Addyson Michaels is the most popular girl in school. She has a head of perfect brown hair, crystal clear skin, and eyes the most alluring shade of amber you've ever seen. No one sees those things, though. Her celebrity status stems from the fact that she's sixteen years old, five feet and six inches tall, and weighs 245 pounds. Anyone looking for someone to tease, degrade, pull pranks on, or humiliate to better their own reputation invariably finds their way to Addy. Everyone knows her by name. Braxton Carmen, Addy's lifelong best friend, just happens to be one of the hottest guys in her school-a point that only serves to make things worse. Brax is very protective of Addy and has very easily adapted to the "big brother" role, though he's only about a month older. Brax is at the center of every positive thing Addy has to hold on to, and over the last few months she's begun to notice a change in her feelings for him. Could it be love? Motivated by her feelings for Braxton and appreciation for his loyalty to her all these years, Addy begins to wonder if he would enjoy the life he'd have if he weren't stuck protecting her from the cruelty of their peers. Perhaps it's time to let him go-even if he doesn't want to.

My Life in Your Eyes

Addyson's StoryBy Ellsie Brooks

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2012 Leslie Sheppard McCombs
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-2885-3

Chapter One

Summer was almost over, and it was time to go back to school. I could not say that I was ready to go back, but I did not hate school either—only because of Braxton. He made life so much easier for me whenever he was around. It was just the times that he could not be with me that were so hard.

That summer, Braxton and I had been to the beach together. Our parents were extremely close friends, so it was not unusual for us. We usually went on one vacation together, then one with our families, alone. Those were nowhere near as fun. There were a few things that were easier when Braxton wasn't with us at the beach, however. Like, I would never get into a bathing suit in front of him, and I did not like eating in front of him. Being a hundred pounds overweight, I was self conscious anyway, but I did not ever want Braxton to see me, especially in a suit.

He had never judged me. He stood up for me when someone said something mean or cruel to me when I was with him. If I told him of something that happened when he was not around, he usually had words with that person later, especially at school. Because of that, I tried not to mention things that happened. I felt like a burden to him sometimes, like the little sister he had to protect. He was only one month to the day older than me but, because of his constant protective mode, I felt much younger.

If being so fat was my own fault, I would say that I may deserve some of the picking and joking that I constantly received. It wasn't my fault. I ate healthy food, I worked out three days a week, I only ate junk food on holidays or festive events, like birthday parties. I had been to every doctor in North Carolina and South Carolina, and still no one could help me.

I had tried every fad diet on the market, had been to gyms, workout clubs, and even tried medications. I could not lose weight. I would never give up, in any case. My dream was to be proud of the way I looked. Even though Braxton had made it clear he would be my best friend no matter what, I would have liked for him to be proud of being my best friend. Maybe, if I were skinny, maybe, we could be more.

Nobody asked me to dances, on dates, and, I had never had a boy friend. I would not let Braxton take me to the dances and other social school events. I was too worried people would tease him and laugh at him, all because of me. I felt like I tied him down. A lot of the dances and other things, he said he would rather not attend, but I felt like it was certainly because of me. He knew I wouldn't go, and I thought he felt guilty that I was at home alone; he missed out on so much by babysitting me.

I did go to a home football game once, and spent the whole game talking to Braxton. We were laughing, and screaming for the team. I booed when the other team would score, and just had fun generally. Then the game had to end, and it was time to leave.

I was following behind Braxton, very slowly, watching my step. The bleachers seemed narrower on the way down, and I was anxious to make it to the bottom without falling on my face. It would be embarrassing to fall, no matter who you are. The fat girl falling, that is even worse.

As I was passing Gary Williams, one of the hottest guys in school, he looked up to see who was coming by him. He made eye contact with me, and I instantly blushed. As I was stepping to the next step, trying to regain my focus, Gary quickly stuck his foot out, and sent me rolling down the last four steps.

I wanted to die. It was unfortunate enough that I had fallen in front of the entire school, but I had also fallen in front of Braxton. I could not look at him. The tears streaming down my face added to my shame. I heard Gary and his group laughing loudly.

"Hey Addy, I thought we were having an earthquake!" yelled Gary. I moved my hair out of my face with my bloody palms, and glanced up at his group. When the perfect Kristen Hefner, sitting beside him, saw my face, she stopped laughing. I saw the remorse and pity flash through her eyes, but only for a second. She glanced back at her boyfriend, and simpered, "Good one, Gary."

I stared at the ground, knowing I had to get up, but my knees were hurting so badly I could hardly move. I tried to work myself to all fours, which made the jokes come rolling out from the same group of kids. "Elephant" or "Cow," and let's not forget "Fat ass"—that was their favorite one. Suddenly, there were two people at either side of me trying to help me up. I quickly began to get up on my own. I did not want someone feeling how heavy I was.

I finally reached my feet, after what felt like thirty minutes, and thanked the people who had tried to help me. I began to walk towards Braxton's car in the school parking lot. Although, out of embarrassment, I did not want to see him right then, he was my only ride home. I realized he wasn't anywhere near me. I searched for a moment, thinking maybe that had been the last straw for him. I had been waiting for the day that he would get tired of it all; the day that he would say our friendship was over. As I looked back to where I had fallen down, I noticed Braxton beating the crap out of Gary.

I ran back over there, as fast as I could run, and begged Braxton to stop. After three boys had finally peeled Braxton off of Gary, Braxton walked down to me, put his arm around my shoulders, and simply said, "Let's go."

I could only imagine what my face looked like at that moment. My eyes had to be as large as baseballs. "Braxton, do not ever get in another fight for me, ever," I scolded him.

"Don't ever get picked on in front of me then." He smiled that heart-melting smile at me. His crystal blue eyes held no regret. As a matter of fact, I thought he was pretty proud of himself. I walked off of that football field, with my head hung down, my long hair covering my face, hiding a massive smile.

That day held three firsts and one last for me: The first football game, and the first time Braxton got into in a fist fight over me. It also was the first time I had ever fussed at him for anything, as far as I could remember. However, it would also prove to be the last football game, or social event I would ever attend.

That was freshman year. We were going to be juniors this year. One would think the older we got, the older we would act, but that is not true. The older we get, the crueler people can be. Braxton always said when we graduated and went to college everything would be different. I wished I could believe him.

On this particular day, the day everything changed, Braxton and I were going to get our school supplies and some clothes. The clothes were for Braxton; I would never try clothes on in front of him. If he had discovered what size I had to buy, I would have died of embarrassment.

"Are you going to get another UNC book bag this year?" He asked as he pulled into the mall parking lot. I sat there for a few minutes taking in the sight of Concord Mills. I loved this place. It had every store anyone could want to shop in. When it first opened, people said it had a roller coaster inside of it. It turned out to be a lie, but the place was capacious enough to hold one. "Do fish have lips?" I asked as I got out of the car.

The car was another issue for me. His parents had bought Brax a brand new Chevy Camero over the summer. It was jet black and felt like it sat slam on the ground. It was beautiful, and Braxton fit in it perfectly. I had always imagined...