The Boy Down The Street ✓

iv.

It was raining again.

It had also been a bit over a month since Dev and I started hanging out. Every time I had work, I would go straight to Dev's after. We had quickly become pretty good friends and we knew quite a bit about each other.

To be completely honest, I liked him. A lot. Dev was a nice guy, he was super caring. I was still curious about his crutches though.

"What are you thinking about, Nick?" Dev nudged my shoulder. We were sitting on the back porch of his small blue house.

"I just- I was just wondering when you were going to get out of those crutches." I shouldn't have said that because Dev's pretty smile turned into a frown. He sniffed and looked down at his legs, "I uhm, I don't think I'm never going to be able to walk without crutches." He said, his voice breaking slightly. My heart broke at his sorrow.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously. Dev sighed and wrapped his short arms around me before speaking, "Remember when I mentioned the accident?" I nodded. "Yeah, well it happened about eight months ago. My dad and I were on our way to the store to get some last minute supplies we needed for a project. It was really dark since it was at night and-" I squeezed him gently but comfortingly.

"And there was a car. The car had it's headlights off and we didn't see it coming straight at us until it was too late." Tears had welled up in Dev's eyes and all I wanted was to wipe them away and tell him it was okay but I stayed quiet; he needed to talk about it and I didn't want to interrupt him.

"I-I don't remember much of what happened, but I do remember the pain from the imapact." He sniffled softly, "dad died on the way to the hospital and I was unconscious for days. When I woke up, I couldn't feel my legs. I was so scared, Nick." My own eyes had welled up with un-shed tears and a lump was forming in my throat.

"Eventually, I gained back feeling in my legs and tried to walk but- but it was just so painful. Every step I took was shaky and I would cry out in pain. It got a bit better, it did but the doctors mum and I have spoken to all told me that it's basically impossible for them to get better much more." Dev looked at his crutches, "when I know I don't have to walk a lot at once, I use the crutches, but sometimes I have to use a wheelchair because it would be too painful and exhausting for my body to bare."

I watched as a stray tear slipped from his eye and down his rosy cheek. I pulled him into my chest to try to comfort him and my heart warmed when he hugged me back tighter. "Dev, it's okay. I'm happy you felt comfortable enough to tell me this," I said into his soft hair.

Gosh, I really like this boy.