Butterfly Bayou (Butterfly Bayou 1)

“I hope so.” Noelle looked back to her computer.

He got himself a cup of coffee and thought about how to navigate this new land mine.* * *• • •

Frustration sparked through Lila, and she was about ready to pull out her own hair. “I know that didn’t go the way you hoped, but it’s early and you need to try it again.”

“I don’t want to try it again,” Noelle complained, staring up at the parallel bars like they were a snake about to bite her.

Unfortunately that snake was the only way to get to where they needed to go. After the physical therapist, a young woman named Tanya, had told her Noelle had been very stubborn about the new regimen, she’d decided to come in and take it over herself. Noelle hadn’t been happy when she’d walked into the facility with her. She definitely hadn’t been happy when Lila took over the session. She hadn’t seen another way. At first, she’d meant to simply watch. She’d come in and stayed in the background. Noelle ignored everything her therapist said, and the minute Tanya turned her back, Noelle chose to flirt with the teenage boy who was rehabbing a broken ankle. It was typical teenage girl stuff, but she had to do something about it.

Noelle had been okay through the warm-up and the TENS unit treatment. It was when they got to the exercise portion of the afternoon that Noelle had turned stubborn. Lila had watched her carefully, and all evidence pointed to the fact that Noelle simply didn’t appreciate her normal routine of denial and flirtation being interrupted. In some ways it was reassuring. Noelle always seemed so perfect. This proved she could be a rebellious teen like all the rest. It meant there was some fire under her placid surface. They were going to need that.

She’d responded well to the warm-up. All her charts showed she was past ready for this. But the real struggle had been getting her on her feet.

“I think you should go another ten minutes.” They had actually made the tiniest bit of progress. She was sure Noelle couldn’t see it, but that was exactly why she had a therapist.

“Definitely.” Tanya nodded with obvious satisfaction. “I’ve been trying to get her to do this for months. I don’t know why but she thinks she can’t do it.”

There was only so much a therapist could do, but Lila was something more. At least she was to Noelle. She could take this further.

“It hurts.” Noelle stared up at them with a sullen frown on her face.

Of course it hurt, but sitting in that chair for the rest of her life and never giving herself a chance to try would hurt more. The trouble was sixteen-year-old girls thought they knew everything. She should know. She’d been one. “Pain is feeling, and feeling is good in this case.”

“I’ve been telling you this for months. It will hurt, but it will also get easier every time you do it,” Tanya explained. “You’ve got this. You can do this.”

Noelle said nothing, her eyes not meeting either of them. Lila glanced around. They were the only ones left on the floor. Maybe privacy would be a better idea. Maybe then Noelle would actually tell her why she wasn’t trying. “Tanya, I think I can handle the rest of the session.”

Tanya nodded as though she understood and then sighed as she looked down at Noelle. “You should listen to her, sweetie. I’ve been trying to get Doc Hamet to change up your PT for months. I would trust this woman with my own daughter. I’ll see you next week.”

Lila waited until she was gone and they were alone before turning back to her very stubborn patient.

“Noelle, I need you to trust me. I know it doesn’t feel like it, but this has been a very encouraging day. Let’s do ten more minutes and then we’ll get you back to massage.”

She would take little victories with Noelle. If she were anyone else, Lila knew she likely would have given her the tough-love speech and walked away until the patient was willing to do the work. She knew damn well that unless the patient wanted it, no amount of pleading or bargaining would work.

But this was her patient. Her kid. She knew she shouldn’t think of her that way, but she’d come to love Noelle. She wasn’t willing to let this lie, and she knew after today that she was going to have a big discussion with Armie about this. It might break her if he wouldn’t listen. She wasn’t sure she could live with herself if she didn’t convince them to try.

Noelle stared at her, a stubborn set to her jaw. “I can’t walk, Lila. I’ve told you that a hundred times today.”

If only she would put as much will into actually trying as she did arguing, she might already be walking. “Do you think I didn’t see your hips move? It wasn’t the wind that moved them.”