Tears of July | √

1. Somebody Out There

Chapter 1

2 years later

It was that time of the year again. That stupid, cheesy, melodramatic day.

I pushed off the covers from my body and grabbed for my glasses. My eyesight was getting terrible than ever, but over the years I got used to it, seeing as it won't probably be cured anyway. My parents searched high and lo, but never found a doctor who could actually bring me my normal eyesight back. That's why I chose to stay at my grandparents' place, instead of spending my life in the bustling streets of New York. Well, Lyle was the other reason why I stayed. We were like twins, you see. He was there for me; I was there for him, even though he had a few friends of his own, since he was kind of famous in school, being the soccer team's MVP and all that.

Meanwhile being the loner as I was, survived the years without being bullied. It was all thanks to Lyle, acting more like a brother on the way he protected me. But it didn't actually have good benefits. I hardly had any friends, to be honest. They were scared of me, and especially scared of Lyle.

After that little bullying scene back in eighth grade, Lyle and I had become pretty close, and I knew that when he finally opened up to me about his family, which he rarely did. That's when I knew we hit a spot: he trusted me very, very much, and right then I knew it was going to be the start of a long friendship.

It was the start of ninth grade and we met outside school so I could give him his chemistry homework (he was terrible at it, so I did his homework as long as he did my maths) when he started ranting about how his dad didn't call him that week.

"Don't be a wimp, Lyle." I told him as he sat beside me, leaning his shoulder on mine. Suddenly, he let out a sigh then started throwing away the homework I had made for him, the papers drenched in mud as it landed on the ground. I almost wanted to smack him on the head, but he cut me off.

"You know why I helped you back when we were in eighth grade?" he blurted. I shook my head and looked deep into his green eyes that never seized to mystify me.

"My mother was blind before she passed away. She was walking to answer the phone but- but she ended up falling down the stairs. She hit her head pretty hard." he paused, clenching his hands. "She died then my father was never the same again. He thought he could just send me money every month, thinking it would solve my needs." I thought he was going to stop talking. I was staring at him with pity and my hand unconsciously made its way to his back in a reassuring manner.

"-Anyway, that's why I helped you from those assholes. I knew you had terrible eyesight." he stopped, closing his eyes. I figured he would go on with his story even more but after a few silent seconds, I realized he was finished. I let out a deep breath and started fixing the damp knots from his hair. That was the kind of moment that I loved, that I remembered. When he would just blurt out a confession then leave me gaping at him. I noticed that with me, he was just his normal self. He wasn't the cold hearted boy whenever it came to me, he was just... well, Lyle.

I snapped out of my memory and started making my way to my bathroom. I tried to feel the warmth of the sun, and the silent, soft breeze of the wind. But I didn't.

Today was February fourteen.

Valentine's day.

It was the worst among all days in February. You see, I didn't get the point of love (probably because of the fact I had never had a guy fall in love with me before), and I certainly didn't get why couples made February fourteen special. I mean, if two people loved each other, wouldn't they be smitten every day?