Five months later

            I stared out the window at the rainy weather, thinking that it suited my mood perfectly. Today was to be my first day back to school since the accident. I had missed the first month and a half of classes, but my parents had hired a tutor so that I was caught up on all my work. Now they were forcing me to leave the haven I’d created in the house.

            For the past five months, I’d enclosed myself in my new room, which was on the main floor of the house now, since I couldn’t manage the stairs. Despite my many protests, I’d been forced into physical therapy and I could now get around with crutches. Aside from those sessions, I only left my room when I was hungry. I had a bathroom attached to my room, so I didn’t even need to leave for that.

            With a sigh, I struggled to my feet and made my way into the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and I was slightly startled at my own appearance. My dark brown hair was longer than it had ever been, since I hadn’t gotten it cut since before the accident. My face was pale from lack of sunlight and it was gaunt as well, as I’d lost a bit of weight. My hazel eyes were blank, where before they had always been lively and full of expression.

            With a shake of my head, I turned away from my reflection and got into the shower. When I was done, I got dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, then put one of Luke’s hoodies on over top. I hadn’t been able to bring myself to go into his room, but my dad had brought me some of his stuff when I asked. It was one of the few times I had voluntarily spoken to anyone, so I knew he wouldn’t deny my request.

            After I had brushed my hair, I went into the kitchen where my dad was waiting for me. He looked up as I came in. “Ready?”

            I shrugged and took an apple to eat on the way, and then grabbed my bag and followed him out the door. He took my crutches from me and put them in the backseat once I was settled in the front passenger seat.

            He didn’t try to talk to me as we drove to the school. My parents had learned that if I wanted to talk, I would. They no longer tried to push me into conversation, which I was grateful for.

            When we pulled up at the school, my dad parked the car and got my crutches for me. Once he was sure I had my bag settled on my back and my crutches securely under my arms, he stepped back. “Have a good day. Cindy will drive you home after.”

            I nodded and slowly made my way into the school. Someone was kind enough to hold the door open for me and I murmured my thanks to them. I already knew where my locker was, but I didn’t need to do anything there yet so I just made my way to my first class.

            I reached the classroom and went in, moving to the back of the room and sitting in a seat in the corner after taking my bag off my back and setting my crutches against the wall. I stuffed my hands into the front pocket of Luke’s sweater and leaned back, closing my eyes. I heard someone come into the room, but I kept my eyes closed. I knew it was Cindy, because I could smell her perfume. She didn’t say anything; she just sat in the seat beside me.

            I could hear other students entering the room and I swear I could feel their gazes burning into me. I kept my eyes closed until the bell rang; then I finally opened them and scanned the room. It was full of people I knew and a few of them had visited me in the hospital.

            I spotted Adam sitting near the front. He turned to look at me and I could see that he wanted to come up to me. But I turned away before he could get the chance to. My eyes rested on the only person I didn’t recognize at all.

            I could tell he was tall, even though he was slouching a little in his chair. He had short, dark blonde hair and brilliant green eyes and I wondered briefly who he was. He hadn’t been here last year, so I knew he must have only started here at the beginning of the year.

            The teacher entered the room, drawing my attention away from the new guy. This was a history class and I had always liked the subject. The teacher, Mr. Ross, had been my favorite at one time, but now I just didn’t care.

            Mr. Ross gazed across the room and his eyes landed on me. I couldn’t read the expression in his eyes, but I was grateful that he didn’t give me any words of sympathy. All he said was “Welcome back.”

            This seemed to give everyone permission to turn and stare at me. I flipped the hood up over my head, effectively shielding my face from the curious stares.

            Mr. Ross clapped his hands together. “Okay class, let’s get right to the projects. Split off into your pairs and get started.” He glanced at me again. “Dana, I’m going to put you with Chase, as he’s the only one without a partner.” He gestured to the new guy.

            I turned to look at him and caught Cindy’s gaze. She gave me an apologetic look as she got up and moved to sit with Adam. I raised an eyebrow. She hadn’t told me that she was partnered with him, but I understood why she hadn’t. She had told me that Adam constantly asked about me, and she knew I didn’t want to really hear about him.

            My attention was drawn to my side as Cindy’s now empty chair was pulled back. Chase sat down in it and met my gaze for the first time. I felt a jolt of something race through me as our eyes connected. It took me a moment to place the feeling. Recognition. I could see in his eyes the same demons that tormented me daily.

            He must have realized it too, because his expression changed slightly, becoming a little bit softer. Not with sympathy, but with understanding. Without a word, he handed me a small stack of papers, which I proceeded to read.

            Neither of us uttered a single word during the whole class. He just sat there as I got caught up. When the bell rang, I handed him his papers back and stood up. I left the room in silence and Cindy was waiting for me. Her eyes were full of apologies and I frowned, not sure what was going on. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder and I turned around to see Adam standing there. I shrugged his hand off of me and started to move away from him.

            “Dana, wait. Please talk to me,” he pleaded.

            I shook my head. “I can’t,” I whispered and then hobbled away.

            The rest of the day passed slowly. At lunch, Cindy and Sarah both sat with me, talking amongst themselves. I knew people were still staring at me and not all of them were sympathetic. I ignored all of them and picked at my food.

            I had math third period and English for fourth. I had math with Cindy, and Sarah was in my second period Geography class, but neither of them were in my English class.       

             When fourth period rolled around, I entered the room and again went to a seat in the back corner. When someone sat down beside me, I looked up. Chase glanced at me as he set his binder on the desk, but he didn’t say anything. I shrugged and decided it wasn’t a big deal if he wanted to sit next to me.

            The whole class passed and again we didn’t talk, just like in history class. I looked at him a few times but he kept his gaze forward. The bell rang and he stood up quickly. I expected him to leave right away, but he surprised me by taking my bag and holding it while I got to my feet. Then he handed it to me and walked away. I stared after him in bewilderment, then shook my head and left the room as well.

            Cindy was waiting for me in the parking lot. My gaze flickered to where Luke had always parked and my heart clenched when I saw a different vehicle sitting there. I walked to Cindy’s car and got into the passenger seat. She started the car and pulled out of the parking lot.

            She stayed silent for a few minutes before finally speaking. “How was it?”

            I shrugged. “Okay.”

            She nodded and didn’t say anything else. When we got to my place, she dropped me off at the house and then continued on down to the stables.

            The next day in history class, I got there early again and went to the same seat. I felt someone sit next to me and assumed it was Cindy. But I couldn’t smell her perfume so I looked over. Chase was sitting next to me, and I gave him a questioning look, but he didn’t say anything so I turned back to gaze at the front of the room.

            Cindy came in and looked startled to see Chase sitting next to me. She looked at me and I shrugged, so she took the seat in front of me.

            The class started and we broke into pairs again. I had done some research of my own last night, so I handed it to Chase. He passed me some new papers and we spent the class in reading each other’s work and taking notes. When the bell rang I got up to leave and I could sense him following behind me.

            I walked through the door and almost ran into Adam, who was waiting for me again. He opened his mouth to say something, but then his gaze flickered to something behind me. His jaw snapped shut and he paled a tiny bit.

            I turned to see what had caused his reaction and I saw Chase standing right behind me and the look he was giving Adam sent shivers down my spine. I had never seen anyone look quite that scary before.

            Adam spun on his heel and walked off down the hall. I glanced back at Chase once more and I swear I saw the beginning of a smirk on his face. But he wiped it off quickly as he looked down at me. I wanted to ask why he had done that, but I decided not to. Instead I just turned and went to the cafeteria.

            I sat down across from Sarah and Cindy. They were chatting about something when they both suddenly stopped and froze. Chase took the seat next to me and I furrowed my brow. Why the hell had he decided to sit next to me? And what had possessed him to give Adam that look? None of this made any sense to me, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask him why he kept sitting neat me. I knew if he wanted to tell me then he would. We ate our meals quietly and Cindy and Sarah slowly started talking again, although they kept glancing between me and Chase.

            The rest of the afternoon was uneventful. Chase sat next to me in English again and he helped me with my bag once more before walking out of the room.

            After school, Cindy told me what she knew about him, though I hadn’t asked. “It’s weird how Chase seems to like you. No one knows much about him. He lives with a foster family and he came to our school at the beginning of the year. He doesn’t talk to anyone; and I mean that literally. He actually refuses to speak. Everyone knows he can talk, he just chooses not to. He got into a few fights at the beginning of the year but he beat the crap out of anyone who tried to go after him, so everyone leaves him alone now.”

            I suddenly felt a strange kinship with Chase, knowing that he didn’t like talking either. I wondered what his story was, but I knew I would never ask him. A person’s pain belonged to them, and if he didn’t want to share it with anyone, then I certainly wasn’t going to push him.

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The response to chapter 2 once again encouraged me to work hard to get this up for you guys. So here it is, though I only partially edited it this time.

What do you guys think of Chase? I know you know virtually nothing about him so far, but you'll eventually get to know him.

Not sure if I'll get another chapter up tomorrow. I have to deliver a horse a couple of hours away, so I'll be pretty busy. We'll see how it goes :-)

Comment to let me know what you think!