Soulmates

Baby Steps

"Right, left, right, left."

I repeat this to myself as I walk to school, staring at my feet, checking there is nothing in my way. I shuffle across the road and successfully make it across. I continue to walk to school.

"Right, left, right, left."

I get to school and go looking for Dan. When I see him I give him a huge hug and tell him that I managed to walk to school without falling. He picks me up and spins me round but that makes me dizzy so he just hugs me and we both say we are going to me more careful from now on. He says he will stop being so violent in football and he is even giving up rugby.  

"I just don't want you getting hurt."

I had never cared about my clumsiness but now I know that it hurts the people I love I have to stop it. As hard as it will be, I have to try.

Weeks go by without falling and all the bruises on my legs start to fade. After about a month my legs are completely normal. I start wearing shorts and skirts to school, much to Dan's pleasure. We both decide that we are going to be fine.

About a week later I woke up with scratches all over my tummy. At first I just looked at it and tried to figure out what I had done to get these. After staring at myself for about five minutes I began to laugh at myself. My mum came into my room to see what was so funny and I just looked at her and said,

"Dan got a kitten the other day."

She left the room shaking her head but I laughed at the idea of Dan, huge sporty Dan, getting attacked by a month old kitten. He had named the cat Gabby, after me. I didn't dare to tell him that I hate when people call me that but I still thought it was cute.  

We spent the next few weeks laughing at everything Gabby had been up to and for a while we felt almost normal. It was nice to not have to think about the fact we shared the same injuries and illnesses. We just acted like normal teenagers that studied for exams and spent to long on the internet every day.