Caution! Fragile

Chapter: 9 The Rich Kid

Nate's POV:

Have you ever asked yourself, is it really worth fighting for even if you're the one who ends up shattered? Is it really worth fighting for it if the odds aren't in your favor? Is it really worth fighting for, even if it seems impossible?

Is it really worth fighting for? My answer... Yes, it is worth fighting for, no matter how much others deny it, the universe is telling you to fight. Keep fighting because somehow, somewhere you know everything your doing is worth while.

I'm Nate by the way, Nate Dawson and this is my story.

I drove home that night with one thing on my mind: Kelly.

Kelly was the kind of girl most people meet and feel bad for her; they sympathize over her, they pity her condition and thank god everyday that it's not them in that position. I don't even know her that well but I know Kelly doesn't want people's pity, she wants acceptance, she wants to be able to go out and not have to worry about people looking at her as an emotionally fragile or unstable creature that is a human ticking time bomb that would go off at any second if you say the wrong thing. She's just like anyone else in this world. In fact, she's probably more human and stronger than most people I know. Truth is, I know what Kelly's going through, I saw my younger brother Elliot go through the same thing. It used to drive him nuts, he would always ramble about how he just wanted to be treated like a normal person without all the pity and sympathy that usually came with his condition.

I grew up in a 'Rich high class' neighborhood in Sarasota, Florida and was considered 'The Rich Kid' in school. The kind of kid who people pretended to be friends with just because I had a wealthy family.

The only real friend I ever had was my brother, Elliot.

Elliot and I were the closest brothers you can get; we were the 'Dawson Brothers' nothing could come between us, nothing could break us apart. Best friends by choice, brothers by fate; we were the inseprable pair.

Until he died.

My world stop spinning the moment I saw the police at my front door. I have never seen my mother cry but the memory of her dropping to her knees and balling her eyes out as the police told her the horrific news that Elliot died in a car crash, due to a break malfunction, still haunts me. She has never been the same since either, becoming only a shell of who she used to be.

My father on the other hand became angry; angry at the car, angry at anyone who was involved, angry at the world in general. He had become a bitter man who seemed to despise me for reasons I don't know. I once over heard him say to my mother, "It shouldn't have been Elliot to go."

The truth is, my father and I never really saw eye to eye on things. Don't get me wrong he was a good dad, but he never really cared for my opinions or thoughts which would lead to us arguing for days and my mother and siblings stuck in the middle. When Elliot died, things became worse, my father became bitter and isolated himself in his office leaving Mom, my sister and I on our own. Whenever we talked to him he was in a bad mood and was always starting an argument with me so I just stopped talking to him all together.

My family owns a chain of Auto Repair Shops called 'Dawson's Auto' that my grandfather founded years ago and  passed onto my dad. Since I'm the new generation, it's up to me to keep up and run the family business when Dad decides to retire. I was going to leave it to Elliot so I could pursue my dreams of becoming a concert pianist, but he's gone now and I've been given no choice but to take it. That's why I gave up on preforming and that's why I specialize in the handicap department, to honor Elliot. I know he wouldn't want me to stop playing but family was important to him and I feel like he would have wanted it this way.

That's how I met Kelly; She came in with a 2003 handicap van that was in seriously bad shape. Sure I've dated girls before but they never really lasted for very long and I never really felt a connection with any of them. Kelly's different than those girls and she intruiged me so I did what any guy would do, I flirted with her. Let me tell you, she puts you in your place and gives a heck of a fight when she doesn't like or want something. Yet, underneath what seems like to be a cold shell, I can see she's just like any other person who shuts people out- lost.

I feel like it's my job to change that. I want to break Kelly from her cold isolated shell because, quite frankly, I have feelings for her and I don't want another person I care about to lose themselves because life throws a curveball; I want to make her realize that I'm not the jerk and flirt she most likely thinks I am; I want to make her realize she's not alone- I just don't know how.

I parked the car in our garage and headed in the house. My mom was sitting by the fire place reading a book. She looked up when she heard the door close "Nathan you're home," she said in a forced cheery voice.

"Hey Mom, how are you feeling?" I asked.

She just looked at me with her sad eyes. "I'm hanging in there," she finally replied.

My mom and I have always had a close relationship. She was the kind of mother who hosted parties by night, but was a strong, fearless, mother who protected her kids, with a fierce eye, by day. Yet, when Elliot died, she bacame a broken, emotionally fragile person who needed to be taken care of and always had to be tiptoed around. She was the life of the party and the rock in our family until Elliot died and she died a little, on the inside, too. So to try to heal her wounds and try to stay happy, she hosts fundraisers to support awareness for Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI) in honor of Elliot. She's not who she used to be though and I think she'll never be the same again; then again, neither am I.

I nodded and headed upstairs. I passed Elliot's room on my way to mine and stopped. I opened the door, walked in, and gingerly sat down on his bed. My parents left it the way it was when he died, my mom just couldn't bear to go through his things, it was too hard for all of us to change it. I come in here sometimes just to think and talk to him. "Wish you were here buddy," I whispered as my gaze swept the room, warily get up and walked out, shutting the door behind me. I was so tired after tonight's events and I just wanted to go to sleep.

I laid down on my bed and thought back to the first day I met Kelly and my first impression of her; she had long golden brown hair, hazel green eyes that shined, a button nose, and full cheeks (the main reason why I call her "Sweet Cheeks"); she was something else with that temper that rises easily and I may be part of that; the expressions she makes on her face when she's ticked off or really angry are absolutley histerical and I can't help but laugh which makes her angrier, making it funnier, it's a cycle; above all she's beautiful in a way that's all her own, she's probably the prettiest girl I've ever met, that probably sounds really stupid- right?.

Man I have it bad, I chuckled at myself.

As Professor Albus Dumbledore once said, "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." I knew, even then, that Kelly was my light.

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Hey guys! This chapter is WAY overdue. I am so so sorry that I didn't write it right away, I was really stuck on how I was going to portray Nate. How do you think he is? We learned more about his family and how he feels about Kelly. I'm really excited about this chapter I really hope I did an A- okay job on this. Thank you so much for reading this, this really means the world to me. Give me feedback suggestions, comments, anything and don't forget to vote for me.

Thanks again guys keep up the good work.

Happy Reading ;)