Free Puddle Jumping by Amber L. Johnson Page B

couldn’t hang out with him anymore when we were younger?”
    Her eyes dropped to where our hands were still joined. “I was seriously afraid you were going to kill yourself on our property . . .”
    At that point we both started laughing because it was the truth. Had I been left alone with him any longer, Colton would surely have been present at my funeral.
    “It’s been a really tough road for us. From the minute I knew something was different about him. Between the testing and evaluations, learning him and how he works . . . I’ve often thought maybe I did things wrong. That he should have been in school this entire time. But it’s just not for him. He gets frustrated when he can’t communicate because the other person isn’t on his level. He touches too hard. He gets overwhelmed and it makes him break down because he can’t vocalize what’s happening inside of him. Having the tutors alleviated some of that.
    “Maybe I should have told you when you were younger. But if I walked into every room announcing that he wasn’t the same as everyone else, it wouldn’t have done him any favors. I want people to see him for who he is . All I’ve ever wanted was for him to have some semblance of a normal childhood – a normal life. When you came around, I thought maybe, because he was so enamored with you, that you two would be a good fit. You’ve never judged him. I’m overprotective to a fault because of what we’ve been through, and it was a rash decision to remove you from his life, but I felt it was best at the time. But he never forgot you. Not for one day. There are paintings upstairs that prove just that. And if you can hold onto that truth for the future, when things get tough and you’re feeling like it’s a little one-sided, then maybe it won’t be so bad.”
    This was the truth he could not say, and it made me happier than I ever thought I could be.
    She released me and I made my way up to his room to tell him goodnight. And though I was torn to leave him, I knew I had to walk out the front door. But before I did, I snuck into the art room to unlock his window.
    Because it would be the first night I would climb that lattice to sneak into his room after his parents went to bed.
    * * *
    I was nervous as I pulled my car around to the other side of his neighborhood and parked off the road before changing into a pair of sweatpants, t-shirt and flip flops I kept in the car for emergency sleepover clothes when I would hang out with Harper.
    The night made every sound of my feet on dead leaves become magnified by a million percent. I had to bite my lip to stop from mouth breathing and causing white puffs of smoke to give me away as I snuck through the yard of his neighbor directly behind him.
    And I’ll have you know once I reached his house on foot, I made that lattice my bitch.
    There’s something about being focused and motivated that can give you an adrenaline rush unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. That was what happened as I pulled myself up the unsteady and flimsy wood and pushed the window open to slide inside. At first I was worried I would fall and land on one of his pieces he was still working on, but I didn’t and pride kind of surged through me, making the experience all that much better.
    All the lights in the house were off save for the one in his room farther down the hallway. I let the minimal glow lead me to his door and stood off to the side so I could compose myself before knocking quietly. He didn’t call out a response, but I heard his footsteps and when the door did open, he froze and stared down at me, bewildered.
    “May I come in?” I whispered and he tilted his head to look me over.
    “Did you forget something?”
    I laughed nervously and took a deep breath. “I snuck in the window. I wanted to see you.”
    “You should have used the front door.” He was still just staring at me.
    How was I supposed to explain?
    “I know I should have, but I didn’t want your