Paige arrived at the hospital the next morning, just as visiting hours were beginning, determined to talk to Craig about her feelings. She wasn't going to allow any interruptions this time, no matter what.
She knocked on his door gently then pushed it open slowly. Craig was lying in his bed, his head turned to the side, away from her. He appeared to be staring out the window but his eyes were unfocused.
"Hey," she said quietly, trying not to startle him. Even so, he jumped and turned his head towards her. She slipped into the room, shutting the door behind her. "So are you excited about today? Finally get out of this place."
"I'm not."
Paige frowned. "You're not? Why not?"
"Bullet hit a nerve in my shoulder," he said dully. "I'm probably never going to be able to use my hand again." Craig turned his head away again, clearly upset.
"Oh. . .Craig, hon, it's gonna be okay." She came to stand by the bed. "It will. I know it doesn't look like it now, but it will."
Craig turned his head to look at her, tears glistening in his hazel eyes. "God, I am so sick of hearing that. 'It's going to be okay'. That's what everyone seems to tell me whenever something else goes wrong in my life. I heard that about fifty times this morning from Joey and Caitlin. Please, spare me."
Paige was taken aback. "I-I'm sorry."
Craig opened his mouth as though to say something more then sighed. "No, I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I'm just frustrated and angry. But that's my life, right? One catastrophe after another. I should be used to it by now."
Paige stroked his hair soothingly. "Look at everything that's happened to you. You have had to deal with a lot of bad stuff."
"I thought you were supposed to make me feel better."
"But," Paige continued, undaunted, "you survived. Not only did you survive, but you came out a stronger person because of it. A wonderful person." She took a deep breath. "A person I care about a lot."
It was Craig's turn to look surprised. "Really?"
Paige nodded, a half smile playing on her face. "Really. And I'm going to be here with you to get through this. Every step of the way. Well, that is if you want me too."
Craig nodded quickly. "Yes, I do. I really really really do." He smiled up at her. "Thanks."
Paige glanced at his night table and noticed that the book of poetry she had gotten him was lying open. "Have you been reading this?"
"What? Oh yeah." Craig picked it up and handed it to her, pointing to one poem. "This one especially."
Paige cleared her throat and began to read.
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Paige lowered the book, finding herself surprisingly moved by the words. "Wow. Now I get why you like this guy so much."
The next few weeks seemed to stretch on forever. Physical therapy was harder than Craig could have thought. And every few days, he'd get poked with the needle and hope against hope that the little line on the screen would jump, indicating the nerve was healing. But it never did.
The only thing keeping Craig sane was seeing Paige every evening. He would come back from physical therapy tired and frustrated but when he saw her, a calm seemed to settle over him. They would often read from his book of poetry together, discussing what the poems meant. Craig was surprised at some of the insight Paige had, coming up with ideas that he never would have thought of.
Sometimes she would sit in the chair beside his bed and sometimes she would curl up in his bed beside him. Sometimes he fell asleep as she was reading to him but her voice was so soothing to him that he couldn't help it.
Craig was falling in love with her more and more every night they spent together.
On one particular evening, they were discussing Robert Frost's poem, Fire and Ice.
"What would you rather have the world end in, fire or ice?" Paige asked him.
"Ice. Definitely ice. Burning to death would not be fun. Besides, ice would preserve everything so that maybe one day it would melt and who knows, the world could just continue on like nothing happened. Or else if aliens came, they could see all the wonderful things this planet had."
"Like Austin Powers?" Paige asked, laughing. "We'll all be cryogenically frozen?"
Craig smiled. "Exactly. What would you rather the world end in?"
"I don't know. I think I'd prefer it not ending at all." Paige shrugged. "But if I had to choose, I would pick fire."
"Really? Why?"
"Because fire is so beautiful. I mean, yeah its destructive and all but have you ever looked at a flame? Like, really looked at one? It's got so many colors all interchanging and flickering...it's amazing." Paige rolled her eyes. "That must've sounded so–"
"I love you." The words burst from Craig. He simply couldn't hold them in any longer.
Paige's eyes widened and her mouth opened but no sound came out. Finally she seemed to find her voice. "I-I'm sorry, did you say something?"
Craig took her hand. "Yeah, I did. I said that I love you, Paige." He held his breath, waiting for an answer.
Paige looked at him for a minute before pulling her hand out of his.
Craig frowned. "Paige?"
"I-I can't. I hafta..." Paige got up quickly, nearly upsetting Craig's dinner tray. "I forgot I had an appointment..." She gathered her things and rushed towards the door.
"Wait, Paige," Craig called, feeling his chest constricting. "Can't we talk?"
Paige stopped, her hand on the doorknob. She turned around and Craig saw a glimmer of hope.
"Craig..." she began slowly. Then she turned the knob and the tiny glimmer shrank away into nothing. "I'm sorry but I can't right now..." With that she turned and left.
Craig sat there for a minute, trying to absorb what had just happened. The line of a poem from the book sprang into his mind. "Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by," he muttered, "and I ruined everything."
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