Disabled.

Fifty-One

Fifty-One

Tears continued to pour down Nadia's face as she pushed herself. She didn't know where she was going—nor could she see where she was going; all she knew was that she had to get as far away from Mason and his aunt as she could. 

Because the pain of his aunt's words was too much for her to bear. 

She continued to push herself until she felt a sudden gust of cold air surround her. And it was at that moment that she realized she had left the house without her shoes and jacket. She turned slightly to look at where she was and she realized that she was too far away to go back.

And even if she was close, she wouldn't have wanted to go back anyway.

With that thought in mind, she continued to push herself, attempting to ignore the cold as it bit at her skin. 

A few moments later, she stopped pushing as she realized where she had subconsciously gone. She looked around and felt her eyes sting as she saw the scene play before her as if it had only happened yesterday.

Nadia smiled as she looked at Jackson who was intently focused on doing something to the side of the concrete stairs in front of him. He held the sharpie tightly, moving it along the surface in smooth strokes.

"There, it's done," he said, turning and smiling proudly at her.

She craned her neck to see what he was referring to but he stood in the way, blocking her view.

"Let me see it, Jackson."

But he shook his head, causing her to frown.

"Why not?" she asked, her frown deepening slightly.

"Because," he replied, taking two steps towards her and still blocking her view, "it's missing something."

"And what's that?" she asked. He took one more step towards her and stood close to her, so close that their noses would touch if she was just a bit taller. But to compensate for her height, he bent his knees slightly and looked her in the eyes.

"Your reply."

As she looked at him with a confused expression, he moved aside and finally showed her what he had been up to. She walked towards the wall, where he had drawn two small figures; a guy and a girl. She smiled as she passed her fingers over the drawing before looking under it, where he had written a simple question:

Will you go out with me? - J

She had been dreaming about the day when she'd get the chance to be with him after having a crush on him for a long time. And when it had actually happened, she froze and couldn't react.

"Is that a no then?" she heard him ask from behind. She blinked several times and returned to reality before turning to face him. She walked to him and took the sharpie from him, returning to the wall to write her reply:

Yes - N

The memory dissipated as she pushed herself towards the concrete stairs, using her finger to trace the now faded stick figures before running her finger across the words that they had written to each other. She felt the tears finally fall, blurring her vision. 

She attempted to wipe the tears away but was forced to stop when she felt something warm suddenly surrounding her. She looked down to see her jacket, causing her to turn slightly to find Mason standing behind her.

"How did you know I was here?" 

"I followed you," he replied.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, wiping away the tears as her anger returned along with the memory of what his aunt had said.