Second Chances

Chapter 7

I wake up when someone taps on my shoulder. I glance around. There's a person sitting next to me. Well, not right next to me. It's me, an empty middle seat, then the outside seat with the person. It's a guy. My age. Pretty hot.

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Um. Your phone was falling." He says.

"Thanks." I reply, grabbing it.

"Wait. You're. Oh my god. You're Aubrey Miller." He exclaims, causing people to look at me.

"How do you know me?" I hiss.

"You're a basketball star. A role model. A legend. And you're only 16." He says.

"Excuse me? I don't even know you. And my career is over." I snap.

"My name is Drew Adams. And I know. You got in that wreck, but that doesn't mean that you can't play again." He says.

"Yeah it actually does. Don't believe me? Fine. Go talk to my doctor." I snap again.

"Geez. Hard to get. I play football and basketball." He says.

"Good for you." I say. Then I face the window and put my headphones in. There's another tap on my shoulder.

"What??" I groan, taking my headphones out.

"Where are you going?" He asks.

"Um. West High Boarding School." I say.

"Wow. I am too." He says.

"Great." I mutter. Don't get me wrong, he's hot. He's a jock. He's really nice. It seems. But he's pissing me off with the while basketball thing. And Cole. I just. I just said goodbye to Cole. And I just kissed him. I'm not even ready for a boyfriend or for anything even close to a boyfriend.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" He asks.

"Um. That is totally none of your business." I say.

"I know. But I was just wondering." He replies.

"Well. I'm not looking for one now. So move on." I snap.

Then I turn towards the window again and he leaves me alone.

"I just got over a breakup too." He says a few minutes later.

"It wasn't a breakup. He was. He was my best friend. We had sleepovers all the time. He was special." I say.

"I know. I saw you kissing him. The way he called your name and ran to you. Something people wish for." He says.

"Yeah. I know. What about you?" I ask.

"Eh. My girlfriend was...short term. She always flirted with other guys and was too pushy. I knew we wouldn't last after the first week, but I kept trying. I thought I was wrong and it might work out. But then I got my acceptance letter. And I knew I just had to stay with her until I left." He explains.

"Wow." I say.

"It makes me sound like a total dick. I'm not like that. And I stayed with her because I was leaving soon. And I didn't want to start anything with anyone else because it'd end soon." He finishes.

"Well. I probably would have done the same thing, honestly." I say.

"Really?" He asks.

"Yeah. You don't want to start anything knowing that it's only gonna last for two weeks or whatever. You don't want it to get serious then have to break it off." I say, looking down.

"Hey. If he loves you, he'll wait." Drew says.

"No. We agreed to see other people. It sounds so mature and grown up. Like official. I'm going to be gone. Like all the time. It's easier to stay friends." I say.

"Yeah. Hey. You're actually talking to me. Like without hating me." He laughs.

"I guess you're not that bad." I say.

"Um. This may totally ruin this. But what happened?" He asks. I stop laughing. And my walls go up.

"You saw the news. Car accident." I say carefully.

"But there's always more to the story." He says.

"Not here." I argue. He nods, then I rest my head on the window and drift off.
******************

I wake up to someone tapping my shoulder. Slowly, I lift my head.

"What?" I groan.

"We're landing in 10 minutes." Drew says.

"Oh. Thanks." I reply. I start gathering my stuff when Drew stops me.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pressure you or anything. I can be really persistent and pushy." He apologizes.

"It's fine. I'm just. I'm learning to live with it. And it's definitely not easy." I say, laughing a little. He smiles. I finish getting my stuff ready and grab my phone.

"Usually disabled people get off first." The flight attendant says a few minutes later once the plane landed.

"I'm not disabled. I'm crippled." I laugh. Drew laughs too and the attendant glares.

"He's with me. Like my escort person. So he gets off with me." I say. She nods. Drew smiles and grabs his bag. I grab my phone and everything else that I had. I put my phone in my carry on. (AKA-Backpack) Then I grab my crutches and hobble after Drew.

This catches everyone's attention. I have a cast going past my knee, not to mention that we're the only ones getting off. I try not to pay attention. When we get off, we look around. There's a sign that says West High Boarding School students. We walk over to the guy holding the sign and give our names.

He leads us out to this gigantic limo. There's already a few students in the car.

"I can go get your boxes." Drew says.

"There's 8 of them." I reply.

"I'm macho man. I can do it."

"Go for it." I laugh. Drew puts his stuff down on the seat next to me and goes to get my stuff. Everyone stares.

"What?" I ask.

"You're Aubrey Miller." One girl says.

"Tell me something I don't know." I snap. They all stare. I turn away and look out the window. I was never a people person. I sigh, not being able to wait for Drew to come back.