“I know,” she says, letting out a long, slow breath. “Your dad is as stubborn as a mule.” She walks over to the door, pulling it open and muttering, “And he says you get it from me.” I chuckle as she turns and grins at me, flicking her attention to Nate. “I trust you with my daughter, Nate. You just make sure you don’t make me regret saying that. Got it?”
“I can promise you your faith in me isn’t misplaced.” When my mom stares him down, he visibly swallows and says, “Got it.”
She nods once and walks out the door, closing it behind her and leaving us in silence.
I lift my gaze to Nate. “So…” I swallow at the way he stares at me. “When do I get to leave this place?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “Unfortunately the additions won’t be ready in time for Thanksgiving, but definitely before Christmas.”
“Okay.” I worry my bottom lip as I mentally work out how far away Christmas is. “Are we talking six weeks?”
“If my guy’s estimations are right then it’s more like four,” he says with a grin.
My heartbeat gets faster at the prospect of being out of this room in four weeks’ time. No more crappy hospital food, no more of the same four walls. Instead, I can sit and watch the sunrise over the lake, or be in front of Nate’s open fire.
“Four weeks is perfect,” I murmur, smiling wide and squeezing Nate’s hand.
The wall I’ve built after the accident is slowly crumbling down. I see the sheer determination in Nate’s eyes, and I realize he’ll dismantle the wall one brick at a time if that’s what it takes.
The question is: Am I ready to let it fall down or do I want to build it higher? I’m not sure which, but as I keep my gaze connected to his, I know he’ll wait as long as I need him to.
“Are you ready for this, Amelia?” Doctor Bale asks as he stands at the end of the bed, his tablet clutched in his hands.
I smile wide from the wheelchair I got into by myself. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He smiles softly, his white teeth glistening. “Your physiotherapy needs to continue and I’ll need you to come into my office once every two weeks for the first two months and then once a month after that.”
“Got it,” I say, bracing my hands on the wheels, ready to get out
of this place. My gaze roves over the room, taking in the sparse space. The painting is no longer sitting on the wall, the record player me and Nate have listened to every day is gone off the side unit. Nothing depicts that I was in this room for five months. Five months that felt like an entire lifetime.
The sorrow and despair living inside of these four walls is suffocating, making me feel like I can’t quite catch my breath.
“Traci will be continuing with your treatment at home as per arranged by you and Mr. Cole.” His gaze dips down to the surface of his tablet and back up before he takes a step toward me. “I know you still have a long road ahead of you and a lot of unanswered questions, but I have hope things will work out how they’re meant to.”
I nod, pasting on a smile I know won’t reach my eyes. The only way I can get over still having no feeling in my legs is to not think about it. I’ll do anything and everything my physio tells me to, but I won’t get my hopes up.
It’s like when you’re a kid at Christmas and you’ve asked for one specific toy all year long, but when you run down the stairs in your pajamas and rip all the wrapping paper to shreds, you’re disappointed when you don’t get it.
Instead I’ll keep my hopes so low they’re practically non-existent, that way I can never be disappointed.
“Can I break out of this place now, Doc?”
He clicks on his tablet, handing it over to me with a pen for the screen. “Sign here and you may escape.”
I grip the white pen in my hand, signing my name as Nate walks in the door. Looking over at him as he leans against the wall, his hands pushed into the front pockets of his dark jeans, his white t-shirt stretched across his chest, I know that no matter what happens from now on, everything will be okay.
Handing the doctor his tablet back, I grin as I open my arms wide. “I’m free!”
Nate pushes off the wall and walks toward me. “Damn, I was hoping we were going to have to break you out of here. My plan isn't nearly as cool now you’ve been released consensually.”
“Oh, really?” I quirk a brow, rolling forward as I tilt my head back to keep my gaze connected to his. “And what plan is this?”
He jokingly looks toward Doctor Bale before whispering, “I’ll tell you later in case we ever need an escape plan.”
Shaking my head, I hold in a bubble of laughter that’s desperate to escape. “Come on,” I roll toward the door, turning my head back toward them. “Let’s get out of these four walls.”
His brow furrows as he looks around the room. “Don’t you want to wait on your mom and dad?”