Rebecca's POV-

It had been 6 months since I came home from school that autumn afternoon and heard the news that forever changed my life. My younger 13 year old sister, Cassidy, was discovered to have a tumor in her chest, and was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma. My life suddenly changed. I found myself in a hospital at least 3 times a week. I also was skipping school quite a lot, and not getting detention for turning in homework late. My mother quit her job in order to stay and help Cassie, but she still needed my help most days. Let me just say, It was no picnic to be missing school to drive your sister to the hospital and cleanup her puke, but still, I knew she had like a small percent chance of living. That March Cassie was still hanging on and had no tumor growth or spread. My mother and father decided that I didn't deserve to be a "third parent." I then went back to my "normal" High School Senior life. But things weren't the same. Kids looked at me with sympathy looks, Even my teachers gave me looks and homework passes. I continued to help Cassie on weekends and drove her places (in my car, a thank you present from mom and dad). I got closer with Cassie and dreaded the thought of her leaving me. Cassie once told me and mom and dad she wanted to meet other kids who had cancer in Indianapolis. My mother got right on it because she wanted to make Cassie happy. She discovered a support group for children with cancer that met in a church not to far from our house every Wednesday. Cassie was filled with joy about attending the meeting. "Cassie lets go get you to the church!"mom said. She wheeled Cassie's chair to the door and just before Cassie opened it she turned to me and said, "Rebecca Why don't you come!" Honestly the last thing I wanted to do was sit around sick teenagers and hear their tragic stories. But I loved Cassie and if this was what she wanted, then I had to give it to her. "Okay" I said and grabbed my purse.

When we got in I wheeled Cassie's chair onto the elevator and went down into the church basement. The second we got there Cassie had already seen kids she knew from the hospital and wheeled herself toward them. I sat down on a chair and flipped open my phone. A few minutes later the 10 of us including the leader, Patrick, were in a circle saying a prayer. Patrick started telling his cancer story, but I was only half listening. Then we had to introduce ourselves. Great. They each went around. Each a different age with a different disease. After Cassie went it was my turn. "Um hi I'm Rebecca, I am Cassie's sister and I am 18 and I'm healthy and alive" maybe that was bragging, considering that everyone else was sick and most likely going to die. For the first 30 minutes I just sat back only listening to what Cassie says. When all of a sudden I hear my name. "Rebecca" I look around to see who is calling my name. It's Patrick. "I was wondering what's your biggest dream?" So this is the crap they talk about. "Um probably to have Cassie healthy and happy again. Um yeah." I say unable to think of anything else. I expect it to end their when Patrick asks me another question. "And what is your biggest fear." Judging by the looks on everyone's faces, Patrick must ask that question a lot. "Uh I don't know maybe the dark" I say unsure. But actually the dark is creepy. "Does anyone have anything to say to that?" Patrick looks around. Then the blind boy, Isaac speaks up. "Well I am an expert on the dark!" I smile a little. "I say you should take for granted the light you have because there are people like me who will never see the light again and we will live our lives in the dark. And if we can handle the dark for an lifetime, you can handle it for just a few hours at most." I felt bad for him.

I thought that Cassie would figured that support group didn't really appeal to me and wouldn't ask that I have to go again. But Cassie didn't seem to notice so I ended up once again in support group for a second time. Everything went the same, Patrick went over his cancer story, I awkwardly introduced my self, and sat quietly in my chair waiting for the meeting to end. Only after 30 minutes did I begin to see something. Hazel, who hadn't been to support group last time, kept cutting glances my way and then turning her lips to Isaacs ears whispering. I don't know what they were talking about, but judging by there glances, it was about me. Probably about me being the only healthy person. When support group ended with the prayer, Hazel came up to me. "Hi," she said. She was wearing a smile on her face and said, "You see that boy over there?" I followed her fingers that land on Isaac. "You mean Isaac?" I ask. "Ya!" She smiles, "He wants to, um, talk to you." When ever a boy wants to talk to you, it kinda makes you take a look at your appearance. My hair was this brownish auburn that came to my stomach and I was wearing jeans and a yellow t-shirt. I was mainly confused why this boy wanted to talk to me considering I hadn't had a boyfriend in years due to Cassie's illness and I hadn't really had time to flirt with any. But still he was cute and I was curious. So I walked over to wear he sat and I could see his muscles tighten. "Is she hear?" He asks hopefully. Only then I remember that he can't see me. "Um ya, I'm, a, Rebecca." I say. "Well Rebecca, do you happen to know you have the most beautiful voice in the world." This shocked me since a boy has never complimented my voice. "Um, thanks I guess." I say my voice shaky. He smiles. "You seem unsure" he said. "Well how was I supposed to respond?" I shoot back. "I don't know maybe compliment me in return?" He wiggle his eyebrows. That boy. "Okay, you are ridiculously annoying and I would rather not talk to you." I was just about to leave But then Hazel walked up to both of us. "Rebecca why don't you come over with Isaac to my house?" I has tempted to say no, besides why would they want some healthy kid over? But i couldn't do that to them so I said "Um ya sure." I walked over to Cassie. "So Hazel and Isaac invited me over to Isaac's house so I won't be coming home will you tell Mom?" Cassie looked over my shoulders at Hazel and Isaac. "Ya i will tell mom" I walked back over to them. "Ready to go?" Hazel asked. I shook my head. Hazel guided Isaac to the car and just before he got in he turned his head in my direction and said, "By the way, that was not a complement." I couldn't help but smile.

Hazel didn't live far and when we got to her house she introduced me to her mother and father who looked equally surprised to see me. We walked into her living room. I sat on the edge of the couch next to a table with orange tulips and a picture of a tall, mahogany haired boy. Hazel sat Isaac uncomfortably close to me. Then she said she would run upstairs to get a movie to watch leaving me with Isaac. "How are you going to watch the movie?" I ask suspicious. "I happen to actually enjoy hearing a movie, so then I can turn a boring tragic movie into a bloody war movie, you should try it." He said. "What go blind?" I say sarcastically. "Yes, just poke your eyes out to hear a movie." He said. I laugh. "So, what's it like being blind?" I ask him. "It's as frustrating as hell" he answered quickly. "Why?" I ask. I didn't expect him to answer but he responded, "Because I can't see if your absolutely ravishingly beautiful, Rebecca" I am glad he can't see the burning blush on my face. Just then Hazel arrived with a stack of movies. "Which one?" She asks. We ended up watching Star Wars (a movie I had seen a million times) and as I watched, a few times I closed my eyes and Isaac was right. Star Wars was so much better in my head.

Right before I got out of the car to go home, Isaac asked for my number. I punched in my digits onto his phone and went inside. He didn't call me until Saturday "Rebecca?" He asked with glee in his voice. "Uh hey Isaac!" I said. "Rebecca please come over to my house!" He said. "I don't know where you live" I told him. "Never to fear Hazel will drive you over" "Um great what time will she be over?" I asked. "Um she should be outside your house right now!" I laughed and said, "Just couldn't wait to hear my beautiful voice!" I grabbed my bag and left a note for my mom.

Went over to Isaac's be back soon! -Becca

Sure enough Hazel was right in front of my door. I got in the car. "Hey!" Hazel said. We drove the rest of the ride in science until she parked just outside his house. "He likes you a lot" she said. "We just met" I said. "Yeah but do you know how hard it was to get him to wait until now?" She said drastically. "He wanted to call you the night you gave him your number." I didn't know how to respond so I just got out of the car. I could hear Isaac in the basement playing a video game. The second my feet hit the stairs he immediately said, "Rebecca is that you?" His video game responded in its robotic voice to him before I could. "I don't understand. Repeat?" But Isaac ignored it completely. "Do you look absolutely beautiful today?" Once again before I could answer the video game went, "I don't understand. Re-" "Pause. I wasn't talking to you goddamned video game." I walked over to Isaac and sat down next to him. "Proposing your love to a video game?" I said. "Sadly, it doesn't seem like its going to work out." He said. "That's a shame," I said. Only then did I realized that Hazel wasn't there. "Where's Hazel?" I asked. "Hazel isn't invited." He said it with an obvious tone in his voice. "So just me and you?" I asked. "Yup" he answered. I was unsure about Isaacs feelings toward to me. I thought he was cute and funny, but I wasn't sure if he wanted to hook up with me or if i wanted to hook up with him. To avoid awkward silence he asked me about my life. I told him about my parents who both worked for travel agency. And how we used to go on trips all the time before Cassie illness. I told him how I became like the "third parent" and how school wasn't the same anymore. I was just explaining about one of my teachers when Isaac cut me off mid sentence and said, "Do you believe in true love?" This question surprised me. "Um, I don't know." I answered. "Well I do," he said crossing his arms. "How can you be so sure about true love, I mean your only, like, what 18?" I snapped back at him. "True love can come at any age at anytime and I know this because I think I found my true love," he said the last part quietly. So I guess Isaac has a girlfriend. This made no sense. Why compliment a girls voice and invite her over when you all ready found your true love? I was just about to go and avoid this awkwardness when it accord to me that maybe he meant me. "I just met you," I said to Isaac. "So?" He questioned. "True love can be automatic and-" he was cut off by Hazels voice from upstairs. "Isaac! Rebecca! Time for dinner!" I walked over to the stairs and just before I stepped onto the first one, Isaac said, "Um need some help." Oh yeah. I held Isaacs hand and helped him up the stairs.

When we got to the kitchen Hazel was helping Isaacs mom put food on the table while Isaacs little brother, Graham, ran all around the room with a plastic nerf gun. When he spotted me and Isaac he stopped and said, "Isaac got a new GIRLFRIEND!" Very loudly. "She just a friend," Isaac shot back. "Yeah, sure," he said slowly, eyeing are hands pressed together.

I don't know why, but for the next week I ignored ALL of Isaacs texts and calls. I guess I didn't want Isaac thinking that I liked him, and I didn't want to think that he might like me. Besides, I had even more important things to worry about, like Cassie. I walked over to Cassie's room and sat in the chair next to her bed. She was surprisingly awake. "Hey" I said. "Hey" she answered. "Have you seen Isaac?" She asked. "Why do you ask?" I said curiously. "Well, because, you know, he likes you," she said wiggling her eyebrows. I threw the nearest pillow at her. "How do you know?!" I asked. "It's your fault for leaving your phone here last night!" So that's how. "Why haven't you responded?" She demanded. I decided that maybe I could tell Cassie what I really thought about Isaac. "Well he's really funny, and cute, but Cassie, he's blind and I don't want to be guiding his blind ass for the rest of my life," I told her. "But you love me and you do all my dirty work," she pointed out. "That's different," I was just making an excuse. "I think you can love him for his heart, not his disability," she said and then closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. When had my thirteen year old sister become so wise?

I texted Isaac immediately,

Meet me at Funky Bones park?

He replied,

Knew you were alive! B there in 15 minutes

I went into the bathroom and brushed my hair and put on a dress, It didn't matter that he was blind, he still deserved me looking my best. I dabbed my lips with some strawberry lip gloss and drove to Funky Bones. I waited under this big oak tree on this bench made out of a bone. Then Hazel approached with Isaac and dropped him off like a mother dropping there kid off to daycare. At first Isaac and I sat in awkward silence. Then finally I said, "I'm really sorry Isaac, I keep trying to push you out because of your disability," I take a deep breath "And it's not your fault your blind and I really really like you and if true love really exists I am," I slow down "I am willing to test it with you." Only then do I notice the tears coming out below his sunglasses. "Me too," he said quietly. He had this look on his face, a look filled with desire and longing. I had seen this look before on just about every boy I have ever kissed. So why wouldn't he kiss me? Then I realized that this was another flaw in our relationship. He couldn't see my lips, and he never would. But he could feel them. I put my hands to his neck and pressed my lips to his. He fumbled to put his hands around my waist and pressed me closer to him, till not a millimeter was left between us. I don't know how long we stayed like this but I was happy. Happy that I would give true love a chance.