Chapter 13: Sarah

"Focus on breathing." His instruction was firm and left little room for discussion. "Deep, even breaths." He didn't move my knee while he spoke, waiting for me to align myself with what he'd told me to do. "When I bend your knee, I want you to take a deep breath in, and then as I straighten your leg, release the breath, trying to make the exhale last through the entire movement. Time your intake and exhale with each repetition, focusing on filling your lungs. It will bring oxygen to the muscles and help with the pain."

All I could do was nod. The truth wasn't I didn't know if I could do it. I didn't deal well with pain, and this went beyond anything I'd ever experienced.

"Ready?" Michael waited for my hesitant confirmation. "Here we go, then. Deep breath in, fill your lungs with as much air as possible. In, in, in, in." He chanted as he bent my knee to a ninety-degree angle, pressing my lower back into the immobilizer and my hip into the crummy hospital mattress.