“This is definitely going to be the worst Christmas ever,” Jack mumbled as she sat at the kitchen table with Dan and Nadia. She picked at her salad with her fork as her head rested on her hand. She let the fork drop into the plate and pushed it away. “I’m really not that hungry. I’m going to the back porch,” she added, rolling herself away from the table and down the hall.
“Don’t forget, you’ve got therapy in an hour!” Dan hollered to her.
“Whatever,” she muttered back. Jack was still pissed at him about what happened the night before. He hadn’t apologized for walking in on her and Darren yet. Jack rolled into the enclosed porch at the back of the house and made her way to one of the large windows. She stared out at the darkening sky as thick gray clouds rolled in from the east. She knew it was going to pour that nigh, but didn’t care. Her life was being slowly sucked out of her waiting for Darren to apologize.
As she sat at the window, Jack saw a bolt of lightening strike in the distance. ‘An omen,’ she thought to herself. ‘I guess Christmas really is going to suck. Can this get any worse?”
“I wish my life wasn’t so screwed up,” Jack said aloud.
“Jack,” came a soft voice from behind her. She turned around to see Darren sheepishly eyeing her. She turned away, raising her left hand and sticking up her middle finger wordlessly telling him to fuck off. “Oh, no you don’t.”
“Oh, yes I do,” Jack retorted, wheeling herself away from the window and towards the door. Darren stopped her when he blocked the doorway.
“Don’t give me that bull shit bitchy attitude. You’re gonna sit there and hear me out then you’ll be given time to speak,” he ordered. Jack crossed her arms out in front of her and coldly stared at him. He kneeled down so that their eyes met. “I am so sorry about last night. I was angry and stupid and everything else you could possibly call me. Sorry I didn’t tell you about the deal. I never meant to keep it a secret from you for so long. I thought Dan would stick to his end of the bargain also. I was in the wrong, and I deserved that slap you gave me.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “So please forgive me if I act a little strange, for I know not what I do. Feels like lightning running through my veins every time I look at you, every time I look at you. Help me out here. All my words are falling short and there's so much I want to say, want to tell you just how good it feels when you look at me that way, when you look at me that way...” Darren softly sang to her. “Throw a stone and watch the ripples flow moving out across the bay. Like a stone I fall into your eyes, deep into that mystery, deep into some mystery. I got half a mind to scream out loud. I got half a mind to die so I won't ever have to lose you girl, won't ever have to say goodbye. I won't ever have to lie, won't ever have to say goodbye. Please forgive me if I act a little strange, for I know not what I do. It's like my head is filled with lightning girl every time I look at you.”
Jack sat there, her mouth gaping open as she stared at Darren with wide, moist eyes. ‘What am I supposed to say?’ she asked herself.
He smiled at her warmly and said, “I still love you.”
Jack burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck. ‘He really isn’t like Seth,’ she thought as Darren lightly stroked her back. “I know you do,” she said aloud. He pulled away and kissed her.
“Come on,” Darren replied. “We’ve got an appointment with the therapist.”
~~~~~~~~~~
“How long is our session going to be today, Millie?” Jack asked her therapist, Dr. Andrea Miller, the moment she stepped into her office.
“An hour and a half,” Millie replied as she stared down at a chart.
“This should be fun,” Jack mumbled as Darren helped her out of the wheelchair. Her first exercise would be muscle stretching. After about two months of therapy, Jack had already become limber enough to touch her toes, a far cry from the cartwheels and back bends she used to be able to do. After loosening her muscles, the harder exercises began. She had to be able to bend her legs, a task still in need to some tweaking, but she was good enough at it to consider walking some time soon. ‘Who knows, maybe today I can try getting up and standing,’ Jack thought as she lifted her right leg for the fifth time that afternoon. Slowly but surely, she was getting her life back.
“Let’s try something new,” Millie said as she rolled a large purple rubber ball to Jack.
“What do you expect me to do with this, play catch?” Jack sarcastically retorted.
“No,” Millie seriously replied. “You’re going to try and do some sit ups with your legs on top of the ball.”
“Five bucks says that my legs re going to fall off!” Jack called to Darren as he sat in the corner silently watching.
“You really gotta stop betting,” he told her. “You already owe me fifty bucks from the last ten times you proved yourself wrong.”
Jack flicked him off and he laughed. She shrugged off his response and began doing what she was supposed to be doing. Jack managed to lift both of her legs and rest the on top of the ball. Millie held them in place as she tried her first sit up in three months. Jack struggled to lift herself off the hardwood floor as Millie encouraged her to keep trying.
“I can’t do it!” Jack finally yelled as she gave up. Darren stood up and walked over to her.
“Try, please,” he said, kneeling down and placing an upside down kiss on her forehead.
“Fine,” she reluctantly replied. Jack closed her eyes as she tightened her muscles and began with the sit up. She could feel herself slowly lift off the ground as her muscled pulled her up. Jack opened her eyes to see that she had already reached her goal. “Oh, my God! I did it!” she exclaimed. Darren wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck softly.
“All you needed was a little motivation,” he told her.
After doing a full set of ten, Jack felt as if she could do anything. She spent the last half hour of her session begging Millie to let her try standing on her own. Millie finally gave in to her incessant pleading and headed over to the bars. With her held and that of Darren’s, Jack managed to grab a hold of the bars and held herself up on wobbly legs.
“I can’t believe this,” Millie said. “You’re making so much progress. Darren, what have you done to her?”
“Honestly, I don’t know,” he laughed.
“Okay, I’m taking my hands off the bars,” Jack announced as she pried her left hand off the rubber insulation and held it up in the air. Cautiously, she let her right hand also slip away from the other bar. Jack looked down at her feet and realized she was standing on her own without any help. “I am so kicking ass today!” Before she had time to make a big deal about it, Jack fell back onto the mat with a thud.
“Oh, shit! Jack! You okay?” Darren asked, kneeling down beside her. She began to laugh hysterically.
“I can be such a dumb ass,” she said. Jack stuck out her hand and Darren helped her up again. “One more try, I can do this.” Jack managed to reach her goal, and even went one step further. With Darren right in front of her ready to catch her, she took a step forward and fell into his arms.
“You’re walking!” he exclaimed.
“It’s a miracle!” Jack happily shouted.