Since the Beginning

Excuse me? You're excused.

{Stella's PoV}
"Back to school." I say wearily as I throw away my covers and stretch my arms. I look at the clock and see the number five. Five am. "

"Thank You Lord for this day. I know I'm not in the best condition right now, but I know You have a plan for me. One that's better than I could ever imagine." After praying, I use my arms to swing my legs over the bed and get into my wheelchair.

I wheel myself to the bathroom and gently pull myself up and into the shower. It's really hard to move. It's actually hard to do anything. Sometimes I even cry myself to sleep or cry in the shower because I can't take it anymore. But I know God is with me. Sometimes it's hard to believe, but I have to keep the faith.

After about an hour of preparing myself for school, I get myself onto the wheelchair and wheel myself to the hallway. "Mom!" I call out. She comes out of their room, dressed and ready for work. She gets my bag and calls for Gabe. He comes out, also ready for work, and he carries me downstairs with mom following. He lets me sit down at the dining table and he goes back up to get my wheelchair. Soon, we're all complete at the table. Christmas was surprisingly amazing. Although it was quite hard for me to get around and it wasn't exactly the best, we did have fun. And the presents were amazing. We were supposed to open them on Christmas Eve, but we decided to open them when everyone was together.

"Are you guys okay with this? Like, you know, first, having to watch over me everyday, and second, me and Jonathan?" I ask.

They all look at me and smile. "First, of course we don't mind. You're my sister. And they're your parents. We care for you. And after seeing you get hurt like that, twice, I'm not going to let my little sister down." Gabe says.

"As for your second question, your dad will answer that." Mom says with a knowing smile. Dad nods his head and starts.

"Jonathan said he didn't know what got into him when he yelled at you the other day. He felt quite bad. And when he was praying and asking for forgiveness the other day, God told Him you were the one. He opened His Bible and it opened up to Proverbs 31:30 and your name was written in the margin. He prayed and asked God what it meant and after knowing the answer, he came to me and your mom and asked us permission to ask you out. He promised to be good to you and never be hesitant to protect you or stand with you. Since he nearly lost your friendship even if it was for a short while. So obviously, since God allowed it, and He eveb answered your prayer with butterflies, we allowed him to. So it's okay. As long as you keep the limits and restrict yourselves from things that aren't needed to be done yet." Dad says.

I quiet down. "How come you didn't tell me? How come he didn't tell me?" I ask.

They laugh, sharing an inside joke I'm guessing. "You never asked." Gabe says shrugging.

After breakfast, Gabe drives me to school. "So what about you? You find a girl a yet?" I ask teasingly.

"Nope. God hasn't given me the right one. Hasn't shown me yet." He says matter of factly. "Oh come on. You're good looking, good at basketball, good at being a big brother, good friend and an awesome man of God. Who wouldn't like you?" I ask.

He laughs and shakes his head. "Work, mom and dad, and you are enough for me. Whenever God wants to show her to me, that's when. I'm not rushing." He says. "And did I hear you right? Like, you were complimenting me?"

I smile. "Well what did you want me to say? Negative comments?" I ask raising an eyebrow playfully.

"No. Just saying. It's really nice to hear you say kind things no matter how many times you do it. Well, here we are." He says as we arrive at school. He gets my wheelchair and then picks me up and helps me. He hangs my bag on the handles. "Be careful. Stay strong. Love you." He says.