Disabled.

Prologue

Prologue

August

It was the most beautiful day that she had woken up to. And considering how the day was to end, it was quite ironic how out of all the days that they had stayed there, that was the nicest.

Everything had started out great.

After going through her usual morning routine, she had walked downstairs to find her parents chatting merrily as they ate their breakfast, sitting on the patio as the sound of waves crashing against the shore surrounded them. She chose to sit facing the water while she ate, feeling slightly unhappy about the fact that their vacation was coming to a quick end and her senior year of high school would be starting soon.

"Any plans for today?" her father had asked, taking a sip of his coffee. She removed her gaze from where it had landed on a familiar person waving at her, to look at him and smiled slightly.

"I'm going to a party with Jackson later," she informed him. Her parents exchanged a look before looking back at her with knowing smiles, further causing her smile to widen.

Jackson was her boyfriend of three years; they had been dating since ninth grade when she had transferred to her current school. Whenever she thought about it, she found it hard to believe that they were still together when most of her friends were already on their third or fourth relationship since she had met them.

She felt her phone vibrate in her jeans pocket and immediately took it out. She smiled as she read the text she had just received from Jackson before looking down at the beach where he stood with his phone in his hand.

"You can go if you're done," her mother told her, obviously sensing the fact that he had just asked her to join him. She beamed at them both and placed kisses on their cheeks before leaving, making sure to tell them that she loved them.

She ran into her room to grab a cardigan since she knew that it would be chilly by the shore, picked up her shoes and walked out of the back door and onto the beach. A strong breeze played with her hair as she walked towards his smiling face.

"You made it," he said, hugging her tightly once she reached him.

"The 'rents didn't really put up a fight─you know how much they love you," she replied, to which his smile widened. He wrapped his arms around her once more and looked towards the water, not saying anything.

The moment of silence was interrupted when three people walked towards them, all with smiles on their faces. She smiled as well once she recognized them as the friends they had made on the trip.

"Morning, love birds," Phillip said, his Greek accent audible.

"Morning," she and Jackson replied simultaneously. His twin sisters Agatha and Alyssa also greeted them, sharing identical smiles.

They had met the three siblings on the second day of their trip when their families were walking through the capital city, sightseeing. She hadn't been watching where she was going and almost stepped on a phone on the ground when Jackson stopped her and picked it up. When he turned it on, there was a message which said to call a specific number and when they called it, it was Phillip who had answered. After making plans to meet and return the phone, they finally met them and from then on, they had been spending most days together.

It helped to have another family from outside the country with them; it made it feel as though they weren't the only tourists even though they already knew that they weren't.

"So we heard about the party tonight. Are you going?" Alyssa asked them. The couple nodded their heads in unison at her question before they started to walk away from the shore. As they walked, the girls automatically went to one side while the guys went to the other, getting engaged in their own separate conversations.

"Do you know what you're going to wear?" Agatha asked, looking as if she had already decided on an outfit for herself. Nadia shook her head slowly after a few moments.

"That's great! We can go shopping then because I don't have an outfit either," Alyssa informed her, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Oh no. Please don't tell me that you're going to drag us with you," Phillip groaned.

"Oh come on, we won't take long." He scoffed at his sister's statement in obvious disbelief.

"You always say that and by the end of your shopping spree, my feet always hurt."

"You're such a baby," his sister said, rolling her eyes.

---

Phillip and Jackson ended up going with the girls on their shopping spree. And although 'shopping spree' was not the phrase Nadia would use to describe it, by the end, he was complaining about his feet. Since it was close to the time of the party when they finished, they went their separate ways to get ready before meeting at the party.

She was walking down the stairs towards the living room after she had finished getting dressed, when the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the villa.

"I'll get it!" she yelled, walking towards the door instead. She opened the door and smiled once she saw her boyfriend standing in the doorway with the largest smile she had ever seen on his face.

"Wow, you look..." he trailed off, looking at her.

"Amazing?" she asked jokingly but he shook his head, causing her smile to disappear in worry.

"Breathtaking─"

"Of course she does," her father interrupted, pulling her into a side hug, "she's my wife's daughter after all."

Her mother joined them as they laughed, looking at all of them curiously.

"Well I don't want to be the reason why you're late to your little party so go on and have fun. But not too much fun, you hear?"

"Don't worry Mr. Portman, I'll have her back safe," Jackson reassured him as Nadia walked towards him.

They said their goodbyes to her parents before the door was closed behind them as they walked towards the car which Jackson's parents had rented for the vacation. He gently swung their intertwined hands as a soft breeze surrounded them.

Once they got to the car, he opened her door for her and signaled for her to get in. Grinning from ear to ear, she happily sat down and buckled her seat belt as he walked over to the driver's side.

The engine roared to life after he had put on his seat belt and he smoothly pulled away from the curb.

---

As the car came to a stop at a traffic light not far from the venue of the party, Jackson grabbed her hand from where it was resting on her lap, intertwining their hands again as he rested them on the console. She looked away from the windshield and smiled at him.

He squeezed her hand just before he lifted it and kissed it, looking into her eyes.

"I love you."

She felt her lips turn up into a grin just before she replied.

"I lo─"

But before she could finish, there was a loud crash as their car was met with another.

***

[edited - 2019/06/27]