Hope.

• Chapter 7 •

"Tyler, come here," she said, pulling me into a hug. My hands slowly wrapped around her as I buried my head into her shoulder. Tears slipped past my eyes drenching her sleeve with the salty water. I wanted to see again. I wanted to see what I was doing, what I was doing. I just wanted it back.

Sniffling, I pulled away from her. "I'm okay." Maybe I was lying. But then again maybe not. I'm confused. But I'm always confused.

She placed her hands on my shoulder causing me to flinch slightly. I mustered up a small smile to show her that I wasn't uncomfortable.

"Tyler, listen to me. Your paintings are amazing, they're absolutely beautiful. You don't have to believe me, but please don't put yourself down. Trust yourself, Tyler, because I do."

"Thank you, Stacy. But it's just hard," I mumbled, biting my lip looking at the ground. I hated feeling helpless.

"I'm sorry, Ty."

"It's okay." I lied.

"Hey, come with me to get some groceries." She said, softly being cautious that she wasn't to forward. I shot her a reassuring smile with a nod of my head. She was trying to get me to stop thinking. "Great! Let's get going then. Unless you wanna sit for a while, which is totally okay."

"No, no, I'm alright. Let's go, I need some air, anyways."

I'm used to the panic attacks by now. Well, not really. But the recovery after it, I can handle better.

She slowly helped me up, guiding me to my wheelchair. Usually, I try to avoid my wheelchair. I just get around the house limping mostly. My foot is basically healed and I'm getting cast off in a few days but going outside with a limp and trying to find your way around with a cane isn't the easiest thing.

My mind switched to things at school. When I'm bored I let my mind wander, which is probably not a good thing. I've gotten into trouble for it a bunch of times.
Luca was supposed to come over yesterday, but we couldn't do it since my family had plans with our cousins. I still have to ask him when we should reschedule. I really don't wanna mess up the project. Well, it was not really a project. It was more like a few questions we had to work together to complete.

Thankfully, the submission date was by the end of the month, meaning we another week to finish it.

"Are you excited to get your cast off?" She asked as she helped me into the car. I smiled, nodding. I heard her taking my wheelchair and shoving it into the back of the car. "Cool, what's up in school? I haven't really gotten time to talk to you much."

I heard Stacy fiddling with the car key as she tried to turn on the ignition. I leaned my head on the seat as I heard the soft rumble of the engine. "It's alright, I guess. Iris is great, so are the rest of her friends. I don't really talk to any of the boys. They're a bit scary. Except, maybe Luca. But, I don't really talk to him except for class stuff."

"Luca, I think I might know his sister, Angela. She's super sweet and hella popular, too." Stacy said, but I could hear the concentration in her voice. She always gets nervous when she drives. Stacy doesn't drive much. "Oh, I heard they moved here from Mexico. I'm not sure if it's the same Luca though,"

"I don't think there's any other Luca in our year. Not a very common name, now is it?" I said, sarcastically.

"True, true," she said, chuckling. "Luca's a cute name. What do you think?"

"It's a name, for crying out loud. How can a name be cute?" I asked, rolling my eyes. I really don't get girls. Well, Stacy. I don't get Stacy. Girls don't all think the same. Stacy told me that when she was drunk one day. I already knew that, but she seemed really upset so I took it more seriously. Now I'll never make the mistake of talking about the female population collectively.

"What about names like cuddles, or snuggles. They're cute right?" She pressed, with a slightly playful tone. Does she think this is funny? I think not.

"Those are names for animals. Who the hell names their child cuddles?" I asked, incredulously. Arguing with Stacy is exhausting. Usually, because she always wins, but not today.

"I don't know," she mumbled, sighing in defeat. She lost! For the first time, I won the argument. Wow, this is a moment of achievement. I did it, I have finally accomplished my purpose in life.

"You admit it! Names aren't cute!" I yelled, a satisfied grin taking over my face. "I won, you lost. I won, you lost."

"You're such a baby." She muttered, bitterly.

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Am not!"

"Wow, very mature of you, Ty." She said, a smirk evident in her tone.

"Shut up." I huffed, folding my arms over my chest. How does she still manage to win?

"I love you." She mocked, pinching my cheek. I swatted her hand away.

"Eyes on the road, missy."

She laughed. How rude.

• • •

What the actual fuck was this chapter?
I'm so sorry.
Also, the beginning was something random I was trying out. Let me know if you liked the weird metaphor thing.

-Anya