scared me but the bliss he brought put all my troubles away.
I sat up after the sun had set. “Are you going to stay for dinner?” I didn’t want him to leave. He nodded.
After dinner, I approached Joshua with the questions that I was burning to ask. I waited until we were alone before broaching the subject.
“Why didn’t you want to tell me about your parents?” Joshua took a deep breath.
“It makes me sad and guilty, like it’s my fault.”
“It isn’t, though. You should know that. You couldn’t have prevented that car hitting you anymore if you had had known it was going to happen.” Joshua shrugged.
“I feel like such a failure. Even my own mother doesn’t have time for me.”
“I’m sure that isn’t true. I know it may feel like that now because she’s sent you away from her but at the end of the day it’s what she believes is best for you. She’s put you in the care of someone who can look after you and as soon as your mum’s better she’ll be insisting that you’re back home.”
“It’s just been so long.”
“You all need to heal. It’s just unfortunate that you can’t do it together. I’m sure that if your dad had suffered similar injuries to your mum then everything would be fine. You would be at home and you could grow closer as a family. It’s just too stressful for your mum right now.”
“There’s a lot of ‘if’s, Jocelyn. If we hadn’t gone out that night. If that driver hadn’t been on the road. If we’d swerved slightly differently. There are a million possible ways things could have happened differently.”
“Precisely. But it didn’t happen like that. It happened the way it did and there’s nothing you can do about it now. You need to face this head on and push yourself to make the best of it.”
“You’re right. You’re always right,” he laughed.
“Plus, if you hadn’t had the crash then we wouldn’t have met!”
“And life would be incredibly uninteresting without you.” I smiled. “It’s time for me to go.” I nodded. We made our way to the porch and I closed the door behind me so we could have some privacy.
“I’ll see you in school tomorrow,” I signed. Joshua took my hand and pulled me close to him. His lips pressed against mine and his hand was on my lower back. I moved a hand up into his soft brown hair and moved the other to his cheek. I parted my lips and I felt him do the same. Our bodies melted together perfectly. His hand caressed my cheek and held me to him.
We pulled away and I looked into his blue eyes. They were bright and alive with a sparkle I knew and loved so well. Our faces were inches apart and our bodies were still pressed together.
“I love you,” he signed. I was stunned. I kissed him hard and pulled away.
“I love you, too, Joshua.” He beamed at me and kissed me again. I held his hand as he began to walk away from me until only the tips of our fingers were touching. I watched him walk down the road and didn’t pay any attention to the chilly night air. My whole body was on fire. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I just wanted to dance. My insides were all warm and fuzzy and I couldn’t stop smiling.
I leaned against the front door and looked up at the bright full moon, high above me. I blew it a kiss before turning and walking back into the house.
As happy as I was at that point in time, I was unaware that soon my whole world would feel like it was crumbling around me.
Chapter 10
I walked with Helen to school the next day like I always did. I said goodbye to her and made my way to my own school. Charlie was as happy as ever. It had been a while since we’d spent a decent amount of time together. She gave me the biggest hug ever.
“How are you? We should do something after school!” she signed to me.
“I’m good. How are you? We should. What do you want to do?”
“I’m great. I don’t know. How about a sleepover and stay up late talking about boys! I haven’t had an update on
I sat up after the sun had set. “Are you going to stay for dinner?” I didn’t want him to leave. He nodded.
After dinner, I approached Joshua with the questions that I was burning to ask. I waited until we were alone before broaching the subject.
“Why didn’t you want to tell me about your parents?” Joshua took a deep breath.
“It makes me sad and guilty, like it’s my fault.”
“It isn’t, though. You should know that. You couldn’t have prevented that car hitting you anymore if you had had known it was going to happen.” Joshua shrugged.
“I feel like such a failure. Even my own mother doesn’t have time for me.”
“I’m sure that isn’t true. I know it may feel like that now because she’s sent you away from her but at the end of the day it’s what she believes is best for you. She’s put you in the care of someone who can look after you and as soon as your mum’s better she’ll be insisting that you’re back home.”
“It’s just been so long.”
“You all need to heal. It’s just unfortunate that you can’t do it together. I’m sure that if your dad had suffered similar injuries to your mum then everything would be fine. You would be at home and you could grow closer as a family. It’s just too stressful for your mum right now.”
“There’s a lot of ‘if’s, Jocelyn. If we hadn’t gone out that night. If that driver hadn’t been on the road. If we’d swerved slightly differently. There are a million possible ways things could have happened differently.”
“Precisely. But it didn’t happen like that. It happened the way it did and there’s nothing you can do about it now. You need to face this head on and push yourself to make the best of it.”
“You’re right. You’re always right,” he laughed.
“Plus, if you hadn’t had the crash then we wouldn’t have met!”
“And life would be incredibly uninteresting without you.” I smiled. “It’s time for me to go.” I nodded. We made our way to the porch and I closed the door behind me so we could have some privacy.
“I’ll see you in school tomorrow,” I signed. Joshua took my hand and pulled me close to him. His lips pressed against mine and his hand was on my lower back. I moved a hand up into his soft brown hair and moved the other to his cheek. I parted my lips and I felt him do the same. Our bodies melted together perfectly. His hand caressed my cheek and held me to him.
We pulled away and I looked into his blue eyes. They were bright and alive with a sparkle I knew and loved so well. Our faces were inches apart and our bodies were still pressed together.
“I love you,” he signed. I was stunned. I kissed him hard and pulled away.
“I love you, too, Joshua.” He beamed at me and kissed me again. I held his hand as he began to walk away from me until only the tips of our fingers were touching. I watched him walk down the road and didn’t pay any attention to the chilly night air. My whole body was on fire. Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and I just wanted to dance. My insides were all warm and fuzzy and I couldn’t stop smiling.
I leaned against the front door and looked up at the bright full moon, high above me. I blew it a kiss before turning and walking back into the house.
As happy as I was at that point in time, I was unaware that soon my whole world would feel like it was crumbling around me.
Chapter 10
I walked with Helen to school the next day like I always did. I said goodbye to her and made my way to my own school. Charlie was as happy as ever. It had been a while since we’d spent a decent amount of time together. She gave me the biggest hug ever.
“How are you? We should do something after school!” she signed to me.
“I’m good. How are you? We should. What do you want to do?”
“I’m great. I don’t know. How about a sleepover and stay up late talking about boys! I haven’t had an update on
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