Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters!
Charity groaned in pain as she fought to take another step. No one had prepared her for the torture of physical therapy. She had been working her legs from a seated position for the better part of three weeks. Today, her physical therapist had informed her that she was going to walk. Charity had been more amused than anything, at the thought of attempting to walk. Now, she wished she had been a little less eager.
"C'mon Charity, you can take one more step!" Gwen, the perky little therapy assistant said, encouragingly. For a moment, Charity entertained an evil plot that involved Gwen, Charity's wheelchair and a high cliff, before she concentrated all her efforts on moving her right foot, even a fraction of an inch. Surprisingly, she was able to slide it forward at least two inches.
"That's great Charity!" Gwen cheered, as she helped Charity back into her wheelchair. Charity rolled her eyes. She had taken two tiny steps and she wasn't seeing what was so great about that.
"Alright, well let's get you loaded up and back to the hospital. Same time tomorrow?" Gwen asked happily, as she wheeled Charity down the stark, white hallway.
"Sorry, I have plans." Charity said sarcastically. Gwen simply smiled and shook her head.
"You know, I was a cheerleader in high school, too. It's funny, but I can't imagine someone, who has as bad an attitude as you do, being a cheerleader," Gwen said, losing her perkiness for the first time since Charity had met her.
"Well, from one cheerleader to another, shove it up your a…"
"Charity Scott!" Gwen admonished, cutting her off. Charity gave her big smile, as Gwen handed her over to the ambulance attendant.
"See you tomorrow!" Charity called brightly, as the ambulance door swung shut. As soon as they had pulled away, she let the smile drop. If she hadn't been assured by her mother that this was the best rehabilitation facility in the state, she would have asked to be moved. School was starting in a month, and Charity was damned sure not going to wheel herself around all day. It was bad enough that she was going to miss out on cheering her entire junior year.
"Alright Ms. Scott, are you ready?" The attendant asked. Charity nodded. She was ready to get back to her room and relax. She thought about calling Lauren, but decided against it. Since Lauren and Derek had started dating, a few weeks ago, Charity had put some distance between herself and her sister. She was certain that she was over Derek, but still, the thought of her sister and her ex-boyfriend together, made her a bit uncomfortable.
As the aid wheeled her into her room, Charity realized that she wouldn't be relaxing this afternoon.
"Tyler. What are you doing here?" She asked coldly, after she had been helped back into her bed. She hadn't heard a word from Tyler since she had thrown him out of her room in Raleigh. Hell, she spoken to Ethan, the doctor that had escorted her back to Tree Hill, more than she had spoken to Tyler in the last three weeks.
"I thought we needed to talk," Tyler said, as he paced the room. Charity chuckled at Tyler's nervousness.
"Really? I guess whatever you want to talk about isn't very important. I mean, you waited three weeks to say it." Charity said sweetly, staring daggers at Tyler.
"I was waiting for you to call me, but it became very clear that you weren't going to do that," Tyler replied evenly.
"Why would I call you? You're the one that lied to me, if my memory serves me correctly," She said.
"I didn't lie to you! Yeah, I told you something that wasn't true, but I didn't do it to hurt you. I just assumed that Derek and Amy hooked up, and I know that I shouldn't have told you that, without making sure, but I did. I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you the truth, but I wanted to avoid this," He said, gesturing between them.
"I know you're sorry Tyler, but that's the problem. Everyone is always sorry! That doesn't stop them from continuing to screw things up, does it?" She asked, as she shook her head dejectedly. Tyler stopped pacing and gave her a long look.
"So that's it? This is where we stand?" He asked softly, taking a step toward her. Charity was torn, she wanted to tell him that yes, this is where their relationship was going to lie. She had been lied to and hurt by enough people in her short life and she didn't need anymore names to add to the list. On the other hand, this was Tyler that she was talking about. He had swept into her life, and with one fabulous kiss, set her world spinning. She had never felt half the emotions, for anyone, that she had felt for Tyler. She just wasn't entirely sure that she could trust him with her heart, and if you didn't have trust, you didn't really have a relationship, did you?
"I don't know, Tyler. I just don't know."