Riley

Chapter II

Sarah drove me to Connecticut. She said that Riley lived there. I was nervous, it was only an hour long drive but I'd never been in a car that long. Mum and Dad never took me anywhere, no one ever cared enough to show me something new. Until now. Sitting in the front seat was even more nerve racking. Sarah was a fine driver, but anything could happen. Did airbags hurt when you slam your head into them? What if the road suddenly cracked? I'm not afraid of death, Im not afraid to meet Satan, I'm afraid of pain. Pain that demands to be felt. I took a deep breath and noticed Sarah staring at me through the rear view mirror. "Are you OK?" She asked me. The concern in her voice was genuine. When was the last time sometime cared to ask how I was doing? I nodded in response. "Are you sure?" I nodded again. There was a sudden urge for me to ask her a question, "How do you know ASL?" I signed to her. Sarah gave me a small smile, "before my brother died, he was deaf for six years. So I learned. He never talked either, after the accident." I nodded again. She knew. She knew how it felt. I didn't ask anything more.
I curled up in the front seat and stared out the window, watching houses and mailboxes and offices and buildings and skyscrapers and other cars go by. We drove in and out of suburbs and the city.
The hour passed more quickly than I thought it would. Soon we were pulling up I front of a house.
"Well, we're here." Sarah told me. I nodded slowly. I fiddled with the car door. Unsure of how it opened. The handle was different than it was in my moms 1996 minivan. I blushed, embarrassed as Sarah opened it for me. We walked up to an old mahogany door, worn from all the visitors and knocking. Ornamented windows trailed up each side of the door with brass highlights. Sarah has barely knocked when the door swung open.
"Sarah! Jay!" A boy exclaimed. That's the first time someone remembered my name.