Chasing Charlie

Chapter Eighteen | The Soccer Game of Misery

Chase

As I stared at my phone screen, many thoughts were floating around my mind. I still hadn't texted Sam simply because I didn't know what to say. My mind was debating between a simple 'hey' or a 'remember me, the wheelchair kid you bumped into at the hospital.'

I didn't have anything to do as it was late Saturday morning and I was still in bed, too lazy to get up. I closed my eyes and sighed. I gulped in a breath and typed a simple "Hey". I pressed send and quickly turned off the phones screen.

I sat up in bed, the blanket coming down to my waist. I shivered, the late autumn wind hitting my bare chest. I rubbed my eyes, feeling a little dizzy at first, then I stretched my arms whilst yawning.

I checked my phone for a message and sure enough there was a message from Sam. "Hey. Want to meet up?" He replied.

"Sure. Where?" I replied.

He replied instantly. "At the park. Near the best ice cream parlour in town."

"Cool. Be there in 30 mins."

I got into my chair and started the search for a suitable pair of clothes, that weren't as comfy as blue, baggy shorts.

____

I was late. And it wasn't just a few minutes late. It was 20 minutes late.

I saw Sam sitting at the bench I usually sat at. I tapped his shoulder and his head turned in my direction. "Hey," he replied.

He was wearing his sunglasses, even if the sun wasn't shining too brightly. A jumper covered his arms and dark jeans went down from his hips.

"Hey," I replied, lifting myself out of my chair and onto the bench.

"Chase yeah?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"You took a while," he chuckled. "Made me wait here 30 minutes alone."

"Sorry," I said, feeling bad that I took longer.

"Doesn't matter," he smiled. "So we should start off with the basics if we're gonna be friends. So Chase, what school do you go to?"

"Oakville, you?"

He seemed surprised for a moment before he answered, "Linville. No wonder you haven't had a friend before, no offence. But Oakville is a crap school that heaps of kids get bullied at. It's the reason why I went Linville."

"Do you have friends?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, quite a few actually. They can't say no to my charming personality," he laughed.

I looked at the pond, the same pond that has been here ever since I could remember.

His expression changed into one of concern. "Chase, how long have you been sad for? I know it's a personal question, but I've been through similar shit, just a different disability."

I looked over at him, he was looking straight ahead, concern still grazing his features. He was right, it was a personal question. And I knew that he went through something similar, but with his sight.

A small, sad smile appeared on my lips. It went away before I could even reply. "A while," I answered.

"You do realise it gets better."

I laughed bitterly. I didn't mean to, but because of all the shit over the years, what would you expect a person to do? "That's a load of bullshit and false hope. Like I said to my teacher, I'm sick of false hope. I have no money so no uni. No uni means no job. No job means no money. There, nothing to do in life. So it won't get any better."