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I struggled open my eyes to see Kella crouched down beside me with a coffee and two slices of toast.
“What time is it?” I grumbled, struggling to sit up, which was proving difficult with the weight of the cast.
“It’s nearly midday,” She grinned, handing me the coffee. Midday? Shit, they were some serious pain killers!
“Shit,” I yawned. I’d slept close to twelve hours.
“How’s your foot?” Kella asked.
“Sore,” I admitted, “But I’m okay. I’ll rest it today and hopefully feel better tomorrow.” If I felt like this tomorrow, I’d struggle to get through the day. Kella nodded.
“Good plan. I’ll be around most of the day if you need me. I just have to pop out for some food shopping. Let me know if you need anything,” She kissed my forehead, and left the room.
After my coffee and toast, which was a great way to start the day, I got out of bed, reaching for my crutches. My first few steps were crazy; I wobbled all over the place, nearly toppling over more than once.
Surely these were some kind of safety hazard?
After several trips up and down the hallway, I had them mastered. Using them was hard work though, and my underarms ached like crazy from bearing the weight of my body.
For most of the day, I slept on the couch in my shorts and t-shirt from the day before. I hadn’t even bothered trying for a shower. Kella joined me on the couch for the midday movie, then went shopping.
She cooked me dinner, helped me find an outfit for my first day, and even helped wrap my leg in plastic so I could shower.
“You’re such a good friend,” I smiled at her as she helped me into the bathroom.
“I’m only doing this so I can perve on you,” She joked, helping me out of my shorts. I giggled. Kella had seen me naked plenty of times, so I knew that wasn’t true. Her sexuality had never bothered me, nor had it ever made me feel uncomfortable being naked in front of her. She slapped me on the ass.
“Call out if you need a hand drying yourself,” She said, closing the bathroom door.
Showering in a cast was difficult, and it was only day one. The doctor said it could be up to six weeks, although I might be able to ditch the crutches after three. As I lathered myself up, my mind wandered to Dane. I’d never spent this much time thinking about a guy, but to be fair, I’d never had a guy break my toe either.
Regardless of Kella’s warnings, I couldn’t not think about him, and every time I did (which was often), my heart raced, I felt light headed, and I felt sick. As much as I was dreading college tomorrow because of the whole broken toe thing, part of me couldn’t wait to see Dane again. Of course, that same part of me was also panicking about Dane seeing me in a cast.
I dried myself off without too much trouble. Wrapping my robe around me, I yawned. The pain killers made me tired, so I had another early night. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been in bed before midnight on two consecutive nights.
I woke up to my alarm at eight the next morning. If I dreamt of Abby, I didn’t remember it. The painkillers did make me hazy though. The thought of not seeing Abby in my dreams, or at least not remembering, made me anxious.
I always remembered. Every little detail.
After allowing Kella to drive me to my first class, I hobbled from the parking lot to the lecture hall. Her first class wasn’t until the afternoon, lucky bitch. Apart from the odd look here and there from curious passersby, Kella was right.
Nobody really gave a shit.
My first class was Sociology 101. It was a class I’d previously completed, but due to the assessments not matching up exactly, the school had refused to credit me for it, which was a huge pain in my ass.
Outside the lecture hall, I waited in line with other students, listening to them talking and giggling in their little groups, trying to pretend I was preoccupied with my schedule.
“You’re new here, right?”
I turned to the source of the voice. A girl standing to my left smiled at me. She looked friendly, dressed in her leggings and oversized sweater. Her petite frame and long hair reminded me of Kella, except this girl’s hair was a fiery red. I nodded.
“Yes. You could tell?” I joked, trying to tame my nerves. “I’m Lily,” I said, relieved to have someone to talk to.
“Nice to meet you Lily. I’m Gem,” She glanced down at my foot, “What happened?” She asked.
“I tripped. Over the footpath,” I lied, positive my face was glowing. She laughed.
“Yeah, those footpath things can be hard to master,” She joked. I relaxed, and smiled at her, loving her personality instantly. Some people you could just tell right away you were going to like. Gem was one of them. Come to think of it, so was Dane.
