Wheelchair Accessible

Part Eighteen

This was it.

Today was the day of the big game. 

In a few hours, I could officially begin starting over. I would finally be on the path forward, choosing to be a better person, choosing to do the things that make me happy. Choosing life

So much had happened over the course of the last year: my parents and their fighting, the complete destruction of my social life, hitting my lowest point, meeting Shawna, falling for Shawna, starting to mend things with my parents... and now here we were. It felt like this was a momentous occasion. It felt like the end.

But I knew that it was really just the beginning

"Is that your family, Harris?" a voice I hadn't been expecting, said from behind me.

Will stood there a few steps back, helmet tucked under his arm. His eyes only managed to say on me for a second or two at a time, before he had to look away.

I gave a small nod, "Yeah."

He shifted his weight between feet. "Cool," was all he ended up saying.

I wasn't sure what he wanted. We weren't buddies. We didn't chit chat before games. He was obviously here for something, but it didn't seem like he was going to say it.

Just when I decided this had been awkward enough and was turning to move towards the stands, Will finally opened his mouth. 

"You better be on the top of your game today."

I glanced over my shoulder, reading his intense expression. A month ago, my defenses would've gone up, taking this as a threat, but now that I knew what to look for, I could see the nerves that danced around the edges of his eyes. So I just nodded, "I will be."

Before I could step away, he blurted out, "Things turned out pretty bad between us."

I didn't know what to say. That summed it up pretty well. "Yeah."

He flexed his jaw, looking towards the field. "We-- I shouldn't have treated you like I did."

Oh, okay, so we're doing this now. I swallowed, knowing this was my chance to really say something he might hear. "I shouldn't have said those things that I did all that while ago.That was wrong of me, too. I'm sorry. Really." 

He nodded slowly. Our eyes met and there seemed to be a certain level of understanding between us, for the first time maybe ever. "So uh, are we... cool?"

                "Yeah, we're cool."

                Will smiled, it may have been the smallest smile I'd ever seen in my life, but it was real, before turning and joining the rest of the team.

Huh. Maybe one day things could work out between us, too. 

Knowing I only had a few minutes before the start of the game, I quickly jogged over to the stands to say hello to everyone. They were in the front row of the bleachers so that Shawna could sit in her chair, and I went to her side.

 "What was that?" she asked as soon as I was close, gesturing towards the field.

I shrugged, playing it off. "We're cool."

"You're cool?" she frowned. "But he beat you up. Like, a lot."

"Yeah."

"And he's a jerk."

"Yeah."

                Shawna watched my face for a long moment before nodding, looking impressed. "Alright, then. We'll have him over for tea sometime."