Thursday, August 4, 2011

Chapter Six

Can I say how much I'm enjoying your comments?? They make me laugh, so thank you! haha.

Today's soundtrack is brought to you by Mutemath -- it's a new tune off their new album that will be dropping in October. I thought it fit perfectly, because the more I write about Alex and Sam... the more they are becoming Odd Souls...

Odd Soul - Mutemath




I quick ran in and got the paperwork I had forgotten and by the time I came back out, Alex was sitting in the passenger seat of my Jeep and attempting to get her wheelchair in the back of it.

“Alex, w-wait, how did you get up there by yourself?!” I asked incredulously, jogging over to get her wheelchair before she hurt herself or something.  My Jeep was lifted; it was an old beater that I ran around London for the summer.  Sure, it had a step-bar, but my mind was blown.

“I am able to pull myself up…” she snapped.  “I’m not completely broken.”

“I didn’t say you were, but this is a high pull-up for someone your size…”

“What are you trying to say?”

“How tall are you?” I asked, unable to hide my smile.  Of course, she probably seemed even shorter since in a wheel-chair, but she had a small frame.  I threw her chair in the back seat without much of an effort, closed her door and then leaned on it awaiting her answer.  She looked flustered and slightly annoyed that I did the rest of the work for her.

“I’m 5’4”, which isn’t overly short,” she commented, not even daring to look over at me, which truthfully I found spunky.

“It’s still too short for someone who can’t…” I didn’t even finish the sentence because it was totally out of line.  “I’m sorry,” I mumbled before walking around the back of the Jeep and climbing into the driver’s seat.  “So where do you live?” I asked, trying to sound cheerful enough to change the subject.

“A block away from Race and Denise, on Oak Street,” she answered quietly.

“Oh cool,” I smiled and shifted the Jeep in reverse, still cursing myself for saying something completely rude. No words were spoken for the first two blocks.  I decided I couldn’t stand it so I began asking questions.

“So what’s with the nickname, Fletch?”

“It’s my nickname from the Army.”

“Would you rather that I call you Fletch then?”

“You can call me whatever you prefer…”

“What did you do in the Army?”

“I was a combat nurse.”

“Do you think you’ll ever work as a nurse again?”

“Does it look like I will?” she turned to me, looking completely emotionless.

“Um, why not?  I’ve seen lots of stories about paralyzed people doing everyday jobs like that,” I said, trying my best to be encouraging.  “Having a positive outlook on life is a key to reaching your goals,” I spouted off some quote someone had once told me.

Alex left out a loud sarcastic laugh and flopped her head back onto the headrest of her seat.  “Oh my God, I don’t even know you and you feel the need to preach to me?!  Ugh…” she groaned.  “I don’t believe it,” she laughed, sounding slightly like a crazy person.

What did I get myself into?  I’m polite and now I have a crazy chick in the passenger seat of my Jeep.





So he’s a hockey player AND a motivational speaker.  Just great.

It was one thing to hear the speeches from my family and close friends; it was a totally different story when it came from a guy I had been kind of crushing on.  Until now.

“My goal is to walk again,” I said simply after I stopped my evil laugh.

“Well, that’s a good goal,” he answered evenly.

“It’s my only goal.  I will walk again.”

There was a bit of silence before he spoke.  “What if you can’t?”

I looked over at him and glared.  Now I was completely annoyed and any nerves I originally had around him were officially gone.  “There is no choice.  I was not made to be on this earth, crippled.”

Sam nodded and bit his lip, letting me know he still wasn’t 100% sold on my thoughts.

“You have no clue the person I used to be…” I felt the need to add.

We stopped at a stop sign and he turned to me.  “I don’t have any clue who you are at this moment, so why don’t we start with that?” he said simply, putting my nerves back on alert.  And now I’m back at square one. It’s got to be those eyes.  There was something about him that told me he was still an immature kid and another part of him that told me he could be the oldest acting 21 year old in a room.  At the moment, I was still lost in the middle somewhere.

I bit my lip, stared at him for a moment and then looked back out the windshield.  “What do you want to know?”

“How old are you?”

“I’m 22.”

“Heh, you seem a lot older than me, but I turn 22 in August…”

“I’ve been through a lot and seen a lot of things people our age shouldn’t see,” I said quietly, but loud enough for him to hear over the wind.

He nodded, “I can imagine.”

“It was my choice though and I’d make the same decision again.”

“Well then, at least you can say you lived with no regrets.”

I took a deep breath and let that statement sit in my head for a moment.  He was right.  I had no regrets…Scratch that, my only regret is that I didn’t die on that street with Danny.

Soon, we were at my apartment and Sam was jumping out of the Jeep and pulling my wheelchair from the back seat.  I opened the door and before I could ask him to move my chair closer, I was already scooped up into his arms.  “I told you that I can do things for myself,” I grumbled, trying to keep an attitude about me so that I wouldn’t think about how fast my heart was beating at the moment.

“If you are afraid of breaking my back, then you can come out and try and lift the big tires we were flipping around outside today at the gym.  I just apologize that I’m not showered,” he grinned before setting me down in my chair.  I situated myself and then motioned for him to hand me my bag.  “Oh, you want me to get that for you?” he asked, obviously picking on me.

“Yes, please,” I said through my teeth.  He was actually turning into quite the annoying person.  Maybe it was good I wasn’t out on the dance floor with him the other night, John was looking like a lot better prospect to crush on at the moment.





She shook my hand.  Her grip was firm and I could feel the calluses on her hands from having to constantly use them.  However, the small size of them, her fingers barely able to wrap around my hand, reminded me that she was still frail.  She was a total mystery.  Just in the short ride to her apartment, I quickly learned that her moods were all over the place.  It was obvious she had been through a lot and as much as I was curious to ask more, it definitely wasn’t the right time.  I had a sneaky suspicion this wasn’t going to be the last time we would spend together and frankly, I was okay with that.  Her beauty still caught me by surprise and I was never one to complain about eye candy.  I just need to get over this awkwardness I seem to have around her.  I can’t seem to get past her being in that wheelchair.

“Do you need a ride to the gym tomorrow?” I suddenly called out to her as she was heading to her apartment door.

She stopped and turned around, biting her pouty lip, looking somewhat vulnerable.  “Um, what time do you guys head down?”

“8am sharp we need to be ready to go.”

“Me too…”

“I’ll pick you up at 7:45?” I asked, not even giving her a choice this time.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t offer to do things I’m not okay with.”

She left out a little giggle and smiled.  I couldn’t help but smile back at her.  Something about her smile turned the world upside down.  “See you at 7:45,” she nodded before unlocking her door and going inside.





“So Sammy is giving you a ride tomorrow?!” Denise squeaked into the phone.  Race had it on speaker phone so that I could give her my well wishes.  She was back home from the hospital, her left ankle broken and now in a cast.  Race was to be the housemaid for several weeks.

I threw my head back and laughed.  “You know Denise, if I wouldn’t know better; I’d think you did this on purpose.”

“Well, I’ve said that you need some fun people, your own age, to hang out with…”

“You’re not that much older than me,” I pointed out.  She and Race were both 28.

“Yes, but single guys are definitely people you need in your life!” she cried back and I could have sworn I heard Race snort at this remark.  “You have to admit, hockey players are cute!”

“I was never really a hockey fan…”

“Then you aren’t Canadian.”

“You’re right, I’m Korean,” I giggled.

“The most Canadian talking Korean I’ve ever heard,” Race piped up at this.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

“Well, look at it this way, Fletch, you do need a date to Sarah’s wedding that is coming up in a couple weeks…maybe you can ask one of the boys…” Denise continued in on her frantic attempt to hook me up with someone.  She had no problem looking past the fact that no guy in their right mind was going to want to be seen with some chick in a wheelchair, especially hockey players.  They were guys that made a career out of using their legs.  Why the hell would they want to be with someone whose legs didn’t even work?!

“Seriously?!” I whined.  “You really need to stop with all your crazy ideas.  I’d say it’s the medications talking, but you were already on this kick before you started taking them…”

“Oh come on, Fletch!” Denise cried.

“Race, can’t you put her on bed rest or something?!”

“She’ll kick me with her cast or hit me with her crutches…”

“You are a pussy.”

“I like taking orders from a woman,” he laughed, reminding me how much I envied his and Denise’s relationship.  They were not only lovers, but they were best friends.  It was definitely the type of relationship I wanted to be in.  It was what Danny and I probably would have had, but that was not meant to be.





“Come on Fletch!  You can’t let these boys show you up!” Dean yelled at Alex while she, John, and I hung from the pull-up bars.  It was Friday, the last day of our work-out week.  Since I was bringing Alex to her work-out’s, Terry and Dean thought it would be good if they incorporated some of our work-out’s together.  It was a really good idea, especially since it was visibly pushing Alex to the next level.  Then again, it pushed John and me too.  Seriously, who wants a girl to show them up?!

“This is bullshit!” Alex chirped back, straining to get one more pull-up in.  She was up to 25.  Dean said she could barely do 10 on Monday.  It was obvious she trying her hardest.  In fact she was working so hard that she was too tired to complain when me or John would pick her up and put her in the Jeep.  It was obvious she was too tired to put in the extra effort.

“Are you whining princess?” Dean asked in a serious tone, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t call me princess,” she growled, pulling herself up for one more.  She definitely worked better with the pressure, something she probably learned from basic training.  Her work ethic was top notch, and I couldn’t believe the focus she had.  Every now and then she would crack, but that is when John and I would step in and gently push her.  She too would have to step in and coax us if we started complaining, however she wasn’t as gentle about it.  I never met a woman like her and that is coming from a guy who grew up with two tough ass sisters.  Alex was a whole other level and truthfully, it was kind of a turn-on.  Too bad she seemed to get along a little easier with John than me.

Later on that night I called John about coming over to play video games, but he informed me that he and Alex were going to the movies together.

“You’re going on a date?” I asked, of course I wasn’t jealous about it because it was Alex, our friend in the wheelchair.

“Sure, why not?  You said yourself that she’s hot,” John happily reminded me of my words.

“Yeah, sure, but I don’t think of her as dating material…”

“Why not?  She’s a great girl.”

“For sure, she’s…yeah, she’s a great girl…”

“Don’t fucking tell me it’s because she’s in a wheelchair?!”

I paused.  Of course it was a longer pause than it should have been because Johnny started in right off the bat.  “You’re an ass.  Who care’s?!”

“I didn’t say anything!” I tried to back pedal, but it was obvious I was failing miserably.  He was right.  If she wasn’t handicapped, I probably would have been all over her like a fly on sticky paper.  She was beautiful.  Her body was smoking hot and it was hard not to look at her tits in her tight work-out outfits she wore to the gym every morning.  According to John, she was really sweet and had an awesome personality, but she always acted funky around me, so I couldn’t really figure her out.  I wasn’t the type of guy who liked big mysteries, I would rather people be open and up front with me.  Unfortunately, Alex was the type to only open up when I would ask questions and even then she seemed to skirt around some of my questions.

“Why didn’t you go to college if you were accepted at these big universities?” I asked her the one day on the ride home after she said something about having the chance to go to Hopkin’s and Princeton.

She had said something else earlier about being apart of a rich family, which was what I grew up in too since my Dad played in the NHL, so I just figured anyone would take the silver spoon when it was given to them.  I knew I did to a certain extent. 

She just looked at me and shrugged.  It was obvious she knew the answer, but once again, when I’d ask her a personal question she would close herself off to me for some reason.  But then in the next moment I would catch her looking almost longingly at me out of the corner of my eye.  I felt she was throwing me mixed signals and I wasn’t sure what to think.

“Whatever,” John grumbled into the phone, pulling me back to the present.  “I think she’s fun to hang out with and I plan on having a nice evening with her…”

“Well, then have fun,” I snapped into the phone.  “I’ll see you tomorrow or whenever.”

7 comments:

  1. This is my favorite chapter so far!!!! I love alex's determination update soon please

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  2. Go away John... you're ruining this... sigh...

    Great update!
    I like that they're training together.
    And I hope she takes Sam to the wedding... please? Pretty please?? :)

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  3. Nice chapter! I'm glad that she is almost being two different people with John and Sam. Adds some intrigue!
    Can't wait for the next chapter...Is it posted yet? ;o)

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  4. Good for John. I hope Sam gets his head out of his butt and can figure out that just because she's in the chair doesn't mean she's any different.

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  5. I am completely sucked into this story.
    Need more soon! :-)

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  6. I really like John. He's so sweet and caring and if Sam can't get it together, I'd rather see her with him than Sam.
    I love her focus and determination.

    Can't wait to see whats next!

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  7. I love that Sam is so real, struggling with her being handicapped. Hopefully he'll see that he needs to step up, and soon.

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