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“What is it?” I asked with a groan.
“You’re going to need your purse if you’re paying for a movie.”
I whipped my head up towards the hallway and saw him sitting there in his chair.
“You’re going?” I asked.
“Seems like I don’t enjoy disappointing women,” he said with a grin.
I smiled at him before I jumped up off the couch.
Assisting someone in a wheelchair at the theater was harder than I figured it would be. The ramps were steeper than they should’ve been and I had to open both doors to get Hayden into the theater. I was glad I was the one paying for the movie, because Hayden’s face almost couldn’t see over the counter and into the ticket kiosk. We bypassed snacks simply so he wouldn’t have to sit in line only to be eye-level with another counter, and I couldn’t blame him.
But none of that compared to the people that were staring at him.
I knew his family was known, but I didn’t know they were famous. People were staring at him and children were pointing. Some parents were gawking and others were scoffing. Hayden was jumpy. Nervous. His head was on a constant swivel, probably looking for cameras or something of the sort. But what didn’t make it any better was the fact that he looked drastically different than before. His hair was longer and his beard had fully grown out. His eyes were sunken in a bit and his body was now disproportionate to the rest of him. His legs were slowly losing muscle while his arms were slowly gaining it, and it made him look like somewhat of a cartoon character.
“Believe me now?” Hayden asked bitterly.
But I kept my mouth shut.
I wheeled him into the movie theater and pushed him into the level row where the handicapped signs were. I sat in the one lone chair after rolling him into the space, but his eyes weren’t focused on the screen. All around him, people were trying to turn their heads and see him. Get a glimpse of the billionaire in the wheelchair. And while the lawsuit against both the driver and the city weren’t helping his reputation at all, there was no reason for people to be acting this way.
So, I did the only thing I knew I could do to settle him down.
I held my hand out for him as the movie started up. The sound was loud and the chair underneath me was rumbling with the opening credits. I could feel Hayden’s eyes staring down into my palm, and I was hoping I wasn’t crossing a line. I wiggled my fingers playfully to signal what I was trying to do in case he was second-guessing himself, then I looked over at him and found his eyes staring back at me.
Holding my gaze.
Sizing me up again.
I felt the warmth of his hand slid into mine and he laced our fingers together. Not an action I expected, but I could feel how much his hand was trembling. My thumb stroked his skin as the beginning of the movie started up and I turned my attention to the screen in front of me.
But Hayden’s eyes were still locked onto my face.
Slowly but surely, the shaking in his hands died down. I squeezed him gently and went to remove my hand, but he clamped down onto it. He didn’t want to let it go. He didn’t want to disconnect.
And honestly?
I didn’t either.
We sat there for the entire movie and not another thought was given to the people around us. There were a couple of parts that even made Hayden laugh. I whipped my head over to him and watched his smile light up his beautiful blue eyes. I watched his cheeks pucker up and his entire demeanor change. That was what I was looking for. What I was gunning for. Smiles and laughter held the power of a thousand different medications all at once, and the broader he smiled the healthier he looked.
Pretty soon it was me the one staring. Trying to get another glimpse of that intoxicating smile.
The movie ended and I stood up from the chair. I wrapped around Hayden and began to push him out, trying to get ahead of the crowd. I was happy that getting out was exponentially easier than getting in, and a few minutes later I was loading us into his car. I folded up his wheelchair and stuck it in the backseat, then together the two of us sped out of the parking lot and hit the main road.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“Depends on what you’re offering,” Hayden said.
“I’ve got McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Five Guys.”
“Given up on me already?”
I looked over at Hayden and saw a cheeky grin crossing his cheeks.
“Not at all. But you did what I asked. You went to see a movie, so I figured we could drive through somewhere, get some food, and go back home,” I said.
