Lisa
Jennie jerked awake quickly, and jumped a mile, almost falling off the bed because I'd practically shouted in her ear. "What? What's wrong?" she cried, looking at me with wide eyes.
I looked at her with her eyes all big, lines of sleep on her face, her clothes all wrinkled and I burst out laughing. She had never looked more beautiful. I don't know how that worked though, because I had the same thought every time I woke up and saw her in the morning.
She looked at me confused, and then I suddenly remembered why I woke her up in the first place. I felt the smile stretch across my face, I grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to me again. "I can feel my legs a little," I told her, watching as the words sunk in.
Her mouth dropped open, her eyes looked down towards my feet. Suddenly she let out and excited little squeal and clamped her hand over her mouth as she started giggling. She jumped out of the bed, bouncing on the spot like a little girl who just got a brand new bike.
"Holy crap, Lisa! Really? Oh thank God! Really?" she asked, her hands hovering near my thighs as if she wanted to touch me but wasn't sure if she should.
I laughed and nodded, I could feel relieved tears building in my eyes. It was a start, but it was a good start, wasn't it? She squealed again and then burst into tears, pressing her face into my chest. I stroked the back of her head as I tried to move my legs. I couldn't move them properly but I could move my toes a little. It was like when you'd been sitting in the same position for a long time and your legs went numb, you knew they were there and you could move them a little, but you just didn't have much control over them.
I kissed the top of her head. Maybe it was all about waiting after all, maybe the longer we waited the better it would get, hopefully this wasn't just it, a little feeling in my legs. Hopefully as the swelling went down even more I'd get more movement back.
She sniffed loudly and pushed herself up, wiping her eyes, a beautiful smile stretched across her face. "I'll buzz for the doctors," she said, her voice all husky and thick through sleep and crying.
I grabbed her hand to stop her as I suddenly realised something else I could feel too. "Um Jennie bear, just wait a minute, please?" I asked. Shit this was embarrassing!
She sniffed again, wiping her face with the sleeve of her sweater. "Why baby?"
I laughed and pulled her a little closer to me again. "Because I woke up next to you, baby," I croaked, trying to hide my face in her hair.
She looked at me curiously, one eyebrow raised, her red eyes confused. "So?"
I laughed and nodded down towards my feet again. She followed my gaze and started to giggle uncontrollably. She climbed onto the bed next to me again, blushing and biting her lip.
"I do tend to have that effect on you in the mornings," she breathed, her hand sliding down my chest, heading towards the tent I was making with the blankets. I laughed as she kissed my neck, making my body feel a little hot. I wanted her. Even through the pain in my back she was still managing to turn me on, stupid damn hormones! If I could, I would pull the covers up over our heads and make love to her until the sun came up, but I guess it was one step at a time. At least I knew that wouldn't be a problem now.
I caught her hand, moving it away just as she got close enough to my crotch. "Not helping with the calming down thing there, Jennie bear," I laughed, trying to think of anything other than her, so I could calm my body down.
She smiled against my neck, "Fine baby, think of something un-sexy," she teased, rolling away from me, propping herself up on her elbow, watching me with a huge smile on her face.After a few minutes of laying there with my eyes closed, thinking about football, I was finally ok and she could call the doctors in.
Jennie
The doctors fussed over her for the longest time. I watched them avidly, they were prodding her legs and feet, I chewed on my lip when I watched Lisa wiggle her toes. I felt like my insides were going to burst with happiness, it's so crazy how something as small as a tiny movement can make everything seem right in the world. Another MRI scan was arranged, they wanted to leave it another hour or two so that the swelling would go down even more.
Lisa had a happy smile on her face the whole time, she was clinging to my hand tightly as if she was afraid to let go. I had been on a rollercoaster ride today, my day went from bad - when I woke up and she couldn't feel her legs, to unbearable for the couple of hours I was away from her. But right now, none of that mattered. All that mattered was the laugh that I heard come out of Lisa's mouth when the doctor nodded and told her that everything looked great.
He left to set up the scans and I pulled the chair over to the bed again, kissing the side of Lisa's beautiful face as I sat down. "I told you to stop worrying," I teased.
"Yeah, yeah. No 'I told you so's' ok," she said, smirking at me. It was nice to see Lisa coming back to normal a little, it broke my heart to see her so upset and sad. Lisa hardly ever got sad about anything, she was always the strong one, so the look on her face for the last few hours had been slowly killing me inside.
After having the scans the doctor had given us the news that everything looked just as it should do. There was still some inflammation around the operation site which would fade over time, he was very hopeful that Lisa would be able to walk again but he warned that it would be a lot of hard work for her.
Everything was working out perfectly, As the hours wore on she could raise her knee slightly, even though it hurt her back doing it. Apparently that was normal though, she'd just had major surgery so pain was to be expected.
They wouldn't let me stay at the hospital with her that night because she wasn't in critical condition like the last couple of nights. I didn't want to go home to our apartment, it didn't feel right staying there without Lisa, so I went back to my parent's house. My mom had gone and picked up a few days worth of clothes for me. It took me a long time to say goodbye to Lisa. I felt like I left a piece of me behind when I walked out of the hospital, knowing I wouldn't see her again for a few hours.
It felt weird walking into my parents house, it didn't feel like home anymore. It was surprising just how quick I had gotten used to living with Lisa, I had lived in this house for thirteen years but yet it felt strange to slip in-between the sheets of my bed. I hugged myself tight and cried, but not with sadness this time, with relief. It would be a lot of hard work but Lisa was always a hard worker, I knew she would put 200 percent into it. Lisa was always up for a challenge and she never failed.
She stayed in the hospital for a grand total of twelve days. The doctors were really pleased with her, she was out of bed and in a wheelchair. She could move her legs but it was a great effort for her, I could see the sweat form on her forehead when she tried really hard. I could tell she was getting frustrated about it, but the doctors had explained it was like a baby learning how to walk for the first time. The will to walk was there, the knowledge, she just needed to teach her body how to do it again. The trouble with Lisa was that she never liked to rely on people. She was a giver, not a receiver so it was hard for her to let me or my parents or our friends, fuss over her and do things for her.
Another thing that pissed her off: she missed the big football game. Our school had to play in the final of the state championship without their captain and had just managed to scrape a win. She was seriously annoyed that she missed it, but the whole team, including the coach, had come to see her that night. They had all crammed in her room, shouting and dancing around, they were thrown out by an angry nurse within ten minutes but Lisa enjoyed it while it lasted. They left her the trophy, which took pride of place on her side table next to her bed.
After the twelve days, Lisa was moved to a rehabilitation centre. Apparently she would stay there for about six weeks and they would work with her extensively, training her muscles again. Her brain needed to reconnect with the damaged nerves and learn the whole process of putting one foot in front of the other.
I was allowed to help her with her therapy, they taught me how to help her stretch her muscles but mostly I was just moral support. I was currently standing at the end of the exercise room, watching as Lisa adjusted herself ready to get up to try again to walk. Her therapist said she needed to do little bursts and then rest. She'd only been here for a week so far, she was up to seven steps at a time before she had to stop and rest.
"Hey Jennie bear, I've got an idea," she said quietly, looking around probably to make sure no one could hear what she was saying.
"What's that, baby?"
She adjusted the foot rests and put her feet on the floor, positioning herself in-between the two rails so she could hold on if she needed to when walking.
"How about for every step I take, you take off one item of clothing back in my room?" she suggested, smirking at me as her eyes raked down my body slowly.
I laughed, only Lisa could think about sex while trying to do something so serious and important. I think she'd been getting a little frustrated that we hadn't done anything more than kissing for the past three weeks. "An item of clothing, really?" I asked, raising one eyebrow. I looked down at myself and mentally counted what I was wearing, thankfully it was quite cold today so I had on jeans, a tank top, shirt and one of her hoodies over the top. Including, underwear and four items for shoes and socks, I was wearing a total of ten things today. "Maybe you could get me to my underwear," I teased, pulling at the zip of the hoodie, looking at her through my eyelashes.
She smirked at me and shook her head slowly, "No way Jennie bear, I'm getting you naked today. How many?" she asked.
"Ten."
She grinned, looking fairly excited about the challenge. "Easy," she mused.
I stood at the end of the rails, giggling as a determined expression crossed her face, and damn that girl, she made the ten steps no problem. Maybe this was a good way to motivate her, I'd have to make sure to wear extra layers tomorrow!
She laughed and looked at me cockily, "Awesome." She turned to her therapist who was oblivious to our little deal. "I think I've done enough for today, I'm gonna go back to my room," Lisa told him.
I laughed and shook my head, "No way baby, I promise I'll do that, but you still need to go swimming and stuff before you're done," I said sternly. I wasn't letting her off of her training schedule, she could wait a couple of hours to get me naked.
She pouted at me, "Fine, I guess I still get to look at you in a bathing suit so that's not too bad," she said, rolling her eyes. Damn horny girl!
I'd been swimming with her everyday too, it was apparently one of the best things to do to build up her strength and control without actually putting weight on her back. It was fun too, we got to mess around in the water for a little while, well until we got told off by the therapist for making out in the pool anyway.
The police had been keeping us updated on the investigation for GD. Apparently he was pleading guilty to all charges, so there would be no trial for it. He was kept in holding while he waited to be sentenced. A month after it all happened, the same cop from GD's house came to the rehabilitation centre to tell us that GD had been sentenced to six years in a mental institution for the numerous charges he's pleaded guilty for. It hardly seemed like anything at all, and he'd be out sooner than that too for good behaviour.
While he was in there, he would undergo extensive therapy to help him. Apparently he was ill, they had prescribed him medication for his condition, but due to patient confidentiality the police weren't allowed to tell us exactly what was wrong with him. I was guessing it was some sort of Schizophrenia or Paranoia disorder. Those type of things fitted with whole situation, the way he blamed Lisa for his life going wrong, also for the stalking and physical violence and mood swings. I guess we'd never know. As long as he was getting help then there was nothing else we could do about it, at least he was being punished for everything he did.
We didn't dwell on it, we had too much to worry about without thinking about GD. We focused all of our energy on getting Lisa better and it was working, it would be a long time before she was back to normal but she'd get there, eventually.
I almost skipped to the car. I was so excited I could barely stop my hands from shaking as I started the car. Maybe I should have let Brian come with me after all, like he'd offered, but I wanted it to just be me and Lisa. Everything was set up at the house, all I needed to do was go to the rehabilitation centre.
I drove there, practically bouncing in my seat. When I pulled into the parking lot I smiled and grabbed my cell phone, sending Lisa a quick text to say I was here. She liked me to do that so she could come and meet me out the front or in the reception.
She'd been doing so well lately, it was still an effort for her, walking wasn't quite the unconscious action that it used to be, but it didn't cause her pain now which was good. She still got tired quickly, which frustrated her. She hated that she needed help, she hated to ask for help. I saw on her face how much it pained her to have to ask me to sit down with her and take a break, when we were walking around the grounds or something.
I made a slow walk to the front door, giving her time to cover the short distance from her room to the entrance way so she could meet me. As I pushed the door open I saw her blonde head come round the corner at the end of the hallway. A beautiful smile stretched across her face that I couldn't help but mirror.
Today was a big day. Today Lisa was coming home.
"Hey, beautiful girl!" she chirped as she got up to me and wrapped her arms tight around my waist.
"Hey, baby." I hugged her back, still being careful of her. It scared me, being close to her, just in case I hurt her or something. I sighed contentedly as her familiar smell filled my lungs. I hated to leave her at nighttime's, but I wasn't allowed to stay here with her at the centre. Tonight would be the first time in two months that I would get to sleep in a bed with the love of my life, and I couldn't wait to fall asleep in her arms.
She pulled back and cupped my face in her hands, her green eyes burning into mine, they showed a happiness that had been growing more and more each day. She'd been counting down the days until she could come home, it had felt like forever but finally it was here.
"I had a dream about you last night," she whispered, kissing my lips gently.
I smiled against her mouth, as I gripped the side of her shirt, wanting desperately to pull her closer to me, to crush her body against mine. We hadn't been together for a long time, not through lack of her wanting to though. She'd practically been begging for attention but I just couldn't bring myself to take things further than a quick fumble with her. I was terrified of hurting her, what if it was too soon and it caused her more problems? That thought never left my mind and made me feel slightly sick. It's not that I didn't want her body because damn, Lisa Manoban was a serious hottie, she literally drove me crazy with desire but I loved her too much to rush anything.
"Oh you dreamt about me? What were we doing?" I teased, raising one eyebrow at her.
She smirked at me, kissing me again lightly. "This," she whispered, pulling me closer to her. "And this," she purred, kissing my neck making my stomach get butterflies. "And this." Her hands slipped down to my ass, squeezing gently.
I tried to control my body's urges and rein in my raging hormones, but it was hard. "Oh really? Right in the middle of the reception?" I asked breathlessly, as her tongue trailed up the side of my neck.
She laughed and pulled back, "No, we were back in Vegas actually."
I smiled when she mentioned Vegas, jeez I wish I was back there with her right now. It felt like we were different people back then, two teenagers without a care in the world, not like now.
"Maybe we could go there again one day. You could win some more money at cards." I teased, pulling away as she nibbled on my earlobe.
She grinned and took my hand, nodding. "Definitely."
I raked my eyes over her slowly, taking in every flawless inch of her. She looked so handsome today in just a plain grey t-shirt and light blue jeans, her hair was getting a little long and she kept brushing it back off of her forehead. I'm betting that will be one of the first things she wants to do when she gets home, have a haircut.
"Shall we get started then?" I asked, nodding back towards where the training room is. She smiled and nodded, leading me through the hallway toward the changing room so we could do her last training session before she was finally discharged.
After two hours of swimming and her doing some weights and resistance training, she was finally signed out of the centre to be an outpatient. They'd given her a training routine that she was to continue with on her own. I smiled when I scanned it over, swimming was on there five days a week. That was definitely my favourite thing we did together, I also liked the massages I had to give her after to relax her muscles. I'm just glad she couldn't see my face when I was doing that, I would imagine that I looked like some sort of desperate horny beast or something when I rubbed my hands over her body.
After we packed up her stuff, I sat on the bed watching as she checked all her cupboards, making sure she had everything. She liked to have independence, I think she liked that I let her do little things like this on her own, instead of fussing over her too much. She'd told me that the way her mother fussed over her, made her feel less in some way, I didn't ever want to make her feel like that so I wanted her to do what she could.
Lisa had finally started speaking to her parents again a couple of weeks ago. I think because she was getting better she had decided to try and get on with them, if things hadn't worked with the operation, I'm betting that things would be very different. I'm pretty sure that if she was in a wheelchair then her mom would always have in the back of her head of what could have been, so she wouldn't be able to see them again. Things were strained with them, everyone a little uncomfortable because although she was talking to them, she hadn't forgiven them.
I personally hadn't forgiven them either and I don't think I ever would be able to. I had always liked Linda and Richard, but when I looked at them now, all I could see was them letting down their daughter and being selfish. The way that Linda had dismissed my relationship with her daughter had hurt me to the core, and I would never be able to forget it. So I put on a fake smile and pretended, if I had to do that for lisa Lisa so she could have a relationship with her parents, then that's what I'd do.
When she looked like she was finally done packing up, I went to get up off of her bed but she shook her head, putting her hand on my shoulder. "No way, Jennie bear. If this is the last time I'm in this room then I'm so making the most of the bed before we go," she stated, smirking as she stepped closer to me, her face inches from mine.
My mouth started to water at the thought of her body but I couldn't do that, not yet, not until she was completely ok. She kissed me hard, moving closer to me so I had nowhere to go but onto my back on the bed. She grinned against my lips as she lowered herself down on top of me, kissing me deeply. The kiss was so good it made me feel like my toes were curling up.
I moaned into her mouth as her hand slid down my body, gripping my thigh, moving my leg so it wrapped around her body. I instantly panicked that I would hurt her and pulled away quickly.
She groaned and put her face in the side of my neck. "Jennie!" she whined.
I stroked the back of her head, "I'm sorry. I just….. Lisa, it's just……" I mumbled.
She sighed and kissed my neck gently, "Yeah, I know."
I gripped my hand in the back of her hair. "I just want to wait a little while. Just in case. I'm sorry," I said honestly. I really was sorry, this whole situation was my fault and maybe I was just making it worse for her instead of helping her. Maybe I should just give her what she wants, goodness knows I wanted it too.
"You don't have to be sorry, Jennie bear. I know what you're thinking about, and it's ok," she whispered, kissing me again. She rolled off of me and gripped her arms around my waist, pulling me on top of her instead. I instantly took my weight on my hands and knees so I didn't hurt her. She laughed and ran her hands down my back, gripping my ass and pulling me down onto her. "I know you're worried about hurting me, but I think this position would work really well. I could just lie back and let you do all the work," she teased, waggling her eyebrows at me.
I laughed uncomfortably, "Lisa…..just a little longer. Please?" I begged, I needed her to stop doing this to me because every time she did my will to say no crumbled a little more.
She smiled her sexy little smile that I loved so much and nodded. "Know what I really dreamt about last night?" she asked, changing the subject.
I lowered myself down on her a little more, but still being careful. "What baby?"
She smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear, her fingertips brushing across my cheek lightly, making my skin tingle where he touched. "We were in Vegas like I said, but we'd just got married again."
I smiled, "We did?" I asked, my heart was starting to drum in my chest again. I didn't think Lisa wanted to marry me again, usually whenever I mentioned it she changed the subject immediately. Maybe she felt a little rushed, maybe she was secretly glad we weren't married so young.
She nodded and kissed the tip of my nose. "Yeah, and you looked beautiful in your white dress."
I gulped, was she ready to talk about it now? "I didn't think you'd want to marry me again…."
She frowned and looked at me like I was crazy. "Jennie are you kidding me? Of course I want to marry you again, you're the love of my life. I just wanted to wait a little while before we spoke about it, I just wanted to make sure that you were ok being tied to someone like me."
Someone like her? She thought she was doing this for me again? Did she really still not understand how much I loved her? "Why wouldn't I want to be tied to the most perfect girl in the world?" I asked, trailing little kisses along the line of her jaw, making her hands tighten on my hips.
She moaned breathlessly, pulling on my ass again so I pressed against her crotch harder, I could feel how excited she was and I started to feel guilty again. She hadn't had any physical attention for eight weeks, this was probably killing her.
"I was wondering, Jennie bear," she trailed off as I bit her chin lightly.
"Wondering what, Lisa?" I whispered, licking the rim of her ear.
"Shit Jennie, I can't concentrate while you're doing that." she moaned. I laughed and pulled away from her slightly, looking her in the eyes, nodding for her to continue. She took a deep breath, looking a little nervous as she took my left hand, rolling my engagement ring around my finger. I wasn't wearing my wedding ring anymore, I'd taken it off and had it handing on my necklace instead, because technically we weren't married. Lisa refused to take hers off though.
"Jennie, I know I already asked you once before and you said yes, but things have changed a little since then," I swallowed loudly, was she going to say what I think she was going to say? "But I love you more than anything in the world. I will always love you, and I wondered if you would do me the honour of marrying me, again."
I couldn't breathe, I felt the smile stretch across my face as a hundred butterflies seemed to take flight in my stomach. Lisa Manoban wanted to marry me again and I couldn't be happier about it. She was just looking at me worriedly, and suddenly I realised I hadn't actually answered her question.
I bent my head and kissed her softly, relishing in the feel of her lips against mine. Kissing Lisa just seemed to make everything right in the world. With her lips against mine I felt like the luckiest and most special girl in the world because the most amazing girl like her loved me and wanted me. She kissed me back immediately, tangling her fingers in the back of my hair, pulling me impossibly closer to her.
By the time I pulled away we were both a little breathless. I looked her right in the eyes and smiled, "Of course I'll marry you again, Lisa," I whispered. She really had no idea how much I loved her, I would do anything for her and yet she still worried that I would change my mind. Maybe she'd gone crazy or something.
She laughed, grinning as ran her hand down my back. "Thank you Jennie bear. I'm gonna be a great wife, you won't regret it."
I brushed my nose against hers lightly, "I know what kind of a wife you'll be, baby." she would be the best wife in the world, I knew that from personal experience.