Our Year Together - Book One

Chapter 3

I jog to Sandy's house eager to see her. It's a new feeling and one I'm quickly starting to enjoy. I can barely contain myself when my eyes land on her sitting back out front of her house, just like yesterday.

"Hey." I smile as I approach her. Those brown eyes look up at me and she raises one questioning brow, not expecting me to have come by again.

"Hey." She said and I take that as my invite to sit down beside her, claiming the spot I had yesterday. I catch her rolling her eyes before looking back out at the scenery laid around us. My own gaze travels down to her legs and the memories of yesterday flash through my mind, dropping my smile a few notches.

My fingers twitch, wanting to reach out and touch them. Pity develops in my stomach once more and I bite down on the inside of my cheek as I force my eyes to look elsewhere.

The only time I've ever felt like this before is for Annie. Maybe I should just leave this girl alone.

The mere thought makes me want to throw up. Her not being here, those brown eyes never looking towards me again, that smile never being faced towards me. It winds me at just how much I can't let that happen.

"So," Sandy's voice startles me and I look towards her just as she looks towards me, our eyes clashing. I catch her suck in a sharp breath. "What's your name? You never introduced yourself yesterday." I push down the feelings that'd arisen in me earlier.

I just want to help her.

"Oh? Are you actually showing an interest in me? I'm flattered. The name's Christopher, though I prefer Chris."

She grunts in response and I chuckle because it's so unladylike, but exactly something Sandy would do. She looks away from me and I watch as a light pink begins painting her beautiful complexion. For whatever reason, it feels as if I just won some type of award and I want nothing more than to stand up and shout my victory at the top of my lungs. The feeling stuns me into silence.

"Chris, huh, well I'm Sandra. Just call me Sandy."

I nod absentminded, still caught up in my confusing feelings. It's the corners of her mouth that turn up just an inch that pulls me to attention.

Just where the hell am I look? What am I thinking?

"So, " I start and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. "You must have a wheelchair, right?" That inch that I'd, somehow, managed to pull from this stoic girl falls away and I know I've asked the wrong question as she looks away from me.

No.

I thought.

Let me help you. Let me pull that smile out. Let me have those eyes on me.

"Yeah." The pained and exhausted tone of her voice chisels away at my good mood, breaking me and I grit my teeth, doing my best to keep my original happy expression.

Tell me everything. Confide in me. Let. Me. Help.

I practically beg her in my mind as I ask,

"Then, why haven't I seen it out here at all?"

Sandy sighs at the question and I can tell the only thing I'm accomplishing is annoying her.

"I only ever come out here to sit and enjoy the day so I don't need my wheelchair. Before my dad heads to work in the mornings he'll bring me out to sit and when he gets home, he'll bring me back inside to the wheelchair." Her voice is monotonous and I wonder how many times she's said this and to how many others. My eyes scour the sky as I listen and I catch her looking at me out of the corner of my eye. When I realize she has nothing more to say on the matter I ask,