AllFreeNovel
Share Us
3
RHIANNON
When the doctor came, he looked me over and presented me with what appeared to be a walker. He rolled it up alongside my bed with an encouraging smile and placed my hand upon one rail of the device.
"Now, I know you just woke up, but we need to get you walking, sooner rather than later. The longer you lay there, the more your muscles will atrophy. It's already going to be a tough road back, and you may never fully recover, but we'll do the best we can."
I blinked several times, trying to square his cheery disposition with the disheartening words that spilled from his mouth. For a moment, I felt a very strong desire to prove him wrong, to sit up and walk across the room as if nothing at all had happened. He just didn't know my strength. But as soon as I pushed against the bed to sit up, I let out a tiny cry of defeat and slumped back. I tried to kick the blankets off my legs, but they wouldn't cooperate, barely ruffling the smooth surface of the comforter.
"It's okay," he reassured me. "This is perfectly normal. The biggest thing is to stay positive, and let us handle the rest. We'll have you up and moving in no time."
I didn't find his words the least bit encouraging, but I didn't get the chance to tell him before the nurse was scooping her arms up under my armpits and around my waist, hoisting me forward into the walker. I was so unprepared, I nearly fell flat on my face. But the doctor seemed to know it was coming, because he caught me and planted himself firmly in my path, corralling my wayward limbs into the walker and smiling at me like we had just shared a major accomplishment.
"See? Easy enough!"
I groaned. How could he be so ridiculously optimistic? I was still reeling from all the horrific news I had received in the last hour. First, I woke up in a room that could only be described as outlandishly gaudy, and then I was told that my friends were nowhere around, I was in the custody of a strange alien man with a bad attitude, and I may not ever walk or run again. They were going to have to forgive me if I wasn't up for much celebrating at the moment.
"Okay, now, go back down," he encouraged with that same unnerving smile.
"Back down? But you just got me up!" I complained.
"Yes, but if you try to take a step now, you'll fall. Your arms don't have the strength to support you yet either. We have to crawl before we can walk. For the next few days, you're just going to practice sitting up and getting into position to walk before we try anything else."
If I thought I could raise a hand and slap the chipper expression off the man's face, I would have, but if I lifted so much as a finger off the rails of the walker, I would tumble to the floor. Or worse, into his arms. Ugh.
With some guidance from the nurse, I lowered my body back onto the edge of the bed, reaching behind me anxiously until I was confident that it was behind me to break my fall.
"Excellent!" the doctor said triumphantly. "I'll be back later for another round."
He turned on his heel, headed straight for the door.
"Wait!" I still needed answers.
He paused, this time giving me a look that was more irritated than hopeful.
"Why can't I go to the hospital? I really think it would be better if we did this there, don't you? What if I fall and break a leg or something? It would be much easier to treat me if I was already there."
The doctor's smile dropped off his face, and I detected something almost hostile in his eyes. "Mr. Vaen's orders were to treat you here."
His answer was flat and cold, and as soon as he was done speaking, he retreated through the door and pulled it closed with a resounding click. It was just me and the nurse now, and I couldn't help but notice that she was judiciously avoiding meeting my eyes, busying herself with plumping the pillows and arranging the blankets before helping me slide back into the middle of the bed. With a grunt, she bent over and retrieved the little remote that I'd knocked down earlier and placed it beside my hand.
"If you need anything, call us. Dinner will be here shortly, and the doctor will be back this evening for your next round of therapy."
"What's going to happen to me?" I breathed, letting my worry get the best of me now that we were alone.
She gave me a sympathetic look, patting me on the arm. "You'll be okay. Mr. Vaen can be hot-headed, but he has a good heart. Just like his father, that one."
She finished adjusting my bedding and cleaning up around the room, and then gave me one last slight smile before she left me alone. In the silence of the room, I could hear the wild birds in the gardens outside, jeering at me as they fluttered about freely. Feeling defeated, I laid back and stared at the ceiling, trying to make sense of my new life.
There had to be a reason Nikathy was keeping me here. Come to think of it, I wasn't actually sure how he had rescued me in the first place. Who was that group he was with? Some kind of vigilante group? But he sure didn't act like a superhero, did he?
I fell asleep thinking about the man who had carried me away. In my dreams, it was his strong arms wrapping around me that stood out most, and the gentle way he'd whispered that everything would be okay.In my dreams, he was still the gorgeous, brooding man that carried me to safety without a moment’s hesitation.
When I woke, late in the evening, I was ashamed of the way my body betrayed me. I could feel the lingering flame that had been kindled by my dreams, just a hint of yearning that waned as I came back to consciousness in the dusky garden room. What would it be like to have his arms around me once more?
