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Heather sat down on the toilet, her crutches against the wall. The steam was starting to fill the room, but it felt good too. Her shirt and bra were easy enough to get off. She lifted up and got her shorts and underwear off. Thankfully, Daisy had brought her clothes last night when she’d returned.
Once she was naked, she grabbed the garbage bag and covered her leg up to her thigh, tied it closed, then stood on one leg, hopped to the shower, and managed to get in and sit down, keeping her leg out of the spray of the water as best as she could.
She should skip washing her hair, but she couldn’t. She just felt dirty and the chair was close enough as if Daisy sat in it to know it would hit her in the chest but not beat her in the face. She could lean forward and put her head down to wash her hair and her shampoo and conditioner had been moved to within reach too.
It took her longer than normal to shower and rinse off when her hair was done, but she felt better even if she was tired and a little lightheaded.
She was dressed and towel drying her hair while she sat on the toilet when she heard her mother’s voice. “Heather, can I come in?”
“Sure,” she said. The door wasn’t locked and her mother could walk in anyway.
“You shouldn’t have washed your hair or at least asked for help. You were in here so long that I was getting worried, but I heard you moving around.”
She should be thankful her mother gave her privacy at least.
“I’m trying to figure out how to do it all. I’m not used to this, but I was going slow too.”
“You look tired.”
“I am,” she said.
“Do you want your hair dried?” her mother asked. “I can do it for you.”
“If you can hand me the dryer, I’ll just sit here and tip my head upside down and take as much dampness out of it as I can.”
Her mother grabbed the hairdryer and turned it on and then started to dry her hair for her. She was too tired to argue. It wasn’t the end of the world to let her mother do this one thing.
After five minutes, her mother shut it off. “Do you want it done more?”
“No,” she said. “That’s good. Thank you.”
Her mother handed her her crutches. “Why don’t we get you in bed?”
“I don’t want to lie in bed,” she said. “Can we go to the living room? I’ll lie on the couch, but at least I can be propped up?”
Her mother sighed. “I suppose. You don’t know how scared we were when we got the call from Daisy. She said you were unconscious and they were running tests for injuries. She kept giving us updates, but she didn’t have many either.”
“She’s a great person, Mom. She’s going to take good care of me.”
“I know,” her mother said. “But your father and I want to stay for a few days at least. We’ll be at the hotel but come back during the day. Daisy can go to work while we are here. She’ll be taking care of you soon enough, it will give her a break.”
Heather supposed that was a good compromise. If she could keep her sanity for the next few days at least.
21
Make It Up To Her
“Hey, Luke,” Daisy said when she opened the door three days later.
He knew Heather had been discharged on Wednesday afternoon, hours after he’d seen her. She’d texted him that night when she was in bed and said she was ready to strangle her parents and wanted to know if he’d come to save her again.
He found it funny and at least didn’t worry about her holding a grudge against him for not spending time with her for months. But he was going to make it up to her.
Her brothers left on Thursday afternoon after saying there was no reason for them to still be there.
Her parents left this morning after Heather promised to talk to them daily and keep them informed of everything going on.
He knew these things because each night when his shift had ended she was blowing his phone up. He found it considerate she wasn’t doing it while he was working.
