Free Dying For A Chance by Amy H. Allworden

off the bed and onto the floor.
    “What do you think you’re doing?” Nic’s voice wasn’t amused. “You’re gonna fall and break something more important than a leg.” his warning went completely unheeded.
                “I can’t do this Nic,” I breathed fast thinking of the best way to get my clothes, get a taxi and escape the ward. I had visions of all the action movies I’d seen and none of them were really helping at that moment.
                “Sit down, Sam.” Nic appeared closer to the bed and put his hands on my legs. His cold arms felt reassuring but his closeness created a warmth in my chest that was distracting.
                “I’m serious Nic, this isn’t something I can do. It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be painful and I’d rather walk with a cane than go through all that.” I pushed against his arms and found they were surprisingly solid. Touching him gave me a tingling sensation. “I’m sorry. I am really sorry, I know what you’re giving up to help me but it’s just not happening.” my eyes watered in frustration and I scrubbed at them.
                “Listen to yourself,” he didn’t sound mocking or mischievous in any way. He sounded really mature. “You’re giving up before you even see what you need to do. I know you’re scared, I know what that feels like. I’m not going to let you do this alone and do you want to know something?”
                I nodded through my watery eyes and stared at his confident face. I wondered how much of life he’d gotten a chance to live before the crash. Had he been someones lover, had he been kissed?
                “You have more strength inside of you than you can imagine. I saw it. When I first brought you back, I knew that you were special.” no one had ever told me I was special before, not the way he said it. He said it like it was an organic fact of the universe. I slowly took my hands and placed them on the sides of his face. They felt cool and tingly.
                “Thank you” I didn’t know what else to say. Thankfully I didn’t have to because the night nurse walked in, chastised me for trying to get out of bed and helped me back under the covers.
    We spent the rest of the night watching classic movies on the TV. Nic had convinced me to give them a try and I found that I actually liked them. We laughed and poked fun at all the old shows until I fell asleep to warm fuzzy dreams. It felt good to have so much happiness, even if I knew deep down that it couldn’t last.

Chapter 9
     
                The first few days of therapy were a mess. It was a straight up disaster. My leg refused to move for any of the exercises that the therapists wanted me to do. When I was supposed to stand I crumpled, when I was supposed to kick I wiggled. It was embarrassing.
                Nic said I did great, he was thrilled with every defeat and sat across from me all day. He stayed with me through every minute, giving encouragement and advice. A few times I had to tell him to shut up because he was just a little too supportive.
                That evening Nic helped me to find a comfortable position on the couch in our room, he gave me pillows and ice packs. Every muscle in my body screamed for me to stop this mad torture. I groand in misery.
                “Don’t be such a drama queen,” he chided. “You did great out there today, you’re going to do this. I have total confidence in you.” He smiled as he replace an ice pack that had gone melty.
                “Why are you so sure about this?” an intense itching had started at my back and I swiveled back and forth ttrying to reach it. Incredibly unattractive but totally worth it once I found the culprit spot. I pointed my spoon, loaded with applesauce at him. “What if some people are just not made as strong as others? Have you thought of that? What