends. She's looked after me since I was little, and she's always been there for me.

See, I'm both Autistic and visually impaired, and on top of that, our father died when I was still a baby, which made things so hard on Mom. Having to raise two girls as a single mom is hard enough. Try having to raise two girls alone when one of them has two disabilities. However, things got a little easier when Hayley decided to help Mom take care of me. She helped cook our meals, helped me get ready in the mornings, and even helped me with my homework when I got home from school. Not only that, but she was always there to cheer me up after a bad day. I was heavily bullied for being "different" from all the other kids. Even some of the teachers bullied me. I would often come home in tears, and I wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Why did people hate me so much? Hayley would hug me, and tell me she loved me just the way I am. I would smile at her, and tell her I felt the same about her. Then, she would help me get my homework done, and always had a way of making homework time fun.

After we finished our homework, she and I would hit the piano with Mom for music lessons. She taught us both how to play, and gave us both voice lessons. Since I can't read music, I learned by ear instead. Music was so special to the three of us. It was our favorite way to bond, and for me, it was a great way to express myself.

When I was a teenager, I started writing my own songs. Since I couldn't write music, I would record the melody and music on tape, and played it back to memorize the song.

When we were both all grown up, Hayley moved out, and invited me to come live with her. She had been working for a while, and could afford a nice little house for the two of us. Now, we both live together, and she still looks after me. There's a lot I can't do for myself, such as cooking, cleaning, and laundry, but she does it for me. I often feel like I'm a burden to her, an obligation. I feel so guilty, like I'm taking advantage of her, but she constantly reassures me that she doesn't mind. Still, I try my best to show her my appreciation.

To this day, she and I still make music together. We each write our own songs, but we also write and sing songs together. Music is our love language. Well, one of them.

Every week, Hayley took me out to Callahan's Irish Pub for dinner and karaoke, and that is where I met my best friend, Abby Coggins. Hayley and I also joined the community choir––the Greenflower Choral Society, which is where I met my boyfriend, Logan Coolidge. Hayley also pulled some strings to get me a few paid singing gigs at different nursing homes. Yeah, I would say I have the most amazing sister on the planet.

So, Abby and I had been best friends for three years. Out of all the friends I had made and lost over the years, I felt like Abby was the only one, besides Hayley, I could truly be myself around. She never judged me, never made me feel less about myself, and was always there to make me smile. She became my other sister very quickly.

Logan and I had been together for a little over a year, but we were best friends beforehand. He knew all about my past relationships, and compared to all the other guys I dated, he was completely different. He was gentle, sweet, honest, kind, and funny, and he never put me down, never intimidated me, or tried to hurt me. He was everything I'd been looking for in a guy.

Logan and Abby also formed a strong friendship with Hayley, and the four of us had our own little friendship circle. We would all create music together, go out to karaoke, and just hang out. We were even all fans of the same musical group, Celtic Woman. We would often watch their concert DVDs while stuffing our faces with popcorn and other junk foods, and we even went to see them in concert together. If you're wondering, yes, we had backstage passes to meet them, and they were some of the nicest people we'd ever met. For me and Hayley, however, that wasn't our first Celtic Woman concert. We've seen them a total of nine times, and been to six meet and greets.

Yes, after years of endless crap and misery, I was finally happy. I had everything I'd always dreamed of––a career in music, awesome friends, and the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. I finally found people who accepted me for me.