Bringing Me Closer

Chapter Two

        That night the doctors notified my parents and I that I would be okay. Liam was doing just fine also, besides a broken arm and a very slight concussion, that shouldn't cause any problems, he was alright. My concussion was a bit worse so I had to take it easy the next couple of weeks, so I guess no county fair for me. We were both released that night and my mom said Liam could stay in my brother's old bedroom because his parents were visiting some relatives in Virginia and he needed to be looked after because of his arm. We were both told to lay off on reading and things that would hurt our heads with too much concentration. My mom dropped us off and explained that she was going to run to the store, she suggested that we both take a nap, doctor's orders.

               Being the rebellious children that we have been since we met in third grade, we decided to watch a movie instead. While flipping through the channels we found The Help, and settled on the plaid couch that my mom bought a good sixteen years ago when I was one. I grabbed a blanket and took breaks from watching the movie every fifteen minutes or so because my head started to pound. Liam didin't seem to notice, he was too busy focusing so intently on the movie and every detail of it, like always. I didn't realize that I drifted off to the words "you is kind, you is smart, you is important," coming from the TV set.  While in mid-dream I heard the garage door open and I opened my eyes only to see Liam's shoulder, and my headleaning on it. I jumped off of the couch in surprise and hit my head right off of the wooden arm rest on the couch. I felt like the whole world was spinning at an excessive rate. When Liam finally woke up and saw my dismayed expression his hand went up in disarray and smacked right off of the wall behind us, and yes it was his broken arm. He winced immediately and grabbed his arm in pain. As both of us were rubbing our, now freshly in pain, injuries, my mom walked in the door. She set the groceries down and came out to the couch and asked, "You guys okay?" Liam and I looked at each other and then at my mom and we immediately busted out laughing.

               When I woke up the next morning I was staring into the hazel eyes of my cat Ansel. He purred and rubbed his whiskers against my nose. As I got out of bed, I did it a little too quickly and immediately felt dizzy and slightly nauseous. Of course, Liam was passing my room at the time, catching me at a bad time once again. I knew I shouldn't have cared about what he was thinking considering he knows me so well, but I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. He ran in my room and steadied me by my shoulders, looking into my eyes. "You alright Rox?" "Yeah, yeah I just got up a little too fast." When he looked away he sort of winced again. "Liam... What's wrong?" He considered not answering and after much contemplation replied, "I feel really guilty." "Well why?" "Because your IV came out because I tripped on the chord. And I should have been taking care of you and helping you, but instead I hurt you and made you have a panic attack." "Liam, listen to me," now I was the one grabbing his shoulders, "you made a mistake, it happens." Suddenly my arms were slipping down to his elbows but they weren't letting go. He looked into my eyes and I felt like he was reading my soul. Then he looked at my lips, this time he was reading my mind when he leaned in closer. 

               "Well it wasn't that big of a deal." "ROXY! You and Liam have been friends for like ever and suddenly he's kissing you? I think something is going on between you two and you just don't want to tell me." "Darla, I would tell you if anything was going on! Why do you think I called you before I even talked to Liam about this?!" "Wait, you guys haven't even talked about this? Like what it means?" "What it means?" "Well you don't just kiss someone because you're good 'ol friends." I heard some yelling on her end of the phone and then she said, "My sister snitched on me again. I gotta go Rox! See ya at the fair?" "Actually-" "Okay I'll pick you up at eight tomorrow!" How had I completely forgotten to tell her about my accident at the beach? I guess I was a little distracted guessing what this kiss meant.

               "Roxy, how many times do I have to tell you? No playing piano! It makes you focus." "Mom, I'm fine!" I began the chords for "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 when I heard footsteps behind me. I was already annoyed with my mom so I just kept playing. I was completely surprised when it was Liam who sat next to me on the bench. He sang through the song with the voice that I never knew he had. "Liam! Since when can you sing?" "Well I don't know, like a few years." "Well you're absolutely amazing! Wait shouldn't you be getting ready for the fair tonight?" "Well I was thinking since we're both injured we could do something together instead?" "Like what?" "Well I don't know maybe we could go down to the beach, have some dinner?" "Well okay that sounds great, actually. What time should I be ready?" "How about whenever you want, I'll be ready when you are. I just gotta run to the store to pick up some things for our picnic."