The First and The Last: Sunnydale Days

By Constance Phillips

A romantic relationship with Kelly seems as unattainable to Joss as getting out of his wheelchair.

Joss knows the sands of time are vanishing. His one desire—to have a normal romantic relationship with Kelly seems like nothing more than a dream. She's the varsity track star who's smashing school and state records at breakneck speed. She's been looking his way lately, or is it his service dog, Bug, that grabs her attention.

Senior year is right around the corner and Kelly feels the pressure to be at the top of her game. College scouts are hovering waiting for her to break yet another record. No one seems to care she'd give it all up to be more than friends with Joss.

Can Joss and Kelly overcome their differences and escape their realities to find love before it's too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Constance Phillips Press
• Release date: Mar 25, 2024
• ISBN: 9781944363277

Book preview

Chapter 1

The first morning light slivered through the slats of the blinds, drawing lines on Joss’s face and the quilt his grandmother had made for him, but it was the dark shadowy corner of the room holding his attention. A familiar figure in a darkened cloak holding a scythe lurked there. Waiting. The reaper’s day would come soon enough, but as for today, Joss was the victor.

Ignoring the overwhelming sense of weakness in his arms and legs proved harder and harder, and he knew the odds were slowly tipping toward the shadow. It didn’t matter how many battles he won. Death lurked in the dark and would eventually win the war.

He struggled to pull the c-pap mask from his face and pushed the button on the machine resting on his bedside table. Seconds later, his alarm interrupted the sudden silence he took solace in. His assistance dog, Bug, shuffled to her feet, in the only way a big, but young, yellow Lab could. The hardwood floors might as well have been a sheet of ice the way her feet moved in every direction as she attempted to stand.

He sat on the edge of the bed with his feet hanging off the side. Reaching down, he stroked Bug’s ears, shaking the cobwebs from his mind. His bedroom door creaked open, and a lock of his mother’s long hair, already curled into a perfect ringlet, appeared a brief few seconds before the rest of her face.

She’s afraid to see who won the night’s battle too.

Good morning. To his own ear, his voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

Good morning, honey. She moved quicker now as she went about her daily checklist, each chore done in a never-changing, sequential order. She opened the blinds before taking the mask and hose to the c-pap and started the sterilization process.

More noise. He grabbed the bar on his lift and moved himself from the bed to his chair. As soon as he was settled, he pulled the covers up, making the bed before moving toward his closet.

His mom moved the hangers in turn, taking in each T-shirt. What would you like to wear today?

He shrugged. Does it matter?

She spun back on her heel and leveled her gaze. It does. After a pause, she continued, I’ll send Eli in.

He scratched his head and checked his mood. He’d never been a morning person, but lately he’d been downright surly. His mom didn’t deserve his frustrations. He didn’t want her to feel like she had to walk on eggshells around him. Jeans. Jeans and the Eagles T-shirt. The red one.

She gathered his choices, setting them on the foot of the bed. What about breakfast?

Eggs. Toast. Juice. The norm. His friends—the able-bodied ones—would be stopping at the Front Porch Diner and grabbing food and coffee to go. Eating as they walked to school. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy had stolen those everyday moments from him. The illness had taken away what should be normal to a seventeen-year-old boy with it.

I’ll leave you to dress. Your breakfast will be ready in five minutes.

Two years ago, his mom and Eli had built this house with every accommodation for him. The halls and doorways were wider. All the floors were smooth surfaces—hardwood or vinyl. The bathrooms were equipped with rails and grips to help him be as independent as possible. His bedroom was more of a suite. Large and roomy enough for his bed and a futon sofa. He had his own attached bathroom with plenty of room to maneuver his chair. He grabbed the clothes off the bed and pushed the lever on the chair directing it to the bathroom. Bug followed him in silent obedience. His mother managed Wren, the designer clothing boutique, and its owner altered most of his clothes adding snaps, buttons, and zippers in many of the seams. She was able to somehow blend the amendments from view, but they made the clothing easier for him to manage on his own. Some might see it as a small thing, but to him it meant everything. He doubted anyone would understand just how much he valued the life skills he could still do on his own—without assistance.

Dressed and ready for the day, he maneuvered his chair into the hall and headed for the kitchen. Hearing the soft hum of the motor, a cherub-esque toddler waddled from the kitchen. Her green eyes opened wider and grew brighter when she saw him. Her glossy strawberry blonde curls framing her round face. Jossi! Jossi! she screeched as she toddled toward him.

Good morning, Willow.

The child extended her arms and bounced her knees. Joss took her hand and squeezed it. Come here, Sissy. I’ll give you a ride.

Eli came from the bathroom and scooped the child up in his arms, landing several kisses to her cheeks, making her giggle before he carefully set the girl on Joss’s lap.

If ever there was a knight in shining armor, it was Eli Briggs. Three years after his dad had walked out on Joss and his mom, Eli had come in and picked up the pieces of his mother’s shattered life. What he’d done for Marilynn had been extraordinary, but he went above and beyond for Joss.

He understood there were some things a seventeen-year-old boy didn’t want his mother doing for him, even if he was physically incapable of doing them for himself. He swept through the tiny house—the one Joss knew his mom and Eli would later sell to build this one—and made each and every room accessible to his wheelchair and special medical equipment. Their decision to become foster parents and eventually adopt Willow had given Marilynn hope life would continue after Joss was gone, even if the woman never uttered those words out loud. It was just like Eli to welcome the infant with Down Syndrome into their home, their lives, and their hearts.

Joss had no doubt his mom and Eli would fill the house with more children who needed homes after he was gone. From the outside the way of thinking may seem harsh, but to Joss it was a comfort. He knew his mother—and Eli—would mourn. They’d be devastated. But, before Eli had come back into their lives, Joss wasn’t sure his mom would have the strength to deal with a life post Joss’s inevitable early death.

Your breakfast is on the table. Better hurry or it will be cold. His mother called from