DANCE

Chapter 1 - New Beginnings

It had been a little over a week since Andy Barber and his son, Jacob had hauled their belongings from the small town of Newton, to the even smaller town of Worcester, MA.

Andy, nor Jacob seemed to mind about the move, in all honesty, it was refreshing to get out of Newton. The town was suffocating, even more so after Jacob's trail and it was basically intolerable after the accident. The constant whispers and the lingering stares had taken there tole on both of the Barber men. Andy wanted nothing more than to leave the ever-growing toxicity, of his now ex-wife, Laurie and the judgmental looks from the towns folk. As soon as he saw the notice for the district atterny job in Worcester, he asked for the transfer to be made as quickly as possible.

Moving from Newton meant that Jacob could start fresh in a brand new school, where the student body hadn't heard of the name, Ben Rifkin or knew the real reason as to why he was in a wheelchair. The move meant that Andy could get as far away as possible from his un-trustworthy ex-wife and the unforgiving public eye.

The new house wasn't as big as the one back in Newton. It was modest and had everything the boys would need. Three bedrooms, space for a home office, two bathrooms. The living room was cosy, perfect for movie nights in. The new house was also fitted with a larger kitchen space, that had enough room for a dining table and it opened up on to the backyard patio.

Since arriving at the new place, they had managed to unpack the majority of their things. A lot of the home furnishings had been left with Laurie and so a few days before his first day on the job, Andy and Jacob had gone to pick out some things to try and make the house a home. Andy didn't really know where to start with this kind of stuff, usually this would have been Laurie's job, but the last thing he wanted was for the house to feel like that of a fraternity, so he had reluctantly dragged himself to the nearest target and found himself in the homeware section. He browsed the isle and slowly began to fill up his shopping cart with various soft furnishings; Charcoal pillows, a couple of silver picture frames and a large grey throw blanket. He had decided keeping a natural colour pellet, meant less of a headache for him, he wouldn't have to think about what would go with what.

Time had flown by, with all the unpacking and decorating. It was a Sunday evening and Andy and Jacob were sat in the living room, making use of the new throw blanket and pillows. Both of them were sprawled out on the sofa. Jacob fisting popcorn into his mouth as if it was going extinct, whilst Andy sipped from a bottle of beer. It was Jacobs turn to pick a movie and he had chosen the cult classic, Fight Club.

"I can't believe I have never seen this one." smiled Jacob, his eyes not leaving the brutal action scene that was playing out on the screen before him.

His dad laughed at his typical teenage boy response to the movie.

"Yeah, Brad Pitt is a pretty cool dude." Andy replied, smiling down at his son. He had always loved their movie nights, it was the one thing that the two of them never missed and Andy knew he wanted to carry on the tradition for as long as he could, not only that, it gave them both a sense of consistency. God knows that their lives hadn't been consistent for a while.

As the credits began to roll, singling the end of the film, Jacob turned to his dad.

"Are you nervous about tomorrow?" he asked, quizzically, looking across at his dad from his spot at the end of the sofa.

"A little." Andy spoke, truthfully, scratching his thick facial hair with his free hand. The other still gripping on a half full bottle of ale.

"I think it will be nice to start fresh though." He continued. "I am excited to get back out there... are you nervous about school?"

"A little." Jacob replied, mimicking his dad subconsciously.

Andy lifted his large hand and gently patted his son on the leg. Jacob had always been confident, he could speak to his elders and peers, he was especially popular with the girls. Then the accident happened. Jacob tried his best to keep up appearances with his friends and family, but sometimes a crack in the facade would appear, showcasing a bundle of nerves and insecurity. Andy couldn't blame him for feeling this way. Jacob had been through a lot and the pressure would be enough to make anyone crumble, let alone a 16 year old boy.

"I promise you, bud..." Andy states, looking directly at his son. "You will be great."

"Thanks Dad." Jacob smiled back, his dads words giving him a boost of confidence.

"No problem, Jakey!" Andy spoke, pushing himself off the sofa and ruffling the soft hair on Jacobs head as he made his way from the living room to the kitchen. Popping some rubbish in the bin and then setting down his empty plate on the kitchen counter.

Jacob chuckled to himself and swiftly fixed his hair, pulling his soft brown locks down to the front of his face. He then pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket and checked the time. "Hey, dad. I am going to head to bed. You know, with it being the first day of school tomorrow."

"No problem, you need any help buddy?" Andy hollered back from the kitchen.

"No I'm all good." Jacob yelled back, as he carefully pushed himself of the sofa and lowered himself on to his wheelchair.

After the crash, the poor boy had spent 146 days in a coma. When he eventually woke up, he had found that he had lost all use of his legs, rendering him to a wheelchair for the rest of his adult life. Andy was just grateful his son had woken up at all.

With the dishes cleared and put away, the new throw blanket folded up and placed on the couch. Both of the Barber boys took to their rooms, Jacob's located on the ground floor, for easy access and Andy's up the stairs and first door on the left. With the nimble flick of the light switch and the click of the lock on the front door, the new house fell dark, sleep washing over the Barber's along with the rest of the neighbourhood.