“Nate, you can do better than this!” Silas’ voice was just shy of yelling. “Come on!”
I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. Starting in April, Shep had me doing more intense physical theory sessions after deeming fit for the next stage. So, for the past week and a half, my physical therapy used some regular workouts and machines. He was also helping me start to walk again.
The only problem was that Silas didn’t like the progress I was making. His frustration continued to come out, but I wondered how he would feel if he knew what it actually felt like. What it truly felt like not only to be a prisoner in your own body, but having to re-learn how to use every single muscle.
Right now, I was taking slow steps in between two bars. My right hand was shaking because most of my weight was on that one side. I gripped the bar tightly, but it had only been recently that Bo stopped holding me up. At the very least, my right arm was getting strong enough to hol
There was a knock on my office door. The door opened and Charles smiled, popping his head in. I sighed and tried to not look disappointed. Silas had been on strike since Wednesday, refusing to speak with me after our fight. Sam ranted about him being impossible to work with right now, but I knew I wasn’t at fault here. So, if he was waiting for an apology, he wasn’t going to get one.“Ready to go?”Nodding, I pulled back the wheels from my desk and rolled around the desk.“Sam wanted to take you, but Silas has him doing some work in town.”I frowned. That was supposed to be me. Sam was having to look at the planned site and making sure that the layout was correct. I’d done my best to help prep him for speaking to the guys, but I felt I’d get a call tomorrow trying to get the specifics down.Charles turned on the stairs and I locked the wheels of the chair. He picked me up and carried me down. Usually, they would set me on the couch at the bottom an
“Nate, you can do better than this!” Silas’ voice was just shy of yelling. “Come on!”I closed my eyes and took a shaky breath. Starting in April, Shep had me doing more intense physical theory sessions after deeming fit for the next stage. So, for the past week and a half, my physical therapy used some regular workouts and machines. He was also helping me start to walk again.The only problem was that Silas didn’t like the progress I was making. His frustration continued to come out, but I wondered how he would feel if he knew what it actually felt like. What it truly felt like not only to be a prisoner in your own body, but having to re-learn how to use every single muscle.Right now, I was taking slow steps in between two bars. My right hand was shaking because most of my weight was on that one side. I gripped the bar tightly, but it had only been recently that Bo stopped holding me up. At the very least, my right arm was getting strong enough to hol
Everyone came forward, happy to see me. I smiled and nodded, making sure I answered their questions as vaguely as I could. Charles clapped his hand and everyone parted for him. He came over and handed me a packet that was thicker than my daily to-do on Fridays. Flipping through it, my brows knit.“The hell is this?”A few people chortled while the other guys covered the mouths. I continued to flip through, and none of the words on the page made sense. Charles seemed to have made notes, at least according to what Silas might have shown them, but it was a mess. Did Silas really think this was readable? None of this translated correctly.Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Which one, specifically, is he upset over?”Charles leaned over and flipped through to a later page. Putting the other pages behind it, I read through what the exercise was supposed to be. Then I read it again. After the third time, I groaned.“What did he say about it?”
The sun filtered through my window, and I rubbed my eyes. Reaching over, I grabbed my phone and glanced at the time. It was only eight in the morning. Covering my eyes, I sighed. There was no reason for me to stay in bed, but I didn’t want to get up either.Finally, throwing my arms to the side, I sat up. Looking down at my hands, I went through my morning exercises. Right arm was healing well. I could close my hand completely, move my fingers with the same freedom as normal. Twisting my arm, it shook a little as I engaged my forearm, but for the most part, it was okay as well. Lifting it was a different story. The muscle in my shoulder was still not as strong. Thirty seconds was about as long as I could hold it up.I grimaced. My left side was the bane of my existence right now. Curling my hand up, I still couldn’t make a fist. The fingers wouldn’t evenly close either. With my right, I forced them to stretch as much as they could, but it was a struggle. After that def
Ida had parked out front of the doors and wheeled me straight to the passenger side. She opened the door for me and then stood next to the chair. I chuckled, tossed my duffle onto the floor of her SUV.“You’re going to have to lift me. I can’t stand.”She nodded, looking sad. “Alright. Well, sorry about this?”Laughing, I put my arm around her shoulders as she got her hands up under my knees. Her eyes widened as she lifted me a little too quickly. I knew it was because she was expecting me to be heavier, but I didn’t even want to think about the number I was currently weighing it at. It wasn’t in the triple digits.“Beta…” Ida set me down gently in the seat of her car.“I know. Trust me.” I smiled at her. “It’s a work in progress.”Nodding, she shut the door and popped her trunk, setting the wheelchair into the back. Once she came around and buck
I sat in the wheelchair, staring down Shep and a few of the nurses. They were going over my recent results from my physical therapy. The level of anxiety I was feeling skyrocketed, but all I wanted was out of here. Shep was currently deciding whether to allow me back to the pack house.Eight fucking weeks. Tomorrow would be eight weeks since I had been stuck in the hospital. Weeks of frustration. Of everyone being happy over something as stupid as being able to stay sitting up on my own. Raising my arm up completely. Although I knew they didn’t intend to be condescending, they treated me like a baby. Their eyes watching me and feeling like I was being judged. I wanted it to end.“I don’t know.” Shep hummed as he rubbed his chin.“Please, Doc. I already confirmed we would do physical therapy three days a week. I don’t need to stay in the hospital to do that. Please.” I was not above begging at this point.Silas had gone out for a meeting with the