15 Minutes (Time for Love 4)

We got up and went to the bedroom, pulling back the covers to crawl inside my bed.

“Think about what I said, okay?” she said as she curled in behind me. “And, Victoria?”

“Yeah?”

“I told you you’d never be like mom.”

I hugged her to me, feeling a little drunk, and better than I had in days.

“I love you, Abby.”

“I love you too, sis.”

Chapter 23 ~ Brock

I finally understood the expression, an emotional roller coaster.

I’d gone from fear to anger, relief to happiness, and pain to frustration.

The paralysis had been temporary. The afternoon that I woke up from a nap and realized that I could feel a tingle in my right foot, had been an emotional day. My brothers’ relief had been palpable, as had my own.

Then the hard part began. When the paralysis wore off, the pain started to come through. Not wanting to become too dependent on the medication that I’d already been taking too much of, I began to limit the pills, only taking them when the pain became too much.

Being in the hospital drove me crazy, so I left at the first possible chance. The doctors didn’t like it, but they couldn’t make me stay. And although I had to go there almost daily once physical therapy began, it was worth it to spend my nights in the comfort of my own home.

Brady had moved back in with us, to help out when Brendan had to go to school. I hated having to depend on my brothers to do shit for me, my pride taking a big hit at being so damn needy, but I was grateful to have them.

The doctors had given me crutches, but I hated them. Hated skipping around the house with those painful bars under my arms. Brady, being Brady, had picked me up a kick-ass wooden cane that I was using instead. Sure, it made me look like an old man, but I’d rather lean on that to get around than hobble around like some teenager with a football injury.

“Fuck!” I yelled as I maneuvered myself out of bed. I reached over to the cane, which was resting against my dresser, and eased myself up as quickly as possible. I’d found that it I dealt with pain better in quick fits, rather than drawing it out.

Once I was stable, I began the annoying process of getting myself to the bathroom.

“I sure am glad I don’t have to help you get on and off the shitter anymore,” Brady said. I looked to see him leaning against the doorway and used my free hand to show him what I thought about his statement. He just chuckled at me and asked, “You hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat,” I replied.

He turned and left, my eyes watching him for a minute before I continued on my quest. Brady had come along way in my recovery process. In the beginning he’d hovered over me continuously, and although it drove me crazy, I knew he was just trying to cope with my accident. It had taken a while to get him to lay off and let me do things on my own, but my brother knew me well, and he knew I needed to start getting my independence back. He was joking around and smiling more, and I was happy to see some of the tension leaving him.

As they always did, my thoughts turned to Victoria. I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind since that day at the hospital. I wanted to call and apologize, but I wasn’t ready yet. I wanted to be one hundred percent on my feet and back to myself before I saw her again.

When I’d gotten the feeling back in my legs, my first instinct had been to call her and share my joy, but then I remembered everything I’d said to her, and the look of betrayal on her face. I knew I needed to get back to the man I used to be, or at least as close to that man as possible, before I contacted her. Because not only did I need to apologize and make things right, but I needed her to know that I wanted her back.

Although we’d only been together for a short period of time before the accident, I’d fallen in love with her. And being away from her since, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

I had a lot to make up for, so I needed to work on myself, so that I’d be ready to put all of my focus on making Victoria happy.

I was making my way down the hallway to the kitchen when I heard TJ’s voice along with Brady’s.

“Hey, brother,” I said when I rounded the corner and TJ came into sight.

“Hey, looking good, Brock,” TJ said with his signature grin. I could see he wanted to help me the rest of the table, but was pleased that he stood his ground and let me get myself there. When I was finally able to ease myself into the chair, I let out a soothing breath, hoping to relieve some of the pain in my leg.

“You want your medicine?” Brady asked as he set a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me.

“Nah, I’m good,” I replied, catching the concerned look on his face. Rather than say anything, Brady just nodded and walked back to the kitchen.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your breakfast,” TJ began as he sat across from me. “I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing.”