Thank you for your reviews. I am very sorry for the long wait of this chapter, but life once again has gotten in the way. That, and writer's block is a hard thing to deal with. I am very happy with how this chapter, and the next have turned out, and this is part one of a two part thing. It was originally one chapter, but I thought it was more fitting to split them into two. I absolutely hope it's worth the wait, and thank you to Liz who was there to listen to me ramble for much of the planning of this chapter in the last few weeks. You rock!
Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
The power came back on soon after Austin asked Ally about the hardest time in her life. He hadn't expected her to hesitate like she did—or the haunted look come over her face to the point where she seemed to no longer be in the room with them, and if he could go back and not ask the question, he would have. He expected some shallow answer, one that she would quip at him with a teasing smile, something he was used to, and he would answer back with something just as ridiculous.
Thankfully, as the power came back on, the nurses' became aware of their party and asked that Jake and Cassidy go back to their rooms for the time being so everyone's vitals could be entered. Ally took the last few minutes to rearrange the things on his nightstand, and he wondered if he should bring it up.
The sky was clearing from the window, clouds still present but not as dark, and he watched as the darkened sky lightened. "Can you help me reposition, please?"
Ally turned back around sharply, and he again noticed she seemed out of place.
"Are you okay?"
"Fine," she said with an obviously fake smile, coming over to him and helping him readjust. The annoyance he had with his lower body grew with each day… he could move his own body but without the strength in important areas, it sometimes meant that he would throw one leg a different direction and toss his torso with it, a dangerous predicament that his physical therapist said he would eventually get the hang of.
"Can I do anything else?" she asked with an equally preoccupied tone.
He shrugged but then shook his head no.
"You look like you're pretty comfortable now," she noted, her voice floating back to the present, and he caught her sharply look over his body and face for any signs of his discomfort. Oddly, he did feel comfortable for the first time in days. He had some minor aches in his upper body, but nothing that wasn't manageable or distracting. Austin wondered what that meant. Was it here to stay?
"I feel good," he finally answered, also still watching her reaction. He didn't want to burden her with any pressing attempts to figure out what happened, but it also felt wrong to just drop it. A frown came over his features at the thought of physical therapy later that afternoon, momentarily jarring him from his thoughts of the brunette, after Ally would leave. It was scheduled for very late that day, meaning he would be alone when it was over. It usually left him aggravated and sore, and a part of him wanted to dismiss himself from it somehow, but he knew better than trying that.
"I am only a few minutes out from the day being over," she realized.
"Shucks," he teased.
Ally rolled her eyes, "Who says shucks?"
"Who wears kitten heels?"
She finally cracked at his jab and threw up her hands, "Why do you hate my kitten heels so much?"
He had nothing against the shoes, other than the thought that they did seem out of place at the hospital. Still, it always seemed to make her change the subject, which he was entirely ready for. "Why does it bother you so much?"
The two of them locked eyes and Austin could feel the smolder mock anger building beneath her. Truth was, he was a champion at holding a stare and finally, she broke the glare and stomped her foot, poking a finger in his face. "I'll remember that," she threatened, gathering her bags from the counter beside his bed. "Maybe I was going to bring real food with me tomorrow—yummy food like donuts, but I may reconsider it now."
She turned on her heel and gave him a devilish grin before he could protest, waving goodbye with her free hand, in a typical rich teenage girl fashion, one that someone Austin found himself enjoying more and more as the days went on.
Later alone with his thoughts, he realized that without Ally, his visitors list was quite small. His mother only came for an hour or so each day, trying to play catch up in her life and do double the work now that his father was trying to bring in extra money to pay the large deductibles not covered medical expenses. He didn't think she realized he knew this, but it made him feel all the worse sitting in a hospital bed when the stress and demands were piling up on his small family.
He wondered often about Dez, and tried not to think too much about Piper. He texted her after she left that day, begging for her to at least try and understand, but as the days dwindled into the next and he yet to receive a reply, he realized it was probably over. Would that add more stress to his parents' lives? It would be quite the shock to find out that Piper and Austin would likely not marry as everyone thought.
But Dez was not as taboo in his own mind as he seemed to be everywhere else. While the redheaded male also did not answer his texts, Austin was starting to think his parents were keeping bigger secrets than he realized. Looking over the police report and medical notes he came in with, there were very clearly written details about who was driving and the extent of both of their injuries. Austin knew that being thrown from the vehicle explained a lot of his, but how did Dez walk away from the accident with practically no injuries? He saw his friend's brother's car, the driving side was absolutely destroyed, there seemed to be no plausible explanation for the story he was being told. Especially when the passenger side of the vehicle received less damage.
Why would Dez lie? He never thought his friend would go behind the wheel of a car without a license, but they both were quite drunk and hooked up on so much testosterone pumping in their body with hopes to defend Carrie's honor, so maybe there were bits he was missing, too. Besides, he couldn't remember anything about the accident. Dez wasn't knocked out as far as he could tell, so he would.
He just wished the male would answer his texts, and fill him in on the details.
The two of them had been friends for well over a decade; there was no person other than Piper who knew him as well as the quirky male did. How could someone just drop that many years of friendship?
Sometime later, a male and rather grumpy nurse came and got him for therapy. He was rough with him getting him into the chair and he resisted the urge to make a comment.
At therapy, it seemed not much had changed, which was less than stellar. His lower body might feel numb in the majority of it's parts, but the pain that rocketed elsewhere made it so he wanted to scream in agony. Still, he kept his mouth shut, forcing himself to grit through the pain, even when the friendly nurse asked if he wanted to stop.
"I want to know what my body is doing," he stated again, unable to hide the pant of exhaustion that exited his lips.
"It takes time," the woman said in one of those stupid voices that practically breathed positivity and it angered him. They were all saying that kind of thing and it annoyed him. He didn't want false hope, he wanted someone to give him the truth, at least then he'd know what he was working with. He had come to realize the majority of the staff didn't want to upset the disabled kid.
Figures.
"Well, I think we're about done here for today," the woman stated sometime later, while his shoulders screamed in protest to trying to lift the body weight beneath him. He rolled his chair against the wall and relaxed his head against the cool stone. As if she sensed his defeat, the nurse added, "You're doing great."
He scowled, mostly at himself, "Doesn't feel that way."
"With that attitude, you'll get no where."
"Hilarious coming from someone who has the ability to walk," he snapped.
Immediately, he felt bad. It wasn't her fault that he landed here. He apologized, and she brushed it off, probably used to that kind of anger from her patients. With another apologetic goodbye, he headed off to the main area where he could see Jake mingling with the other residents. While he was tired, and wishing to just lie in his bed, he knew it was rude to pretend he didn't see him.
Jake saw him first, grinning ear to ear. "Man, that truth or dare today rocked."
"Yeah," he said absently, picking at his shirt. "I guess so."
"Nah man," he replied, his tone practically bouncing with excitement. The dark haired male wiggled his eyebrows, "I got a kiss out of it."
He laughed, "Cassidy finally admitted she's got a huge crush on you?"
"Bro, you knew?" he whined. "Dude!"
"Sorry," he laughed a second time. "Thought it was obvious."
From the Ground Up
While Ally had plans of spending the evening rewatching one of her favorite reality shows, Cassidy had other plans. What she gathered from the excited phone call was that she garnered enough courage to kiss Jake, and it had gone over well. Then she invited her out to dinner, and the young brunette figured it wouldn't hurt to really get to know the babbling strawberry blonde.
So, they met at some chain restaurant and she listened for nearly ten minutes while she told her how their afternoon had gone following the truth or dare. Ally couldn't help but smile at some parts; it was obvious the two of them liked each other, so why dance around it? The way she spoke of Jake reminded her how she felt about Connor.
"I'm happy for you," Ally stated warmly. "Really."
Cassidy paused, sipping on her iced tea. "Really?"
"Really," she repeated.
"I always felt like maybe I annoyed you," she admitted after a moment. The girl twirled a piece of her hair with an absent look on her face "Or thought maybe I bored you. I'm kinda shocked you agreed to come to dinner."
Was she that terrible? Cassidy wasn't the first one to make it sound like Ally was some horrible person who only dealt with everyone at the rehab center because she had to. Then again, she did give that kind of vibe to everyone the first week or so. It made her guilty, when Cassidy was nothing but sweet and honest, who truly wanted to be her friend.
"I'm sorry about that," she admitted. "I had a rough first few days. I swear that's not the case."
Cassidy grinned at the sentence, "Good, because I need to somehow plan a date with a guy who is a little unsteady on his feet."
She grinned ear to ear, "Isn't that funny? Usually it's the other way around."
"What did you do on your first date with your boyfriend?" The girl's face deepened a pink tone, "I really don't have much experience in the dating department."
"He took me out to dinner and then on his parent's boat."
"I don't have a boat," Cassidy stated in a panicked tone.
Ally giggled, "No, and that's okay. I don't think you want to put Jake on a boat just yet anyway. Unless you secretly want him to topple overboard."
Cassidy made a face as if to consider it, and then shook her head.
The two of them giggled, and Ally gave her both an encouraging and happy smile.
"I promise you that I didn't have to threaten anyone to take you out of here today," Ally told him several days later while she gathered things off a list next to his bed. They finally were granted the opportunity to leave the hospital and Ally may or may not have spent several hours last night trying to plan and organize the trip down to the very last detail. Connor helped her too, giving her great advice.
The two of them seemed to see less and less of each other as the summer continued. He was so busy with classes and she was diving into her internship. Time with Austin was becoming more and more enjoyable, something both her parents were pleased with, and even Connor said was great practice. A part of her was relieved she didn't have the jealous, worrying boyfriend who did not trust her. She knew plenty of girls who never let their boyfriends out of sight, and vice versa. Her relationship with Connor was probably the most stable part of her life, she reasoned.
Austin had been teasing the last twenty or so minutes after she came into the room with a huge smile and declared they were leaving the rehab center for the morning. The trip was a surprise for him, something she knew of since the morning before and barely was able to keep quiet. She refused to tell them the place they were going and he was driving her insane with pleas to find out. "And no, you don't have to worry about your life. Jeez."
"Really?" he continued his banter. "I have never been in a car with you. You might see a dress in a store window and veer off."
Ally turned on her heel, straightened hair flipping with her. A gleaming smile came onto her face, and then she nodded slightly, "Fair enough." He noticed her pause, as if she wasn't sure if she should proceed, "What's the worst that could happen?"
At the same time, they both said, "End up in a wheelchair?"
Wide smiles quickly spread across each of their faces and Austin was first to boom laughter through the room. They shared equally mischievous smiles while she closed another bag, unable to stop herself from the laughter inside her. Their relationship too bloomed continuously, each day growing with the next. Sure, there were still rough moments, but she was learning to understand him better, and Austin seemed to do the same.
From the Ground Up
The last day or so felt so good, despite finding out several less than awesome things, which included, yes, he did have a severe reaction to the antibiotic cipro, that his CT scan was still inconclusive, and that his father would still barely look him in the eye.
"We're almost good to go." Ally came over to where he was sitting in the wheelchair, tossing a few more things into a small duffel bag. She reached onto the bed, grabbing a clipboard, as Nurse Wendy came in with a checklist of her own. This outing she thrust upon him this morning seemed like a bigger deal than either of them might have realized. A lot of trust and dedication seemed at play. He heard the two of them talk in muffled voices, and he didn't miss the look of concern on the nurse's face. He couldn't blame the woman; it was a large endeavor to take someone like him out.
He heard, "Are you sure you can handle the transfer on your own?"
Austin's gaze turned to Ally, noticing her nod firmly in response. "I am. If I have any problems whatsoever anywhere, I am not afraid to ask for help. I won't need it though." She took a deep breath, one that was shakier than she probably realized, and forced a smile onto her face. "I can do this. I'll have him back in one piece later this afternoon, I promise."
Wendy nodded too, turning her attention to Austin. The young nurse smiled at the two of them, adjusting a few things in his bag while there was a lull in conversation. There were a lot of nurses that came in and out of his room through the week, but by far, she was his favorite. There was some sort of connection she seemed to have with every patient, something unspoken that reminded them all… it was going to be alright.
"Then I guess you're good to go." She dusted off her pants and looked directly at Ally. "I know you have my work and private number, please call for any reason."
"Will do."
Austin finally spoke up, "Wendy, should I fear for my life? Ally won't tell me where we are going."
The woman laughed heartily. "You will be fine, Austin. Don't you worry. Enjoy today. You deserve it, sweetie."
He beamed back at her, a true smile and the woman left the room. Ally clapped her hands together, gathering her bag and other items, then motioned to the door. "Time to head downstairs."
"Can't you give me one hint?" he pleaded as they made their way down the hall.
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so."
"You just answered me like I am a child."
Ally giggled behind him. "Do you want an actual answer to that sentence?"
"Touché."
The transfer went smoother than he imagined it would. Ally was stronger than she looked, and though there was a soft grunt from lifting him from the chair, he entered her expensive car with relatively no problems. Then, he took the time as she put away his things to examine it. Every bit of the surface screamed money, from the perfectly dusted black interior to the fancy air fresheners and designer sunglasses dangling from the mirror. Ally took her seat in the driver's side and gave him a less teasing smile.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes," he said without further comment.
She chuckled, a nervous and quick laugh and put the car into gear, pulling out of the spot slowly, and checking each direction every few seconds. He wanted to make a joke, hoping that somehow it would ease her nerves, but something told him it probably wouldn't. Would everyone walk on egg shells around him for the rest of his life?
"Can I put the radio on?"
"Sure," she said quickly.
He turned the knob slowly, flicking from station to station until he found a mellow rock song that seemed safe for the both of them to listen to. Though, something told him it didn't matter what he put on, Ally was far too invested in the road before her. It seemed unfair that he couldn't tease her without feeling guilty, but instead he tried to focus on the road around them, allowing the window to put a real breeze on his face. He missed the outside world so much. While most of this time of year was spent in air conditioning, there was only so much you could take before the salt began to fade from your memory.
He was so into his own head that he didn't notice that Ally stopped. Now parked, she seemed relaxed and was staring at him, waiting for him to notice where they were. With a quick turn of his head, he took in the surroundings and for some reason, it brought him pure joy. "The aquarium?"
"Yeah," she stated with a broad smile of her own. "You okay with that?"
"Hell yeah. Let's do it." He put the grin he'd been waiting for on and he saw her expression change. "Just don't push me into any tanks with sharks."
"No promises," Ally laughed, and got out of the car with a smile.
The few minutes after were invested in getting him back into the chair, which proved harder than he thought. Embarrassing smiles replaced excited ones momentarily, and with some effort, they were on their way to the door of the building, neither one daring to speak about the awkward shuffle they just witnessed.
"I checked the website multiple times," Ally finally declared, breaking the silence as she opened the door and let him roll through, following after. "They say the majority of the attractions are highly accessible and we should have no problem seeing them. They did also put that if we had any problems, people would be more than willing to help."
Her nervous smile graced his presence again and he gave her an appreciative one in return. He truly did admire that she'd gone out of her way to make sure his first outing wasn't a complete disaster. He could've ended up in a place where he was stuck with little room to maneuver, but in reality, the wide and spacious attractions were the perfect first-go at trying out this wheelchair thing in public. The halls of the hospital were different, clearly and he knew if he was going to be stuck in it for some time, he might as well get better.
"Two please," Ally stated to the woman behind the counter, who openly gawked at his leg when she glanced his way. Ally scowled almost immediately, and he was thrown back to the car when Ally asked if he wanted a blanket to cover his lower extremities. He politely declined, but had forgotten just how rude people could be. The woman continued to stare, making him uncomfortable as she moved at a snail's pace to prepare their trip and he even jumped when Ally cleared her throat loudly and snapped, "Stop looking at him and worry about those nasty split ends, sweetheart."
Austin was a bit appalled by the direct attempt to hurt her feelings, but could not help but feel relieved when the girl stuttered an apology and handed over their tickets without further glance his way. She put on the fakest, most alarmed smile and pathetically wished them a good trip.
He heard Ally mumble, "Hope people are less like you" and started off, leaving him to hurry to catch up. He hoped the trip would be better now that she'd gotten the one comment out of the way already.
