It was television or stare at the walls but nothing lately seemed to hold Luke's attention for long and this day had been no exception. His thoughts wandered to his glory days on the court. He and Nathan had been stand out players for the Tree Hill High School Ravens and had gone on to college on partial athletic scholarships. Nathan, after marrying and impregnating Haley, had dropped out and instead gone to work at their father's local dealership. The expectations of a Scott NBA destiny now lay solely on Luke's young shoulders. He had gone on to Wake Forest University where he had been selected the team MVP his freshman and sophomore years.
He loved that feeling. Running down the court, expertly dribbling the ball, sinking three point shots from 20 feet away, having the crowd scream his name. Oh how he loved that game. He loved to play. He could almost feel the thrill as his teammates and the fans cheered him on from the stands. A small smile crept to his lips but whenever the memories of the good times would resurface, his mind would begin to replay the accident. The bright light…the sounds. It was like being trapped in one endless nightmare except he was awake...and the bad dream was very real.
Cranky and weary of channel surfing, Lucas exhaled a frustrated breath. Nothing was on TV again except the stupid soap operas. God, he heated daytime television. He looked up and actually recognized characters from Guiding Light that Haley had made him watch a few days prior. He didn't understand how someone as intelligent as Haley could become so engrossed and addicted to such cheesy, mindless garbage.
Lucas hated the fact that it was on in his room but there was one sobering fact. It had actually help put him to sleep last time so he decided to give it another shot. Two characters were getting hot and heavy, slobbering all over each other as they danced to background jazz music. The scene was corny and predictable but Lucas couldn't peel his eyes away. Could it actually be somewhat entertaining? He rolled his eyes and dismissed the thought, chalking it up to the fact that it had been a while since he had gotten any. As he watched the actors roll around in bed, suddenly the thought hit him. Would he ever be able to have sex again?
A frustrated tear threatened but he refused to let it fall. His right index finger searched for the "off" button but something caught his eye. It was a scene where they were apparently getting ready for a wedding. The "bride" was dressed in a flowing white gown and veil. Her dark hair had been put up and there was a twinkle in her light eyes. She was pretty but what amazed Lucas was when she began to speak. It was the sexiest voice he'd ever heard. A soft little husky whisper type deal. He simply couldn't stop watching her.
Lucas was so into the show that he didn't even notice his brother walk in the room. Tall and strikingly handsome with black hair and sparkling blue eyes, the brothers were by no means identical but both were good looking, inheriting their solid features from their playboy father, Dan Scott.
"Dude, is that the Guiding Light?" Nathan frowned.
"I don't know", Lucas lied.
"Bro, I know you're depressed but soap operas? That's just gay."
"Hey, at least I didn't know the name of it."
"Yeah? Well you can think Haley's brainwashing for that", Nathan chuckled. "Know what Britt's first word was? Not Mama or Da Da but Reva. She actually said Reva from that blonde haired chick on the show."
Lucas smiled at the mention of his little niece.
"Well at least they have hot babes on here. That can be our manly excuse for watching."
"Good looking out, bro", Nathan grinned as he slapped hands with his little brother. "Besides, I really need another reason to watch other than trying to figure out if Harley really killed Phillip. Then again, that Phillip…dude, I'm not sure I'm completely convinced he's dead."
Lucas looked at his baby brother in shock.
"Dude, I can't feel my legs...that's my excuse. Sounds like you can't feel your balls. Now what's your excuse? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Told you, Hales makes me watch. Anyway", he said, desperately trying to change the subject. "How are you feeling, man? Better?"
"I'd feel a hell of a lot better if I wasn't here. And I'd feel better if I could actually walk…"
"They say it's only temporary, right?"
"Yeah", Lucas sighed.
"You'll be alright, dude. You'll walk again."
"Hope so", Lucas nodded.
"I know so. Anyway, your mom asked me to drop this off here for you", Nathan said, handing Lucas his laptop computer. "You left it at Keith's house."
"Why didn't Keith just bring it?"
"I don't know. I…"
Lucas could tell Nathan was stalling.
"What is it, man? Just tell me the truth…"
"Your mom won't let him come here."
Lucas sighed and punched at the side of his bed. Keith was one of the closest people Lucas had in his life. He had always been there for him and Lucas not so secretly hoped that one day Keith and his mother would eventually tie the knot. Now the stupid wreck had shattered any hopes of that dream.
Keith Scott wasn't what you would call an alcoholic but he had been known to tie on a few too many every now and then. Before going to get Karen from the café she owned, Lucas and Keith had had dinner at a local pizzeria. Keith had been thinking about asking Karen to marry him and it was a subject he had nervously discussed with Lucas. They both had a beer or two with the meal but Keith was by no means drunk when they left the restaurant and he slipped behind the wheel.
Still in the ER that night, his blood alcohol level had tested one point under the legal limit. Had Keith been declared legally drunk, a bad situation would have gotten a whole lot worse. It didn't matter though. Karen had been furious all the same.
"Nate, can you just tell him to drop by and see me?"
"Man, I don't know. Your mom…"
"Dude, I'm 21, not two. Come on. What she's doing is not fair. She's totally cool with Dan coming here to see me and if you ask me, he's done a whole lot worse to us over the years. She should just cut him a little slack."
"Alright", Nathan conceded with a sigh. "I'll talk to him."
"Thanks."
Nathan looked back at the TV where the soap was still playing.
"Dude, why the hell are we still watching this crap? Isn't Sports Center or something else on? Anything. Hell, I'd take those freaking Teletubbies that Britt loves so much right about now."
"What do you think about that girl right there?" Lucas asked his brother.
"Who, Savannah?"
"Okay, if Savannah is the bride. I don't know, dipshit. It's not like I have this on TiVo like you do obviously."
"Whatever", Nathan grumbled. "I told you, Hales makes me watch. Anyway, that's Savannah Spaulding."
"She's hot, man."
"Hell yeah she is. Why do you think I watch? I mean, besides because Haley makes me."
"This is stupid", Lucas shook his head. "I'm stuck in this dumb hospital, in this dumb room, in this dumb bed…hell, I can't even move my legs yet I'm watching some crappy soap opera obsessing over some chick."
"Don't feel bad, dude. During the late 90's, I totally went through the Melissa Joan Hart phase."
"Melissa Joan Hart?"
"What? Sabrina the Teenage Witch was fine", Nathan shrugged.
"Nate, be serious."
"I am", he said, opening up the laptop and logging on. "Look, I just googled the character and look…her real name is Brooke Davis."
"Brooke Davis?"
Nathan typed in a few keys.
"Here is her official fan club and…"
"Official fan club?" Lucas scoffed, reaching over and shutting the laptop. "Dude, what am I, a 12 year old girl? Look, I just said she's pretty, okay? I don't need to search the Net for her whole life story."
"Alright. No need to get all defensive. Anyway, the laptop is here, you know the chick's name and you can think your younger brother later for supplying you with some pretty good jerking off material", Nathan joked.
Lucas looked away as his brother kept talking. They had grown close over the years and just like everyone else, Lucas knew Nathan meant well. But he didn't understand. No one did. The doctors kept going on and about "temporary" and "partial" paraplegia but the truth was, Lucas could not move and could barely feel anything from the waist down. Jerking off was the last thing on his mind. All he wanted was to know everything was going to be okay. He wanted to be a whole man again. He wanted his life back. He wanted to be normal.
