Chapter Two

We got to the park about ten minutes later and I took my usual spot near a bench, where I would sit and watch Stella and Liam play. Nolan sat down on the side closest to me.

"Starr?" he asked uneasily.

I looked at him.

He was so pretty that I couldn't help but smile.

"When your dad said that he didn't want you to relive bad memories from falling, what was he talking about?"

Oh.

The smile left my lips as I folded my hands in my lap and cleared my throat. I guess I'd end up telling him this story, eventually.

"Well, when I started my freshman year of high school, I had just gotten my wheelchair. My parents had spent all summer convincing me that I was normal and that having a wheelchair was nothing to be ashamed of. So, that's how I went to school; thinking I was normal just like the other kids. My second week there, that theory was shot to shit in a way I never thought possible. See, I hadn't quite made any friends yet because I was shy, so I spent a lot of time alone. I guess it made me an easy target," I said with a quiet, bitter chuckle. I pushed my hair back behind my ears and took a deep breath before I continued. "Anyway, I was late to class and the hallways were empty; or so I thought. A group of football players caught up to me and thought it would be a fun idea to see how fast my wheelchair could go. To be honest, I think they were drunk. I swore I smelled alcohol on their breaths, but I was too afraid to ever tell anyone. Come to think of it, you're the first person who knows that little detail," I said, glancing at Nolan.

He smiled softly and put a hand on the arm of my wheelchair while he waited for me to continue.

"I'm pretty sure you can tell where this is going, but let me continue. The closest place to me was the gym, so I put everything I had into my arms and wheeled away as fast as hell. But of course, no matter how fast I went, I was no match for a group of jocks. They caught up to me in the gym, formed a jock circle around me and flipped my wheelchair on its side. Know what the worst part was? Not one gym class was being held that day. I spent the rest of the school day on my side in the gym; crying, humiliated, and hungry. After school let out, the cheerleaders came running in for practice. Most of them laughed at me, but the captain and co-captain ran over and helped me up. They shut the other girls up too and sent for the principal. After that joyous day, my parents yanked me out of school and they homeschooled me for the rest of my high school career. I guess that incident is the main reason I'm a bit of an introvert," I finished thoughtfully.

Nolan was silent and looking at the small group of children that had suddenly appeared by the slide.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

He cleared his throat but didn't say anything. Not at first, so I let my eyes wander to the children as they took turns going down the slide. I smiled, finding myself wishing that Stella and Liam were with us. So much so, that I was moments away from taking out my phone and texting Mom to bring them down, but Nolan finally spoke.

"I don't understand how people can be so cruel."

"Oh, it was a long time ago. My parents just worry that it'll happen again, but they also want me to make friends. It's kind of a catch-22."

"Well, I"ve shown you mine, now show me yours," I said cheerfully.

Nolan looked at me and raised an eyebrow.

"You said you had to learn to walk again once. What happened?"

"Oh!" He gave me a sheepish grin which caused me to blush, but I leaned toward him and rested my face in my hand while he talked. "I was a wild little kid, I guess you could say. I liked to run, scream, ride bikes, skateboard, rollerblade; you know the usual things kids like to do." I nodded, even though I had never done half of those things. Come to think of it, neither had Stella or Liam. "Anyway, so I thought I was a real badass when I was nine years old. I got this bright idea one day to see if I could go faster on a skateboard if I wore a rollerblade on my other foot. Needless to say, I didn"t get very far. I fell down a concrete staircase near my mom"s office building; got compound fractures in both of my legs. The docs looked at the X-Rays and said I"d be lucky to walk normally again, let alone walk at all. My mom cried her eyes out for weeks about it. Every time she saw me in the casts she would put a hand to her mouth and walk out of the room blubbering. The day I got the casts taken off, I remember thinking that my legs looked normal, so why shouldn"t I be able to use them, right? The doctor wound up giving me those metal crutches with the arm cuffs and told me that I would only ever be able to walk using them." Nolan gave me the full power of his dimpled half-smile, "Do you see crutches anywhere?"

I laughed and shook my head.

"I guess I was as determined as I thought I was cool. Which is why, I say to you, my dearest Jane, that if I was able to get on my feet again, so shall you," he finished with a grand sweeping arm gesture.

I looked down at my legs for a moment, honestly believing that I might be able to use them one day. But being a chronic pessimist as of late, I pushed the thought out of my head as quickly as it entered.

I shrugged in response and his smile faltered a little.

"Wanna try something?" he asked suddenly.

"Sure," I replied, turning my attention back to the children who had now moved their enthusiasm to the swings. I smiled wistfully; it looked like a lot of fun.

Nolan got up from where he sat and moved behind me. He put his hands on the wheelchair handles and began to push me toward the children. I tilted my head up to look at him. He looked a bit mischievous, and also determined. He left me at the edge of the dirt pit that housed the swings and the slide. I watched him walk over to the children and start negotiations of some sort.

One of the little boys—no older than eight years old—hopped off of his swing and gave Nolan a high five. Then they both made their way to where I was sitting, watching them curiously. The little boy gave me as big a smile as the one Nolan had on his face.

"What's going on?" I asked them suspiciously.

"Xavier here wants you to have his swing for a little while," Nolan explained, putting a hand on the little boy's shoulder.

I felt a tear sting my eye. Children didn't easily give up what they were enjoying and playing with; and this little boy, who didn't know me from anywhere, was willingly giving up his swing.

"Thank you, but I can't swing," I said softly, wiping away a tear.

"Sure you can! We're going to help you!" Xavier exclaimed happily.

I looked up worriedly at Nolan who gave me a grin and reached down for me. I instinctively pushed his hands away and turned the wheelchair around. I started to wheel myself back toward the bench when Xavier's sad voice stopped me.

"She doesn't like me, huh?" he asked.

I stopped wheeling and turned to face them. The look on his face broke my heart; I felt like I had let him down in a way that seemed irreparable.

"I just don't know if I can," I explained quietly.

Xavier came over to me and with his big brown eyes on mine; he said simply, "You'll never know unless you try."

I eyed him for a moment, blinking back fresh tears before I looked at Nolan and nodded. Nolan smiled and told Xavier to push my chair back toward the dirt pit, and then he would take over from there.

When Xavier had me pushed firmly against the long wooden bars that were keeping the "clean" dirt in the playground, Nolan came around to the front of me and put a hand on either side of my chair.

"Trust me?" he asked as he leaned down.

"I don't have much of a choice," I replied with a nervous laugh.

He grinned and reached down for me. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and closed my eyes as he gently lifted me out of the chair, careful to still leave my legs in a somewhat seated position. I heard Xavier's feet as he ran through the dirt and straight to his swing. I glanced over and saw him standing behind it... waiting.

"One sec and she's all yours, buddy," Nolan said to him.

Xavier moved to the side and Nolan sat me on the swing. I gripped the chains with every bit of strength that I had. I was terrified of falling off and what it would feel like without something supporting my back.

And that's when I felt Xavier's small hands on my back, holding me upright. Nolan winked at me and then helped Xavier stand on the swing to keep my legs held together tightly, and to still give my back support.

"Ready?" he asked us.

"Won't this break with both of us on it?" I asked nervously.

"Jane, you can't weigh more than one hundred and ten pounds and Xavier can't weigh more than sixty pounds; no way will the chains snap. Now hold on tight, guys!" he shouted as he gave us a gentle push.

We didn't go very far into the sky, but high enough to make my heart flutter and Xavier squeal happily. Our bodies went back toward Nolan who gave us another gentle shove.

"Wanna go higher?" Xavier asked me.

"Um, sure," I replied, even though I didn't want to.

"Harder, Nolan!" Xavier called as we went back toward him again.

I heard him laugh as he gave us another gentle, but firmer push. This time we went up as high as the other children who were now cheering us on. After a few more times pushing us, I was ready to get off the swing. Xavier carefully climbed off keeping a small hand on my back the entire time.

"Did you have fun, Starr?" he asked me with a big smile.

"A lot of fun and it's all because of you," I replied over my shoulder.

Nolan came over and scooped me out of the swing.

"Hold on," I said to him. I looked at Xavier who was now standing with his hands in his pockets. "Thank you. I haven't been brave enough to do that in years and you being there to help me … it made me feel safe."

He blushed and scuffed his foot on the dirt, "You're welcome. Maybe we can play again some time."

"Next time I'll bring my brother and sister with me. You'll have a lot of fun with them," I replied with a smile.

"Okay. That sounds like a good idea. We've got to get going now. Bye Nolan! Bye Starr!" he called, as he and the rest of the children turned and ran from the park.

I smiled when Nolan set me back in my wheelchair.

"Thank you. I never would have tried to do that if it weren't for you, too."

"Did you have fun?" he asked with a twinkle in his eye.

I nodded and rolled myself back toward the bench.

"Stick with me, Jane! We're going big places; first the swings, next the bathroom! Just you wait and see," he said breezily.

I just laughed and shook my head.