If It Means a Lot to You

The moving truck drives down the narrow road, pulling up in front of small, two story house. It's cozy enough for the four person family; all there stuff will possibly fit. They just have to think positive and get through unpacking.

The married couple and their two girls step out of the moving van. They had driven three hours from the airport to the rainy town of Seattle. They're thankful to finally be at their new home.

The oldest one, she's fifteen. She grabs her duffel bag of all her necessities (phone, iPod, clothes, toiletries) from the back of the van and is the first to make her way into the cozy home. It's as ordinary on the inside as it is on the outside. The living area isn't huge but isn't tiny either. It's the perfect size. The dining area connects into the kitchen and those two are average as well.

The fifteen year old high school sophomore gives herself a tour of the house, opening all of the closed doors. There's one bathroom downstairs and it's narrow; surely there has to be one upstairs too. She keeps opening doors. Closets, cabinetry and finally, a lone room. The others have to be upstairs. 

She pushes the door open and stares at the olive green walls and the queen sized bed that sits in the center of the room. Who leaves a bed at their prior home? She questions to herself and shrugs, tossing her duffel onto the bare bed. This is her room. She has officially claimed it for herself. 

She returns to the foggy outdoors and helps her parents and little sister unload the rest of their stuff. The family hauls their things into the house, soon filling it with furniture.

First came the dining room table and then the entertainment center parts, then the couch and TV. It took at least a half hour, forty-five minutes at most to get all their furniture settled into the main areas. Then, came the bedrooms. 

The family did the sophomore's room first since it's on the first floor. They lifted the dresser into the room, the drawers following. The drawers are packed with clothes; t-shirts, pajamas, underwear, jeans and shorts, all folded neatly.

Next came the TV and the full length mirror. The TV sits on top of the dresser and the mirror now hangs on the door, facing the bed. She can stare at herself as she desperately tries to fall asleep. 

All of her boxes are loaded into her room and slowly but surely, after a few days of course, everything's unpacked just the way she likes it. Neat and tidy. It'll stay that way for a few weeks and then it will be trashed.

~~~Two months after~~~

It's summertime now. It had been spring time; April to be exact. Now it's late June and the sun shines bright in the sky, peaking through the sophomore's square windows above her bed. Her long auburn hair is matte from sleep and she groggily rubs her eyes. It's obviously morning time.

Her parents had gone on a business trip, so it was her job to watch her little sister. Her little sister was about nine years old and still believed in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. The fifteen year old teen couldn't wait until she matured and grew out of that phase.

She pulls herself out of bed, almost dropping to the bed. There's a sneaker right where she stepped and she kicks it to the side. She had been on the soccer team back in England. Yes, they moved from England; one of the many places that they had been due to their father's job. But, there's no reason to go into that.

But, the job the two sister's father has is the reason they travel a lot and the reason they find themselves renting a home in Seattle. Their father tells them that this is their last move but the two a smart enough to know it's not.

She drags herself downstairs and makes her sister a plain bowl of Fruit Loops. She sets it on the table and calls up to her little sister in her very vibrant British accent. She can't seem to shake it.

Her little sister, Madeline, drags herself into the dining room, rubbing her eyes. She doesn't look well. Since the family moved to North America, Madeline had lost weight and had been feeling more and more dehydrated. Her parents made nothing of it but her older sister has been on edge for the whole time they've there, getting ready to call an ambulance if needed. 

Madeline falls into her chair and scoops up the soggy cereal in her spoon, only to drop it back into her bowl with a soft splot. Her sister looks over her curiously, "You okay, Maddie?" She questions her little sister.

"I feel... Faint." Comes the soft reply. And that's all it takes for her sister to pick up the phone and dial 911.

~~~~Hospital~~~~

"Diabetes. Type 1." The doctor announces, turning his papers to the first page. The fifteen year old is perched in a chair next to her nine year old sister, whom is laying in the hospital bed. She's wearing one of those unattractive hospital dresses and her eyes are wide. 

"D-Diabetes?" The sophomore stammers, staring at the cute doctor. He can't be more than 25... No, I will not fantasize about hot doctors in a time like this. She scolds herself and stares at the doctor.

He nods, "Yes. She'll need to stay here for a week or two. Then she can go home. We'll contact your parents right away." And then he was gone, disappearing into the depths of the children's section of the hospital.

Madeline flops her head onto the pillow and stares at her sister, "Maya?" She whispers in her thick British accent.

Maya lifts her head, her side bang falling into her right eye. She doesn't bother fixing it, "Yes Maddie?"

Madeline stares into her sister's chocolate eyes and gives a small smile, "Thank you for caring for me."

Maya King stands up and ruffles her sisters dirty blonde hair, "No problem. I'll always care. I'm going to go get you some food." She doesn't wait for her sister to respond. She simply walks out of the room and wanders around the kiddie section of the hospital.

She wanders into the "play section" of the kiddie wing and she stops. Sick children are in a circle. Within that circle is a male about her age. He's facing her but doesn't acknowledge her. He's holding a book in his hands, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. It's one of her, and Madeline's, favorite books.

"And when he was tired, he would sleep in her shade..." The boy flips the page and continues, "And the boy loved the tree." He talks in a motherly voice and he shows the children the pictures as he reads slowly. He has a fantastic smile on his face and he seems so happy; he has that little kid glow. 

Maya waits until the boy is finished reading with the line "And the tree is happy." That's when the boy looks up and gives her smile, smiling with both his eyes and mouth.

"Can I help you?" He asks, still smiling. His voice is soft and kind, unlike any other boy's voice Maya's ever known.

"Oh... I, um..." She grasps for the right words, licking over her suddenly dried lips, "I'm looking for the cafeteria. My sister..."

"Why doesn't your sister come join us for another story? We're going to go get lunch afterwards." The young man smiles, his sandy hair falling into his eyes. He has the greenest eyes she's ever seen.

She's fixated on his eyes an it takes her about three minutes to answer is kind question, "I... I don't think aloud to um... Leave her room." She gulps, trying to hide her heavy British accent.

The boy just smiles brighter. Either at her accent or the fact that she stumbled over her words in her sentence, "It must be pretty severe... Whatever she has."

"She has diabetes." Maya whispers, looking down. It's hard to admit out loud that her sister has a disease that could potentially kill her if she eats something she isn't supposed to.

"Ouch. I'm so sorry. What's her name? And yours?" The boy asks, sympathy in his eyes.

"Her name's Madeline but she prefers Maddie. And I... I'm Maya. Maya King." Maya sticks her shaky, sweaty hand out to her new "friend."

The boy takes her hand with a kind smile, "I'm Andy Murray. I read to the kids here everyday after school at three. On weekends and during the summer, I'm here from ten in the morning to two in the afternoon. I love playing with the kids." He giggles softly.

She nods, taking in all the new found information. Andy Murray, volunteers at the hospital, ten to two. She'll definitely be coming here more often.

---

Andy watches as the British brunette walks from the room to go find the cafeteria. She's so pretty. He sighs. She wouldn't go out with a guy like him. He's too much of a... Baby. To put it lightly. He still has stuffed animals on his bed, reads picture books and wears spiderman/super hero pajamas. It's all due to the fact that he'll always be at least seven years old at heart. He loves to have fun.

Andy's parents are concerned that he has a mental disability or some kind of disorder that might have caused this. He knows his parents are being foolish and he himself knows he doesn't. Plus, of they really cared if he had some kind of disability, they would have taken him to get him examined already.

A gentle tug on his pants pulls him from his thoughts as he gazes down at a curly haired blonde girl. She's about seven and has big hazel eyes. Her name is Trinity. She was diagnosed with leukemia a few months ago and some of her hair is slowly falling out. Andy has gotten to know her quite well and he has come to the solution that she is the cutest little girl he has ever met, "Yes Trinny?" That's his nickname for her.

She holds up a book. The Snowman it reads. Andy takes it from her with a small smile. He resists from ruffling her hair, "Everybody, gather in a circle. Trinity has a book picked out for me to read." All the little kids, ages five to eleven, gather around him as he sits crisscrossed on the rug. He smiles as they all copy his position. He opens the book and starts to read.

As Andy is reading, he can't help but think of Maya. Her accent, her hair, her eyes. He only knows her name, and the obvious fact she moved from London, and he thinks he's in love with the girl. There's something wrong with him. Maybe he should get tested.

The young man doesn't notice when she reappears in the room with a girl about the age of nine. The girl, Maddie, is pale and she looks so sad. Who wouldn't be sad if they were in a hospital?

Maya whispers something in her sister's ear and Maddie runs over, joining the circle. That's when Andy notices she's back. The two turning sophomore's lock eyes and they give a small smile. It's definitely love at first sight. 

~~~One week after~~~

Maya comes to the hospital everyday to visit her sister. She's made friends with the nurses and the nurses expect her to show up everyday. Although the nurses think she's there to see Maddie, she's really there to see Andy. She and Andy have a growing friendship.

She now knows that Andy loves kids and that he's a kid at heart. From what she's been told, his parents pay no attention to him and that's why he'll always be a kid. So he can get attention. Also, she's come to the conclusion that Andy loves to help out, he loves coloring, stuffed animals and super heroes. Yeah, he's a giant kid.

Maya keeps her information vague. She likes cooking, she babysits her little sister a lot and her father is constantly is switching jobs. The last one is a lie. He isn't switching jobs; just job locations. The last one was in London and now it's in Seattle. Who knows where they're of to next.

As Maya walks into the children/teenager place, she immediately spots Andy. He's playing with a stuffed rhino and Maddie is sitting across from him with a stuffed giraffe. It's a cute sight and the sophomore can't help but smile when she sees how big Maddie's smile is.

She walks over to them and sits down beside Andy, smiling slightly. Andy grins and hugs her, "Maya! You're here."

She laughs and Andy smiles even brighter. He loves her laugh. It's magical and melodic an he just loves it. "I'm here everyday Andy."  She hugs him back.

His arms stay around her just a little too long and he quickly removes them from around het. A blush forms on his cheeks and he looks down, "Um, sorry."

Maya looks away to hid the blush on her face, "It's okay." She looks at her sister, sending her a telepathic message. Maddie quickly stands up and runs of, dropping down in front of Trinity.

"So um... Hi." Andy says awkwardly, staring into Maya's big brown eyes. He loves her eyes. He just loves them.

Maya bites her lip and stares at him. They already exchanged hellos, why say it again?

Andy clears his throat out of nervousness, not that it'll make him any less nervous, "Maya... I wanted to know if you'd go out with me?" He states it as a question.

Maya's mouth opens and closes. How is she supposed to answer, "We can't." Her accent is as thick as ever when she's nervous.

Andy raises an eyebrow, "Why not?"

She lets out a deep breath, "Because... We just can't. We can only be friends. It's the only way this won't lead to heartbreak."