Chapter One

I was sitting on the front porch of my parents' split-level ranch house, my hands shielding my eyes from the sun, waiting for… I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper.

Nolan.

His family had just moved to Paris, Ohio, and our parents insisted that we become friends. Mostly my parents, since I was something of a loner.

They wanted to see me out and about doing normal things... but, I wasn't normal, and they didn't seem to want to accept it.

I sighed as I shoved the paper back into my pocket and leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes.

Although I didn't like the sun's rays blinding me, I didn't mind the feel of its warmth against my face. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep, until I felt someone shaking me gently.

"Huh?" I asked, startled.

"You fell asleep, Starr," my mother said gently.

"Oh. Sorry," I mumbled, shifting in my chair and running my hands through my mahogany-colored bob. I wasn't proud of anything on my body, but I especially loved and took care of my hair; to me it was the only pretty thing I had to show off. "Did Nolan show up?"

"Yes," a semi-deep, smooth voice replied.

I looked at my mother in confusion.

The smile on her face and the wander of her eyes to the left, led me to look around her to who had answered.

While I managed to keep an uninterested look on my face, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. He had to be the hottest thing walking planet Earth, and he was sitting on my porch. Big, emerald-green eyes, shaggy light-brown hair, and a half-smile that if I saw enough times, I'm sure would command me to get up and walk again.

"I'm going to go inside. You kids have fun today," my mother said as she walked back into the house.

I groaned inwardly.

I wasn't a kid. My twenty-first birthday was in three and a half weeks, and she still treated me like I was a baby.

I heard Nolan's good-natured laughter and forced myself to smile. It was obvious that he wasn't a kid either. Not with a strong face like his, not with those arms, not with the way that shirt was hugging his chest…

I sighed and folded my hands on my lap.

No reason to daydream about things that can't happen, Starr.

"So, how long was I out?" I asked with a nervous laugh.

"About ten minutes. At least that's how long I've been sitting here," he replied with that half-smile. Did he have dimples? Of course he did.

"Sorry."

"No, it's okay. I didn't mind. You looked so peaceful that I almost fell asleep just from watching you," he said with a chuckle.

I smiled and felt a small blush starting to creep across my face, so I cleared my throat and looked away. I turned slightly in my chair when I heard the blinds move, and rolled my eyes when I saw my little brother and sister sitting in the window, watching us with big, goofy grins.

"We should probably go," I said loudly.

The two of them burst into giggles and I heard my mother chastising them for eavesdropping. More like spying, but I'd let them have this small victory. When I got home, it would be all out Nerf Gun war.

From where Nolan was sitting, I was pretty sure he couldn't see my chair for what it really was, and I suddenly felt very self-conscious. My parents had a special table built for me to hide the bulk of it, so I would go outside once and a while and get some fresh air.

Nolan got to his feet and smiled. "What did you want to do today?"

"I'm in a wheelchair," I blurted out.

He raised an eyebrow and without missing a beat replied, "Which I'm sure is cooler than my car, so maybe we should take your ride instead of mine, today."

I raised an eyebrow at him, and his half-smile turned into a full grin. Nolan walked over to me and pushed my table to one side. Then he grabbed one of the chairs that was sitting next to me and dragged it across the porch, before he settled into it across from me.

He leaned back in the chair and crossed his hands behind his head.

"Can I ask what happened?"

"Legg–Calvé–Perthes Disease," I replied simply.

"Say what?" he asked.

"Layman's terms?" I asked. He nodded. "My blood flow sucked when I was 12, the ball on my femoral pretty much died and fell off. Then newer, bolder blood decided it would be a good idea to attack the necrotic bone so that it could get better. Of course, that plan backfired, and I lost a ton of bone mass, but I also gained new wheels because of it," I explained with a shrug.

"I had to learn how to walk again, once. I could show you how some day," he said with a smile.

"That's kind of impossible. But I appreciate the thought."

"Nothing's impossible."

I stared at him for a moment but didn't say anything. He seemed so upbeat about it that I couldn't bring myself to crush his spirits.

But it was impossible for me to walk. Ever since I was twelve years old and my blood decided to stop flowing to my bones, I haven't been able to walk since.

Honestly, I didn't mind sitting around all day. I didn't want an electric wheelchair, so I would at least be able to get some kind of exercise in when I was out and about by rolling my wheels myself. My father once said that I could probably beat a 300 pound muscle-man in an arm wrestling match.

"If you could walk anywhere in the world, where would it be?" he asked, leaning to the left and placing a hand on his chin.

"The bathroom would be sufficient," I replied dryly.

Nolan started to laugh, rather loudly. So loudly in fact, that my little brother and sister took their places behind me in the window again to see what was going on.

"You might as well come out here and say hello, you little monsters," I called to them through the mesh screen.

I turned just in time to see them smile at each other and disappear from the window. The door burst open and my five year old brother and seven year old sister came barreling out of the front door.

When they saw Nolan smiling at them, they immediately became shy—as small children tend to do when someone new is around—and walked over to my side, each tucking themselves under an arm.

"Aren't you going to say hi?" I asked them. They both looked up at Nolan from underneath my arms and waved shyly.

"Don't let them fool you," I said in a loud stage whisper. "These little monsters are quite the handful."

"Nuh uh!" my little brother shouted.

"Yuh huh!" my little sister shouted back at him.

"Told ya!" I said to Nolan with a wink.

Realizing that I had just proved my point, they both looked at me for a moment, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

Nolan grinned and leaned back in his chair again. Stella was the first to move slowly in his direction to inspect him. She pushed her little brown curls away from her face and put a hand on his arm. His grin melted into a warm smile as his emerald eyes met her sapphire ones.

Stella's already won him over. The power of children, I thought, shaking my head and smiling.

"My sister can't walk. But I still love her," she said to him.

For some reason, the innocence of her statement choked me up. Tears immediately blurred my vision, and I could feel that a lump had formed in my throat.

"I love her, too!" Liam insisted loudly, giving me a tight squeeze. I looked down at him and saw the pout on his face, thinking our sister's statement would somehow make her love me more than he did.

I put my cheek on the top of his soft blonde, straight hair and inhaled deeply. They both meant so much to me.

I only wish I'd told them more often than I did.

"You can love her too, if you want. Do you love Starr?" Stella asked Nolan with big eyes.

The tears dried up and I felt mortified. He didn't know me well enough to even decide if he wanted to be my friend yet, and now he was getting cross-examined by a seven year old who I just knew wouldn't let him skirt the question.

"Stella! Liam! Come inside now," my mom called, stepping through the door.

They both ran toward the door but stopped and waved at Nolan and me before disappearing inside. I was fairly certain that my face was a deep shade of crimson, but I tried my best to look normal.

"Sorry about that," I said breezily.

"Hey, kids say the darndest things, don't they?" he said with a laugh.

"That's an understatement," I replied, rolling my eyes. I put my hands on the grips of my wheels and rolled myself to the edge of the porch.

"Can you hand me that?" I asked, pointing at the ramp that my father hadn't had a chance to put in yet.

"We don't need that. Hold on," he said, getting up and coming over to me. He put his hands on the handles of the chair and tilted me back. I looked up at him with wide, confused eyes, but his reassuring grin managed to soothe half of the doubt. I knew what he was intending to do; I just didn't think he could pull it off.

"I have two questions for you," he said, looking down at me with a grin. "The first one is; what's your real name?"

Bump.

We went down the first step.

"Jane," I replied nervously as I gripped the sides of the chair tightly.

"Where the hell did Starr come from then?" he asked in confusion.

Bump, bump.

"Um. It was the first word I ever said. At least that's what mom and dad tell me. I used to go outside all the time and look at the stars when I was little. Now it takes everything inside of me just to be able to get out of bed."

Bump, bump, bump, bump.

"Fair enough," he replied.

"What's your second question?" I asked, still holding on for dear life.

"Was that so bad?" he asked with a smile, setting the wheels down on the pavement.

"Huh?" I looked around and saw that I was on the sidewalk now and off of the stairs.

Tricky, I thought with narrowed eyes.

"If we're going to be best friends, you're going to have to learn to trust me," he said, coming to stand next to me.

I looked up at him and watched him slide his hands into his pockets with that half-smile still planted on his face.

I was going to ask him exactly when I had agreed to be his best friend, when a honking car distracted me. I looked to my right and saw my father pulling down the street as he made his way toward the driveway.

I smiled and waved. He honked again and pulled in. When he stepped out of the car, I knew that Nolan would be intimidated; most people were. Dad was at least six-foot-five and he was built like a mountain. He believed that no matter what your age was, you should always try to stay in great physical condition—which worked well for him since he was a contractor. He closed the car door and walked over to us.

It was almost like looking into a mirror, with the exception of the gender difference. We had the same mahogany-colored hair and hazel-brown eyes. When we smiled the corners of our eyes crinkled and we had the same dimple in our right cheek.

"Hi, Sweetheart!" he said happily as he stopped in front of me.

"Hi, Daddy," I replied.

He leaned down and kissed me on the top of my head before straightening up and glancing at Nolan.

"Hello, Mr. East," Nolan said, extending a hand.

"Nolan," he replied, firmly shaking his hand. "How did you get down? Did you use the ramp?" he asked me.

"No, he bumped me down the stairs," I explained.

"Let's not do that again, son," Dad said to him. "I don't want her to fall down and get hurt. It'll bring back bad memories."

"Yes, Sir," Nolan replied.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other. Where are you two off to?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I was thinking we'd go down to the park and maybe just hang out, but we haven't discussed it yet," I replied.

"Alright, well I expect you home by sundown. Can you respect that?" he asked, switching his gaze back to Nolan.

"Yes, Sir," Nolan said again.

He's scared of Dad, just like I knew he would be, I thought in amusement.

"Very good. You kids have fun," he said, leaning down and giving me a hug before heading toward the house.

I rolled my eyes at being called a kid again and put my hands on the grips of the wheels. Nolan walked next to me as I rolled down the street and turned left at the end of the block. The park was more of a small patch of grass, a few swings, some slides, and a merry go round, but Stella and Liam loved it there. I almost felt bad for not bringing them with us.

But, when I glanced up at Nolan as we turned the corner, the smile on his face washed all my guilty feelings away.