AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Coach said the doctors told her she would never be able to play volleyball again. At least not anytime in the near future. I knew she was devastated by it. Just a week before the accident she was playing in the second round of the finals.
Although she was short, damn could she fly. She went to the local community college on a full ride as an outside hitter. She fucking loved it and now it was ripped from her. One season and it was gone.
I didn’t know if she would want to go back to living with her parents or stay with me still. She moved in this last summer after graduation. Although her parents were mad about it they knew they couldn’t stop her.
When we were old enough we were going to get married.
When she healed we would get married.
I hope she still wanted me in the ways I did her.
They had just discharged her from the hospital. She had surgery then had to stay for three weeks to recover and heal. She still has function in her extremities but is restricted to very little movement. I just pray she’s not hurt forever. She’s still going to be pissed at me when they get home but I didn’t care. Kaci was still here. She’s still alive.
Gracey helped me line the sidewalk with welcome home balloons. I filled the dinning room with flowers. Kaci’s mom, Sharon, volunteered to make her favorite cookies, snickerdoodle, to add to the surprise. I also asked my mom to make her famous banana bread since Kaci loves that so much. Everything was perfect.
Coach, I still can’t call him Tony, texted saying they were just leaving the hospital. I made my way up to the diner to pick up everyone’s food. We didn’t want to overwhelm her so it was just her parents, Knox, plus Gracey and I.
Sharon opened the front door wheeling Kaci in the house. We didn’t yell surprise. We didn’t yell welcome home. I was frozen. The sight of her in that chair broke my heart more than it already was.
She had a sad smile on her face. “You did all this? The ramps?”
“Everyone helped.” Kneeling down I got eye level with her. “Can I hug you?”
Her head bobbed up and down. I tried to swallow over the lump in my throat but I couldn’t. I felt the tears fall as I held her gently. She didn’t smell the same. She didn’t look the same. It was all my fault.
“I’m so sorry baby.”
