The next day, my back was almost completely pain free. I was in a great mood when I got to school, and it improved when I spotted Rachel and David walking towards me. “Hey guys!”

            They both looked up and Rachel gave me a huge smile. She pulled away from David and bounced up to me, pulling me into a hug. I managed not to wince when she squeezed me tightly, even though it caused a few twinges in my back. “Hailey! I’m so happy to see you!”

            “Um, good to see you too?” I said with slight confusion as I pulled away from her.

            “I’m having a party this weekend and I was hoping you could come. You can bring your boyfriend as well.”

            I felt my blood freeze in my veins. “Sorry Rachel, I don’t go to parties. I’m not that kind of girl.”

            She pouted. “Aw, come one! It’ll be lots of fun and it’ll be a good way for you to meet more people around here.”

            I shook my head vehemently. “No, but thank you for the invitation.”

            I think she was going to argue again, but David placed a hand on her shoulder. “Rach, she doesn’t like parties. Drop it, okay?”

            She sighed, but agreed. “Fine. But you have to come hang out some other time then.”

            I smiled with relief. “Sure, I can handle that.” The warning bell rang and we all quickly started heading to our classrooms. Rachel’s room came up first, and she kissed David goodbye quickly before bouncing away.

            I chuckled as I watched her. “She sure is bubbly, isn’t she?”

            David smiled affectionately. “Yeah, she really is. I don’t know where she gets all that energy from. She hates sitting still for more then five minutes and she’s not very organized. But I love her anyways.”

            I smiled. “I can tell. You two are really cute together.” We reached my biology room. “This is me. See you in math?”

            David nodded and wandered off to his own class. I entered my classroom and went straight to the same seat I’d been in yesterday. Blake was sitting in his spot and I put my bag down carefully before sliding onto my stool. I turned to him as soon as I was seated. “I’m sorry for snapping at you yesterday.”

            I think he was surprised, but it was hard to tell because of the damn sunglasses. But his lips quickly turned down again. “Let me guess. You found out about my disability, so now you feel bad for how you treated me.”

            “No, I feel bad because I was a bit of a bitch. Granted, you were an ass to me first, but then you asked if I was okay and I snapped at you. So, I’m sorry for doing that.”

            He was silent for a moment. “Fine.”

            I waited a beat. “What, no apology for being an ass?”

            “Nope.”

            “You know, it’s a lot easier to get through life if you at least try to be pleasant.”

            “I don’t give a shit.”

            “Stop being a dick. It doesn’t suit you.”

            That shut him up briefly. “How the hell would you know?”

            “It doesn’t suit anyone. Duh.”

            “Are you always this sarcastic?”

            “Yes.”

            “It’s annoying.”

            “So is sitting next to an asshole.”

            His lips twitched at the corner. “Good point.”

            Ha! I almost made him smile. I was very pleased with myself and I sat a little straighter. That’s when I realized the rest of the class was silent. I looked around and saw that everyone was staring at us. “Um, Blake?”

            “What now?”

            “Why is everyone staring at us?” I whispered.

            He scowled instantly. “Because everyone in this school are closed minded idiots who can’t think for themselves,” he said loudly.

            “That may be true, but it doesn’t explain why they’re all staring at us.”

            That caught him off guard. “Wait, you’re agreeing with me?”

            I shrugged, even though I knew he couldn’t see it. “Well, you know these people a lot better then I do, so if you say they’re closed minded idiots, I’m inclined to believe you. But you still haven’t answered my damn question.”

            He thought about it for a moment. “It’s probably because I don’t talk to anyone, but I’m talking to you. Therefore, we are currently the most interesting thing in their pathetic lives.”

            “Ah, that makes sense. So, should I feel flattered?”

            “Why the hell would you feel flattered?”

            “Because you’re talking to me.”

            Silence. Then, “Just shut up.”

            “Ooh, good comeback. Remind me to get you a book of insults.”

            “I wouldn’t be able to read it, idiot.”

            “It’s called Braille dumbass.”

            He smiled fully then and it caught me off guard for a minute. I really wished that he didn’t have those stupid glasses on. I had a feeling he was really handsome, but it was so hard to tell with half of his face covered. He spoke again, breaking me from my musings. “You’re kind of odd, you know that?”

            “I’ve been told that a time or two,” I said dryly. “But I’m curious. Why do you think so?”

            He shrugged. “You treat me like a regular person.”

            “As opposed to what? An alien?”

            He snorted. “Pretty much. I’m as foreign to these people as an alien would be.”

            “Well, you did say they were closed minded. That might have something to do with it. Me, I like to think that I’m open-minded. For the most part.”

            The bell rang, cutting off any further conversation and I silently cursed it. I was determined to become friends with Blake, and I had a feeling I’d made a decent start. I couldn’t care less what everyone else really thought about me, because I knew Blake was probably right. The people at this school were very likely closed minded, and I didn’t want to be friends with people like that.

            After biology, I joined up with David and we went to math class. He kept on shooting odd looks at me, but I ignored them. However, I couldn’t ignore the bouncing ball of energy that was Rachel, because she practically attacked me as soon as I entered the classroom. “Oh my god! Were you seriously talking to Blake Adams?”

            My eyes practically popped out of their sockets. “How the hell did you hear about that already?”

            She waved her hand dismissively. “There are very few secrets at this school. But what in the world could you have been talking to him about?”

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked sharply.

            She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. “Huh?”

            “You said that like you were implying that I would have nothing to talk to him about because he’s different.”

            “I just meant…” she trailed off and then frowned a little. “Sorry, that was insensitive of me.”

            I shrugged. “It’s okay. And to answer your question, we pretty much just traded insults.”

            “Really?”

            “Yeah, he’s not exactly the most pleasant person to talk too,” I replied.

            David chuckled. “He always had a temper growing up. It’s just a lot worse now,” he said.

            I took a seat near the back of the room. “Well, he’ll learn quickly that I have one too. If I’m going to have to sit next to him all semester, then he’ll have to learn to be civil to me.”

            “Good luck with that one. You’re going to need it,” David replied.

            After school, I decided to go to the hospital to visit my brother. It had been a few days since I’d seen him, and I felt a little guilty that I had been neglecting him. I drove there straight from the school, and parked quickly once I arrived. 

            I went into the building and started walking towards the elevator. The familiar dread settled into the pit of my stomach, as I got closer to my destination. I rode the elevator to the second floor and headed to his room.

            The closer I got, the harder it became to move. But it was always like this, and I forced myself to continue. When I finally got to his room, I took a deep breath and entered.

            He was lying on his bed, same as every other time I’d seen him. Tears pricked at my eyes as I looked at him, but I refused to let them fall. I stepped closer and stopped at the side of the bed. “Hey Jake,” I said quietly. “Sorry I haven’t been here for a few days.” I took a seat next to his bed and put my hand on top of his.

            “I started my last year of high school yesterday. The school is huge and full of rich kids. But I’ve met a few that seem okay. And there’s this one guy, Blake, that I’m determined to befriend. He was in an accident two years ago, and he’s blind now. But he still goes to my new school, because his parents are idiots and don’t see that it’s the worst thing for him. It must be hard for him to be around the same people that he grew up with, when he’s now so different.

            “Apparently he used to be a nice guy. But now, he’s a bit of a jackass. I guess he doesn’t talk to anyone, but he spoke to me today. Granted, we insulted each other a few times, but I surprised him and made him smile. And you know me, when I set my mind to doing something, I’ll do it.

            “Jared is still living with us. Liam doesn’t want him to leave, in case my back gets worse again. I don’t mind, because Jared has always been like a second brother to me.” I paused and inhaled deeply. “I miss you, Jake. You need to wake up. Every day that you stay in this coma, decreases the chances of you waking up. I need you, so you can’t leave me.”

            I lapsed into silence, not knowing what else to say. I sat with him for another ten minutes before I couldn’t stand it anymore. I made my way out of the room quickly and hurried back to the car. I made the drive back to the house in silence and went to the music room immediately once I was there.

            I stopped at the doorway and took in the sight of all the instruments. My eyes were drawn to the piano and that’s where I headed. I sat on the bench and ran my fingers lightly over the ivory keys. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and let the music flow out of me. I sang along softly, my voice quiet, but steady.

I've changed the presets in my truck
So those old songs don't sneak up
They still find me and remind me
Yeah you come back that easily

Try restaurants I've never been to
Order new things off the menu
That I never tried cause you didn't like
And two drinks in you were by my side

I've talked to friends, talked to myself
I've talked to God, I prayed liked hell
But I still miss you

I tried sober, I tried drinking
I've been strong and I've been weak
And I still miss you 

            I felt a presence in the room, and I let my fingers still on the piano. A moment later, Jared was sitting beside me on the bench, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I laid my head against him as silent tears fell down my face.

            “You went to see him today, didn’t you?”

            I nodded. “How’d you know?”

            “You always come in here and play something that’s a little sad when you go see him.”

            “It’s so hard to see him like that,” I whispered.

            He tightened his arm around me. “You don’t have to go alone, you know.”

            I sighed. “I know, but it’s hard enough for me to see him alone. I can’t manage it with anyone else yet.”

            He kissed the top of my head. “You know I’m here for you, no matter what, right?”

            I sniffled before raising my head and turning to look at him. “I know. Thanks Jared. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you these past months.”

            He brushed the tears off of my face with his thumbs. “You would have survived just fine without me. You’re a lot stronger then you give yourself credit for. Not many people would have been able to walk and lead a normal life after the injuries you sustained.”

            “I’m just too damn stubborn for my own good. When the doctors told me I might not walk again, I had to prove them wrong.”

            Jared chuckled a little. “You and Jake are the two most stubborn people I know.”

            I dropped my gaze to the ground. “Jared, what if he doesn’t wake up? I know the chances are slim to none at this point. Am I being selfish by keeping him alive?”

            He blew out a breath. “I don’t think you’re being selfish, Hales. You’re not ready to let go, especially because there is a small amount of hope that he might wake up. He’s not brain dead, so we just have to keep praying that he wakes up one of these days.”

            I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder again. “Don’t ever leave me, Jared. I couldn’t stand to lose you too.”

            “I’m not going anywhere, Hailey. I’ll always be here for you.”

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I just realized that I forgot to update this yesterday. Sorry guys! But here it is for you. In this chapter, you get to see Hailey and Blake interact and then you see the sad side to Hailey as well.

Hope you guys are enjoying this story, I know is starts off a little slow. Anyone know what song she was singing? Ten points to whoever gets it first :-).