She coughed in an effort to avoid scoffing. “Not that that’snecessaryinformation, but no.No, I’m the only person available.”
That happened to be a blatant lie. She’d practically insisted that James and Evelyn let her take care of getting Nick to and from therapy. But Martin didn’t need to know that either.
Martin was an unsympathetic jerk.
He smiled a plastic smile. “Very good. Carry on, Samantha.”
With another flick of invisible dust, he disappeared out of her office.
As soon as she was sure he was a safe distance away, she growled silently and made a strangling motion with her fists.
Jerk.
* * *
“Okay, Nick,” Ray, the physical therapist, began while poking and prodding at Nick’s knee and shin, then moving to his ankle, flexing it from side to side. After four weeks out of the torture device, the formerly mangled leg looked almost completely normal again. “Your muscles are looking pretty good. Want to try to go for a short walk by yourself without the boot?”
“Absolutely,” Nick answered confidently, causing Samantha to smile and give his back a quick rub. She and Ray flanked Nick’s sides as they helped him hobble to stand between two parallel bars.
“Hey, Samantha, you go stand on that end of the bars,” Ray said, gesturing with a finger while steadying Nick’s shoulders. “All right, buddy. Go grab that pretty girlfriend of yours.”
Samantha blushed and noticed Nick smirked. Comments like that always felt a bit awkward, but more awkward would’ve been to constantly have to explainno, actually that’s not what I am, but thanks for bringing it up.Nick always ignored the comments so she did too. It wasn’t that big a deal. He was almost totally back to normal so she figured the time to havethetalk would present itself soon. But she was still hoping he’d bring it up before she did—though he’d yet to even hint at it.
Once Nick had moved back into his apartment, she was unpleasantly surprised that things had cooled off. She still came by to see him daily, bringing paperwork from the restaurant or dinner on the days that his mom or dad weren’t there. They’d chat amiably and play cards, but he seemed a bit standoffish. He still kissed her from time to time, but nothing like before the accident, and certainly nothing like the one heated interlude a few weeks ago. She couldn’t help wondering if he’d lost interest in her as being something more as he slowly approached having total independence once again. And as a result, she left the ball in his court for now.
She’d given herself her own deadline. Once he went back to work, she’d bring up the subject, pulling no punches. If for no other reason than the fact that she needed closure for her feelings, if he happened to shoot her down.
Needless to say, she constantly stressed about it, her stomach perpetually in knots. But it seemed to still be a couple of weeks before her little unofficial deadline so she tried to contentedly enjoy his company as his semi-platonic friend in the meantime.
She grinned at him as she held her palms outward. “Ready?”
“You bet.” He took a deft step forward—only to collapse with his arms frantically catching the bars, causing Samantha to leap forward and grab his torso.
“What the fuck?” he grunted, clearly and instantly frustrated with his body’s lack of cooperation.
“Take it slow, buddy,” Ray reminded him. “Your knee and ankle still aren’t as strong as they used to be.”
Nick took a deep breath and stood straight and Samantha poised herself back at the opposite end of the bars.
Another step; another fall. Readjust; try again.
Three or four times, he tried, growing more sweaty, out of breath, and agitated each time.
“Why can’t I do this?” he grumbled, not to anyone in particular.
Samantha stepped close to him and offered her hands, darting a glance at Ray’s face. He nodded, granting her permission to help.
“Don’t think about it,” she said quietly. “Look at me and think about something else.”
“Like what? I can’t even walk.”
She squeezed his hands and looked at him with a soft expression, knowing exactly what would help him get to his mental happy place.
“Tell me about our daughter,” she whispered.
His face instantly lifted as he shed his disgruntled expression.
“What was her name?”
