Her trembling fingers zipped up the black high-waisted shorts as she looked in the mirror one last time. Pushing back a strand of stray brown hair, "I got this." She told herself, voice full of uncertainty.

Lyla grimaced and plopped back down on the bed, "I don't got this."

Outside of her window, she could see Austin throwing a baseball around with his younger brother and she smiled to herself. Looking at the time on her phone, she decided that she had time to kill before she had to go in for the first day.

Hopping down the stairs, she greeted Austin with a smile as he held the ball for a couple of seconds before throwing it back.

"Hey, where you going all dressed up like that?" He asked, catching the ball as Lyla stood next to him. Keeping a close eye on her to make sure she wouldn't get hurt.

"Well, today is my first day at my new job!" The brunette smiled, "So I wanted to look my best."

Lyla noticed Austin's and his brother's hesitation, "Why? Is it too much?" She asked them, looking down at her outfit.

He rubbed the back of his neck, "No, not really"

"Yea, it is."

"Colby!" Austin exclaimed, motioning for him to cut it out.

"Why did you tell me it wasn't? Your honesty was one of the things I liked about you."

"I was honest, except maybe for the shoes. Flats? I would play it safe my first day and wear some tennis shoes, besides, it would be a lot more comfortable with some cushion." Austin pointed out, "How long do you have until you get to work?"

"An hour, I wanted to leave early in case there was traffic."

He looked away, "If you want, I could drive you."

Colby jumped up, pumping his fist in the air, "Road trip?! Yes!"

Lyla smiled shyly, waving her hands, "You really don't have to, I don't wanna trouble you."

"It's no bother, besides, I feel like I should explore the city that way I don't get lost. Since we are gonna be here a while."

The green eyed girl hummed thoughtfully, "I suppose you're right, okay, you can take me to work. If we have time, we can even get something to eat on the way there."

"Can I come?!" Colby asked, throwing the ball up in the air.

They both looked at each other before laughing, "Sure." Austin said.

"Yay!" He cheered, getting ready to throw the ball again, "Austin, catch!"

But he wasn't ready and Colby was too excited before he aimed. The ball hit Lyla on the side of her head, making her clutch it in pain before blinking rapidly.

"A-Austin?" Her voice cracked, panicking as her vision blurred.

He grabbed her hand that was reaching for him and set her down on the ground, "Hey, hey, I'm right here. Colby, go inside and tell mom I'm taking Lyla to the hospital."

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry Lyla!" He cried, his eyes watering as his bottom lip quivered.

"Colby, please go tell mom." The teen boy's voice was calm as Colby rushed inside, yelling for their mother.

Lyla started to tear up as her vision blurred yet again, "Am I-Am I gonna go blind?!"

"It's probably nothing severe, how many fingers am I holding up?" He asked her, holding up two fingers to test her eyesight.

She squinted as she tried to make the figures, "Uh, three? Four?"

Austin kept his panic to himself as he stayed calm for her, Lyla didn't need to be stressed. Well, anymore stressed.

Austin's mother came running out of the house with Colby following her, her son turned to her and made an expression that she caught on.

"Lyla, sweetie, I'm gonna call your parents, okay? Austin, take her to the hospital, and here's the keys to the truck. Get it started." The woman ordered turning to her youngest, "You're gonna go with them, I can't leave you here alone."

"Where are you going?" Colby asked as they made their way to the truck.

"With you, now hurry up, we can't waste time." She calmly said as she got into the drivers seat, driving out of the neighborhood.

"Someone better put the hospital's location in or know it by heart kids."

A/N: THANK YOU FOR OVER 1.5k READS!!!

Published: July 27th, 2017
Word Count: 739 words