AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Hey there.” He waved his hand casually and his young face lit up warmly.
His was rugged with some purposeful stubble and he stood tall. His strong biceps flexed as he pushed the wheelchair to the side of the bed.
Janice helped me slide into the chair and then bounced out of the room. "See you in a few hours."
"I guess I'm supposed to just trust you?" I peered up through my lashes.
"Yep, I think they're crazy, too. My driving can be pretty frightening." He spun me around swiftly.
I gripped the wheelchair handles to steady myself. "Well, this isn't the Daytona 500, so let's take it easy."
"You've never seen some of the other volunteers and me race down the halls during quiet hours. It gets pretty intense. I did end up with a mashed-up toe once."
He was kind of funny. "Oh, yeah? I'm sure it was a real adrenaline rush." I played along with him as he wheeled me down the hall, garnering noticeable looks from the nurses' station. "How did your toe fare in the end?"
"It was just a flesh wound. It healed pretty quickly."
He had me laughing easily. It was nice since I had been on edge since waking yesterday. The doctor had been back to see me this morning, but she didn't really elaborate on much. She just told me my scans and blood tests were normal and then asked me a few questions to see if my memory had returned, but no such luck.
Grady was a nice break from all the hospital chatter and overdramatic talk shows. The hospital only had basic cable and it was awful.
"We're having another race tonight. If you want, you can be my wing girl."
"What does that entail exactly?" I was almost afraid to ask.
"You'll have to come and see."
We rode the elevator down a few floors to the main level and headed to a small part of the hospital dedicated to physical therapy. Grady wheeled me through the double doors. There were a few patients working with physical therapists on different apparatuses. One patient, who appeared to be in his forties, was walking on a thick balance beam raised only a few inches off the floor. Another patient, probably in her sixties, was walking very slowly on a treadmill. Through a wall of windows, I noticed a small outdoor pool where a few other patients enjoyed a water therapy session, and just beyond the pool I could make out an open garden area.
"It doesn't even seem like a hospital here."
"This is my favorite place to help. It's quiet, and it doesn't smell like death and sickness."
"If that bothers you, then why do you volunteer at a hospital? There's a ton of places that could use volunteers, like a local food bank."
"I started when I was in high school to earn extracurricular credits for a scholarship application, and I never stopped. The staff is nice, and I meet a lot of interesting people."
Grady gave me a side-glance that had me blushing.
A petite woman dressed in hospital scrubs adorned with Disney characters approached us. "You must be my new patient. I'm Rachel, and I see you and Grady are already good friends." She winked at me. My cheeks reddened again. "No flirting with my patients, Grady." Her tone was light and friendly.
He threw his hands in the air. "No flirting here. I walk with a halo over my head around these parts."
She laughed. It was obvious she had a thing for him, and I had a feeling she wasn't the only one.
"I'll take her from here." She was now steering me over to a set of waist-high walking bars.
Grady shouted, "Be back for her in an hour!"
"Bye," Rachel smiled.
Rachel didn't look back, but I did. I watched as he spun on his heel and stalked out of the room, taking the feeling of ease he had bestowed on me with him.
"Don't worry, hon. He'll be back. Let's see about getting you walking again."
It was hard at first to stand with my weight on the bars. My arms were tired after only a minute or so, and I hadn't even taken a step yet. The doctor had told me I was in a coma for a month, so my muscles would need some strengthening, but she failed to mention how painful it would be to get back there. We took several breaks in between, and by the end of the hour, I had taken ten steps. Ten very painful steps, but I had done it, and it gave me a small glimmer of hope.
Grady had returned as promised.
