Paper Cranes
Friends
“Hey, is everything alright?” Jake, a nurse that was fairly new to Shelby’s wing of the hospital, asked as soon as the elevator doors slid open and I took my first steps into the hallway. Eyes making their way to his, I bobbed my head on my shoulders and let out a small yawn as my legs brought my aching body over to him near the front desk. “You look like shit, Len.” He admitted as soon as I leaned against the desk next to him.
“Wow”, I managed to widen my eyes for a few seconds before they fell back to their half open, tired, state. “You’re a charmer, aren’t you?” Tilting my head to the side, I looked up at him and watched as a small smile found its way to his lips. Smiling back at him, we locked eyes and then looked away, letting the awkward tension in the air dissipate.
Jake and I had a friendship I wasn’t sure how to categorize.
He had walked in on me a few times as I sat in my sisters room crying while she was asleep, and all of the times he sat with me, comforting me until I stopped sobbing. After the first time, I had fallen for him. It could have been because he stood with me for an hour and a half holding me while I cried and it was the first time a guy show he really cared about my well-being. It also could have been the fact that his blonde hair and bright green eyes were set in a well laid out face and he was a smart, twenty-something year old man with a degree and a good job.
Once the air had cleared, and we turned back to each other a few loud squeals filled the hallway, causing both of us to cringe. Quickly pressing my fingers into my temple, I rubbed them in a small circular motion until the pain decreased to a bearable amount. “If you haven’t already guessed, the players are here, got here about two hours ago.” His bright green eyes landed on mine and he rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his blonde locks, “The kids have been squealing all day, it’s cute, but it cuts right through you.”
Nodding, I informed the boy that I was going to go hunt for my sister in the mess, and with a small chuckle, he wished me good luck and headed down the hallway, toward the rooms where the children that occupied them couldn’t run around and enjoy the players as much as the others, the kids that were kept in their beds, unable to freely move around.
I stood away from that hallway at all costs.
Making my way to the large playroom where all of the children had gathered, I let my eyes wander over all of the kids, some of them bald, some having a thin lines of hair on their head, like Shelby’s. When my eyes fell onto a familiar face in the back of the room, a small smile managed to crawl onto my lips.
“Hey, Shell!” I called through the noise, as I grew closer to her. She was sitting off to the corner with her stack of square colored sheets of paper, and a Dallas Stars player who had his back facing me. From what I could see, a large number ‘91’ was on the back, but flailing limbs and shifting bodies blocked the name that was sown across the shoulders.
After a few seconds, the little girl’s eyes locked onto mine, and she quickly jumped up from her seated position and ran the rest of the way over to me and wrapped her little arms around my waist. Pressing her face into the soft fabric of my sweater, she let out a small squeal. Letting me go, she looked up at me, her light eyebrows meeting in the center of her forehead. “You’re late.” She announced crossing her arms.
A light hearted laugh filled my head, setting off a round of bells as a tall figure filled the space next to my little sister. Bringing my eyes up the mans body, the bells grew louder and louder until I reached his face. Once my eyes were in his, the bells silenced. Eyes widening, my lips parted and I felt my heart cease its rapid beating.
“Hey Doc.” The man gave me a small smile as he rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Long time, no see.”
“Tyler was helping me fold paper cranes!” Shelby said excitedly, thankfully missing the awkward greeting between us. “Well, he was trying”, the small blue orbs rolled in a circle as she shot the man a glare and then grabbed his hand and pulled him back over to the corner where they were previously sitting.
Trailing behind them, my mind exploded with thoughts, all screaming at the same time, making my head a hot mess by the time I reached the two of them already on the floor. Silently taking a seat next to Shelby, I grabbed a piece of paper and started to fold it into a little crane as my eyes fixed themselves on the boy, Tyler, as he stared at her with complete concentration, his large hands trying to fold the small piece of paper in the same ways as she did.
By the time they had made one, I had a small pile of about five or more, little cranes at my feet. “Master of origami, are we?” I lifted my head and locked eyes with his chocolate brown ones. As his eyes held mine, my body started to burn up and then grow numb. Sentences lined up in my head, but never reached my throat. I just sat there staring at him, like a scared little girl.
“She taught me how to do it.” Shelby added as she leaned over and handed Tyler another slip of paper. “Maybe she can teach you how to do it”, her eyes fell onto the little paper crane he had made. Staring at it, she frowned and then looked up at me, “Can you teach him, Lennon?”
“Lennon, huh?” His eyes landed on mine for what felt like the tenth time, causing my heart to pick up it’s beating.
With a nod, I sent him a small smile and then carefully watched as he moved his body right next to mine, and tucked his knees in a little more, making the pretzel formation he had twisted them in look even more uncomfortable than the previous. Inhaling sharply, the smell of his cologne filled my mind and for a moment, I thought I was going to shut my eyes and just pass out.
It was all too much to handle with only an hour of sleep.
Tyler’s large hands held a light purple slip of paper that was folded in half. Before I could give him more instructions, he unfolded it and folded it across the other way, then both ways diagonally. After that, he paused and looked up at me, confused. “I’m usually pretty good with my fingers.” The comment sent all of the blood in my body to my face. As his eyes noticed my tomato red cheeks, he looked down biting on his bottom lip and shook his head. “Well fuck”, he closed his eyes as his teeth applied more pressure to his lip. “Shit, I really don’t know how to talk around kids.” We shared a glance. “I’m a mess.” He admitted and then set the piece of paper down and ran a hand through his short hair.
I couldn’t help but laugh as he covered his face with his hands and shook his head. “It’s not a big deal.” We locked eyes, “I’m sure I’ve said worse things around her.”
“She has”, Shelby sang with a smile on her face as she lined up what looked like the hundredth little crane in front of her. All of the small folded pieces of paper were organized by color and created a rainbow type army lined up by her feet. As she hummed a little to herself, I smiled as I stared at her, watching her enjoy the little things she had created.
Our conversation had ended after that. Tyler sat there quietly as he carefully watched my fingers fold the little slip of paper in my hands and copy the movements. One by one he started to get the hang of making them, and by the fifth one, his eyes were on his own, and as he finished flipping and creasing the piece of paper, he smiled at the perfect little bird he made and then leaned over and set the piece of paper down on Shelby’s knee.
Small eyes rising to the bird, she quickly looked up at me and then as I shook my head, she gasped and looked at Tyler who had a wide smile on his face. “Leny taught you!” The blonde girl squealed as she launched herself at the brunette and wrapped him into a tight hug. “Now you can make them and when you’re done you get a wish.”
“A wish, huh?” He asked as he moved Shelby so she was comfortable sitting in his lap. “Are there any guidelines?”
“You just can’t tell anyone, or it won’t come true.” Her little blue orbs darted to me then bounced back to Tyler’s. As he looked down at her, he smiled wide and nodded pulling her into a small hug and then letting her crawl back across the floor and sit with her little cranes.
Another hour or so passed. Tyler and I kept to small five-minute conversations. He asked about my school, what I was studying, my parents, and everything in between. It shocked me that all he wanted to talk about was me. It was surprising for someone like him to show that he was really that interested in my boring life. All I did was come to the hospital and go to school. In between, my nose was in a book, my body was in my bed or at my desk, and I would have about four empty coffee mugs around me.
“So you’re like brilliant, huh?” Tyler asked once we had put all of the cranes we made into shoeboxes and pushed them off to the side. The players had organized a showing of a movie that had just come out in theaters, so for the last hour and a half of the visit, everyone was going to be sitting in the playroom watching the new movie projected onto the large white canvas material that came from the ceiling.
“Not so much.” I answered after we had moved ourselves to lean against the back wall. I was on one side, and Shelby was already snuggled up in Tyler’s lap, her eyes tired as she slowly blinked a few times as they dimmed the lights.
The nurses announced the movie, which was Frozen, and a bunch of the children cheered and squealed. Once the kids were silenced, and the movie started to play, I watched as Shelby’s little eyes fluttered shut and she pushed her face into his shoulder. “Should I wake her up?” Tyler laughed as he looked down at the little girl and gently pushed some of her blonde hair from her face.
“Nah, she gets tired pretty quickly”, my teeth found my bottom lip as I looked over at her. “Don’t worry about her.” I couldn’t help but let out a yawn as I felt my body relax against the wall, welcoming the calming sound of the movie and the dim lights.
The movie started to play, and although I have heard unbelievable reviews about it, I couldn’t manage to keep my eyes open. With ever dark seen, I felt myself getting more tired, and when the movie had reached it’s halfway point, I was struggling to keep my eyes open.
Just as I was about to doze off, my knees pulled to my chest and my forehead on my folded arms, I felt a tingling sensation start from my shoulder ad run down my body. It was electrifying, and caused my eyes to snap open despite how tired they were. “You can rest on my shoulder, if you’d like.” Tyler’s breath hit my neck as he whispered into my ear, causing every nerve in my body to explode.
Turning to him, I roughly bit down on my lip as our noses just about touched. After he whispered in my ear, his face lingered next to me, and by the look in his eyes and the way his eyebrows rose halfway up his forehead, he didn’t expect me to be awake and swivel my head towards him.
After a minute, I cleared my throat and nodded a little, pulling my face away from his and trying to lower my heartbeat that was so loud, I thought it could overpower the volume of the movie. Inhaling deeply, I leaned back against the wall next to the brunette and cautiously rested my head on his shoulder.
Two minute later, as his arm found its way around my shoulders, I drifted to sleep, the smell of his cologne filling my head as my mind got sucked into complete, calming, darkness.
I woke up in a chair in Shelby’s room around nine o’clock at night. Vision blurry, my body quickly sat up as my tired eyes examined everything in the room while a vicious pound started to beat in the back of my head. Once I noticed everything in order, my lips parted and I let out a small groan as I slid down in the chair, dropping my head into my hands.
“You alright, Lennon?” My head snapped to the side, eyes landing on the tall man from before, his eyes shimmering in the little light that flooded the room. His flowing jersey was off, and he was sitting on a small chair they sometimes moved into the room when more than one visitor was hanging around. Blinking a few times, I quickly pulled my body up in the chair and winced, as the pound in my head grew stronger.
Swallowing hard, I sucked in a deep breath and then pressed my fingers into my forehead. “Why are you still here?”
“I haven’t been here the whole time.” The blush on his cheeks was noticeable through the dim lit room. “I went home and came back.”
“Well… Why did you come back?” Our eyes locked in a stare. Squirming under my gaze, he sucked in a breath, shrugged and then looked off to the side, his fingers intertwining in his lap as he started to bend them, making small popping noise fill the awkward tension in the room.
He didn’t answer the question, and although my curiosity was eating away at me, I couldn’t find it in me to ask him any more questions. The pound in my head was too strong, and I was still far too tired to really, really, care.
Sighing heavily, I pushed myself to my feet. As soon as I steadied myself, Tyler was on his feet too, his hands parted and hung in the air like pillars that would close in on me if I lost my balance. “I’m okay, thank you.” I breathed as I looked up at him, remembering how horribly close our faces were right before I fell asleep on his shoulder.
The memory made my blood run warm.
“Could I get you two tickets to a game?” He blurted out, his eyes locking on mine, examining every inch of my face as he impatiently awaited an answer. “I was talking to Shelby before, and she told me that you guys loved to watch the Stars, so-“
“You really don’t have to do that.” My eyebrows met in the center of my forehead as I stared at the man. I had heard stories about the players being sweethearts, but this was too much. “I’m not even sure if they would let Shell out of the hospital.”
“Well what if they could, for just one day? I could get locker room passes and-“
“Can I ask you a serious question?” I cut him off, my eyes locked on his as my head started to swim in thousands of thoughts. As he shrugged, I nodded and then shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “Why are you being so nice? I’m not trying to sound like a bitch or anything, but everything, the flowers and hanging with Shell today, and even this, all of it, it’s just… Are you like a saint?” We shared a laugh as my words settled in the air.
Once we stopped laughing, the brunette looked at me, sadness swimming in his eyes through the dark room. “Honestly,” he intertwined his fingers and let out a heavy sigh, “I’m a giant asshole.” My eyes widened at his words. “I’ve cheated, and drank too much, and been rude to people, and let all of this hockey shit get to my head, and I kind of have a new start in Dallas, and I want to put all of that behind me.” His eyes locked with mine and I tried to keep the anger from being noticed. His words made me feel like a charity case, and I was the farthest thing from it. “I guess I’m just trying to say that you and Shelby kind of bring the good out of me.”
“You don’t even really know-“
“I know.” He stated flatly, chuckling a little. “I barely know anything about you. I just met you yesterday, but I kind of want to get to know the two of you. Not like a date, but I just… I want to be friends. All of this is me trying to ask you to be my friend.”
“Friends?” I whispered, confused.
“Strictly friends.” Tyler’s eyes locked on mine as I nodded a little, still trying to comprehend the mess of words he just spit out. Sucking in a small breath, I watched as the man rubbed his hand on his jeans and then held it out towards me, “How about it, friends?” He asked, his eyes sparkling.
Letting out a small laugh, I took his larger hand in mine and gave him a firm handshake.
“Yeah, friends.”
“Wow”, I managed to widen my eyes for a few seconds before they fell back to their half open, tired, state. “You’re a charmer, aren’t you?” Tilting my head to the side, I looked up at him and watched as a small smile found its way to his lips. Smiling back at him, we locked eyes and then looked away, letting the awkward tension in the air dissipate.
Jake and I had a friendship I wasn’t sure how to categorize.
He had walked in on me a few times as I sat in my sisters room crying while she was asleep, and all of the times he sat with me, comforting me until I stopped sobbing. After the first time, I had fallen for him. It could have been because he stood with me for an hour and a half holding me while I cried and it was the first time a guy show he really cared about my well-being. It also could have been the fact that his blonde hair and bright green eyes were set in a well laid out face and he was a smart, twenty-something year old man with a degree and a good job.
Once the air had cleared, and we turned back to each other a few loud squeals filled the hallway, causing both of us to cringe. Quickly pressing my fingers into my temple, I rubbed them in a small circular motion until the pain decreased to a bearable amount. “If you haven’t already guessed, the players are here, got here about two hours ago.” His bright green eyes landed on mine and he rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his blonde locks, “The kids have been squealing all day, it’s cute, but it cuts right through you.”
Nodding, I informed the boy that I was going to go hunt for my sister in the mess, and with a small chuckle, he wished me good luck and headed down the hallway, toward the rooms where the children that occupied them couldn’t run around and enjoy the players as much as the others, the kids that were kept in their beds, unable to freely move around.
I stood away from that hallway at all costs.
Making my way to the large playroom where all of the children had gathered, I let my eyes wander over all of the kids, some of them bald, some having a thin lines of hair on their head, like Shelby’s. When my eyes fell onto a familiar face in the back of the room, a small smile managed to crawl onto my lips.
“Hey, Shell!” I called through the noise, as I grew closer to her. She was sitting off to the corner with her stack of square colored sheets of paper, and a Dallas Stars player who had his back facing me. From what I could see, a large number ‘91’ was on the back, but flailing limbs and shifting bodies blocked the name that was sown across the shoulders.
After a few seconds, the little girl’s eyes locked onto mine, and she quickly jumped up from her seated position and ran the rest of the way over to me and wrapped her little arms around my waist. Pressing her face into the soft fabric of my sweater, she let out a small squeal. Letting me go, she looked up at me, her light eyebrows meeting in the center of her forehead. “You’re late.” She announced crossing her arms.
A light hearted laugh filled my head, setting off a round of bells as a tall figure filled the space next to my little sister. Bringing my eyes up the mans body, the bells grew louder and louder until I reached his face. Once my eyes were in his, the bells silenced. Eyes widening, my lips parted and I felt my heart cease its rapid beating.
“Hey Doc.” The man gave me a small smile as he rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Long time, no see.”
“Tyler was helping me fold paper cranes!” Shelby said excitedly, thankfully missing the awkward greeting between us. “Well, he was trying”, the small blue orbs rolled in a circle as she shot the man a glare and then grabbed his hand and pulled him back over to the corner where they were previously sitting.
Trailing behind them, my mind exploded with thoughts, all screaming at the same time, making my head a hot mess by the time I reached the two of them already on the floor. Silently taking a seat next to Shelby, I grabbed a piece of paper and started to fold it into a little crane as my eyes fixed themselves on the boy, Tyler, as he stared at her with complete concentration, his large hands trying to fold the small piece of paper in the same ways as she did.
By the time they had made one, I had a small pile of about five or more, little cranes at my feet. “Master of origami, are we?” I lifted my head and locked eyes with his chocolate brown ones. As his eyes held mine, my body started to burn up and then grow numb. Sentences lined up in my head, but never reached my throat. I just sat there staring at him, like a scared little girl.
“She taught me how to do it.” Shelby added as she leaned over and handed Tyler another slip of paper. “Maybe she can teach you how to do it”, her eyes fell onto the little paper crane he had made. Staring at it, she frowned and then looked up at me, “Can you teach him, Lennon?”
“Lennon, huh?” His eyes landed on mine for what felt like the tenth time, causing my heart to pick up it’s beating.
With a nod, I sent him a small smile and then carefully watched as he moved his body right next to mine, and tucked his knees in a little more, making the pretzel formation he had twisted them in look even more uncomfortable than the previous. Inhaling sharply, the smell of his cologne filled my mind and for a moment, I thought I was going to shut my eyes and just pass out.
It was all too much to handle with only an hour of sleep.
Tyler’s large hands held a light purple slip of paper that was folded in half. Before I could give him more instructions, he unfolded it and folded it across the other way, then both ways diagonally. After that, he paused and looked up at me, confused. “I’m usually pretty good with my fingers.” The comment sent all of the blood in my body to my face. As his eyes noticed my tomato red cheeks, he looked down biting on his bottom lip and shook his head. “Well fuck”, he closed his eyes as his teeth applied more pressure to his lip. “Shit, I really don’t know how to talk around kids.” We shared a glance. “I’m a mess.” He admitted and then set the piece of paper down and ran a hand through his short hair.
I couldn’t help but laugh as he covered his face with his hands and shook his head. “It’s not a big deal.” We locked eyes, “I’m sure I’ve said worse things around her.”
“She has”, Shelby sang with a smile on her face as she lined up what looked like the hundredth little crane in front of her. All of the small folded pieces of paper were organized by color and created a rainbow type army lined up by her feet. As she hummed a little to herself, I smiled as I stared at her, watching her enjoy the little things she had created.
Our conversation had ended after that. Tyler sat there quietly as he carefully watched my fingers fold the little slip of paper in my hands and copy the movements. One by one he started to get the hang of making them, and by the fifth one, his eyes were on his own, and as he finished flipping and creasing the piece of paper, he smiled at the perfect little bird he made and then leaned over and set the piece of paper down on Shelby’s knee.
Small eyes rising to the bird, she quickly looked up at me and then as I shook my head, she gasped and looked at Tyler who had a wide smile on his face. “Leny taught you!” The blonde girl squealed as she launched herself at the brunette and wrapped him into a tight hug. “Now you can make them and when you’re done you get a wish.”
“A wish, huh?” He asked as he moved Shelby so she was comfortable sitting in his lap. “Are there any guidelines?”
“You just can’t tell anyone, or it won’t come true.” Her little blue orbs darted to me then bounced back to Tyler’s. As he looked down at her, he smiled wide and nodded pulling her into a small hug and then letting her crawl back across the floor and sit with her little cranes.
Another hour or so passed. Tyler and I kept to small five-minute conversations. He asked about my school, what I was studying, my parents, and everything in between. It shocked me that all he wanted to talk about was me. It was surprising for someone like him to show that he was really that interested in my boring life. All I did was come to the hospital and go to school. In between, my nose was in a book, my body was in my bed or at my desk, and I would have about four empty coffee mugs around me.
“So you’re like brilliant, huh?” Tyler asked once we had put all of the cranes we made into shoeboxes and pushed them off to the side. The players had organized a showing of a movie that had just come out in theaters, so for the last hour and a half of the visit, everyone was going to be sitting in the playroom watching the new movie projected onto the large white canvas material that came from the ceiling.
“Not so much.” I answered after we had moved ourselves to lean against the back wall. I was on one side, and Shelby was already snuggled up in Tyler’s lap, her eyes tired as she slowly blinked a few times as they dimmed the lights.
The nurses announced the movie, which was Frozen, and a bunch of the children cheered and squealed. Once the kids were silenced, and the movie started to play, I watched as Shelby’s little eyes fluttered shut and she pushed her face into his shoulder. “Should I wake her up?” Tyler laughed as he looked down at the little girl and gently pushed some of her blonde hair from her face.
“Nah, she gets tired pretty quickly”, my teeth found my bottom lip as I looked over at her. “Don’t worry about her.” I couldn’t help but let out a yawn as I felt my body relax against the wall, welcoming the calming sound of the movie and the dim lights.
The movie started to play, and although I have heard unbelievable reviews about it, I couldn’t manage to keep my eyes open. With ever dark seen, I felt myself getting more tired, and when the movie had reached it’s halfway point, I was struggling to keep my eyes open.
Just as I was about to doze off, my knees pulled to my chest and my forehead on my folded arms, I felt a tingling sensation start from my shoulder ad run down my body. It was electrifying, and caused my eyes to snap open despite how tired they were. “You can rest on my shoulder, if you’d like.” Tyler’s breath hit my neck as he whispered into my ear, causing every nerve in my body to explode.
Turning to him, I roughly bit down on my lip as our noses just about touched. After he whispered in my ear, his face lingered next to me, and by the look in his eyes and the way his eyebrows rose halfway up his forehead, he didn’t expect me to be awake and swivel my head towards him.
After a minute, I cleared my throat and nodded a little, pulling my face away from his and trying to lower my heartbeat that was so loud, I thought it could overpower the volume of the movie. Inhaling deeply, I leaned back against the wall next to the brunette and cautiously rested my head on his shoulder.
Two minute later, as his arm found its way around my shoulders, I drifted to sleep, the smell of his cologne filling my head as my mind got sucked into complete, calming, darkness.
~ ~ ~
I woke up in a chair in Shelby’s room around nine o’clock at night. Vision blurry, my body quickly sat up as my tired eyes examined everything in the room while a vicious pound started to beat in the back of my head. Once I noticed everything in order, my lips parted and I let out a small groan as I slid down in the chair, dropping my head into my hands.
“You alright, Lennon?” My head snapped to the side, eyes landing on the tall man from before, his eyes shimmering in the little light that flooded the room. His flowing jersey was off, and he was sitting on a small chair they sometimes moved into the room when more than one visitor was hanging around. Blinking a few times, I quickly pulled my body up in the chair and winced, as the pound in my head grew stronger.
Swallowing hard, I sucked in a deep breath and then pressed my fingers into my forehead. “Why are you still here?”
“I haven’t been here the whole time.” The blush on his cheeks was noticeable through the dim lit room. “I went home and came back.”
“Well… Why did you come back?” Our eyes locked in a stare. Squirming under my gaze, he sucked in a breath, shrugged and then looked off to the side, his fingers intertwining in his lap as he started to bend them, making small popping noise fill the awkward tension in the room.
He didn’t answer the question, and although my curiosity was eating away at me, I couldn’t find it in me to ask him any more questions. The pound in my head was too strong, and I was still far too tired to really, really, care.
Sighing heavily, I pushed myself to my feet. As soon as I steadied myself, Tyler was on his feet too, his hands parted and hung in the air like pillars that would close in on me if I lost my balance. “I’m okay, thank you.” I breathed as I looked up at him, remembering how horribly close our faces were right before I fell asleep on his shoulder.
The memory made my blood run warm.
“Could I get you two tickets to a game?” He blurted out, his eyes locking on mine, examining every inch of my face as he impatiently awaited an answer. “I was talking to Shelby before, and she told me that you guys loved to watch the Stars, so-“
“You really don’t have to do that.” My eyebrows met in the center of my forehead as I stared at the man. I had heard stories about the players being sweethearts, but this was too much. “I’m not even sure if they would let Shell out of the hospital.”
“Well what if they could, for just one day? I could get locker room passes and-“
“Can I ask you a serious question?” I cut him off, my eyes locked on his as my head started to swim in thousands of thoughts. As he shrugged, I nodded and then shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “Why are you being so nice? I’m not trying to sound like a bitch or anything, but everything, the flowers and hanging with Shell today, and even this, all of it, it’s just… Are you like a saint?” We shared a laugh as my words settled in the air.
Once we stopped laughing, the brunette looked at me, sadness swimming in his eyes through the dark room. “Honestly,” he intertwined his fingers and let out a heavy sigh, “I’m a giant asshole.” My eyes widened at his words. “I’ve cheated, and drank too much, and been rude to people, and let all of this hockey shit get to my head, and I kind of have a new start in Dallas, and I want to put all of that behind me.” His eyes locked with mine and I tried to keep the anger from being noticed. His words made me feel like a charity case, and I was the farthest thing from it. “I guess I’m just trying to say that you and Shelby kind of bring the good out of me.”
“You don’t even really know-“
“I know.” He stated flatly, chuckling a little. “I barely know anything about you. I just met you yesterday, but I kind of want to get to know the two of you. Not like a date, but I just… I want to be friends. All of this is me trying to ask you to be my friend.”
“Friends?” I whispered, confused.
“Strictly friends.” Tyler’s eyes locked on mine as I nodded a little, still trying to comprehend the mess of words he just spit out. Sucking in a small breath, I watched as the man rubbed his hand on his jeans and then held it out towards me, “How about it, friends?” He asked, his eyes sparkling.
Letting out a small laugh, I took his larger hand in mine and gave him a firm handshake.
“Yeah, friends.”
♠ ♠ ♠
comments would be lovely :)tell me how it's going along so far, pretty please
thanks to all of you who commented on the first chapter, I can't even begin to tell you how happy it made me!
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