I could’ve pinpointed my hesitation on ethics, but the real reason was that when Jack returned to his old life—whole, I knew I’d have no place in it.
15
Jack
“Ready?”Danielle strode up to where I lay on the therapy table and jerked her head to the door.
I rolled up on the table and leaned back on my elbows, squinting at her in confusion.
“Don’t we always start here?” I motioned to my ankles and the resistance band I swiped to start on my leg raises early.
“We do.” She nodded with an adorable slant of a smile. “But I know you probably got here early and are on what, your fourth set? Let’s take a walk outside.”
“Outside?” My brow pinched. “No weights or balance reps?”
She let out a long sigh with a slow shake of her head. “I think for this one session, we can skip it for some fresh air.” She crooked her finger. “Get up. And leave one of the crutches.”
“Wait,” I called out before I caught her arm. “You want me to go outside with no crutches?”
“No, just one crutch. Come on, Taylor, we only have an hour. Tick-tock.” She smiled as she tapped her foot.
I shrugged and hopped off the table, grabbing only one crutch and stilling for a moment. All I had to do was put one foot in front of the other. Why was I frozen in place as if I’d forgotten?
Danielle’s hand wrapped around my bicep before she gave it a squeeze. “I got you, Jack,” she whispered. “And I won’t let go until you’re comfortable, all right?”
Our eyes locked for a long minute before I nodded, so many feelings coming from that small point of skin-on-skin contact. The same spark that flickered when I kissed her hand a couple of nights ago was back, but this burned much brighter. So bright, I forgot my initial trepidation and kept in step with her outside, albeit much slower.
“This actually isn’t terrible,” I admitted, taking in all the trees and grass my sister pointed out upon my arrival. When I did venture outside, I never went too far past the door. The simple act of walking with minimal help on a beautiful sunny day seemed like a luxury—a luxury I took for granted before today.
“How does it feel?” Danielle’s breath fanned my neck, and having her this close made my eyes flutter like a goddamn teenage girl.
“Good. We can keep going,” I choked out.
She smiled and kept a slow gait beside me.
“You know what this reminds me of?” I laughed, feeling Danielle’s perplexed stare. “Do you remember that hike your stepdad took us on? I think we were about sixteen, and you were, what fourteen, right?”
“Ugh,” she groaned. “I remember that. He loved hikes. And of course, both of my brothers’ best friends had to see me take a spill over a branch.Shake it off,he told me,” she mimicked with a sneer before her eyes darted back to the ground. “My ankle killed me that whole day.”
“Kyle and Dylan ran far ahead and started climbing shit, but we stayed behind and trudged our way out of the woods, remember?”
Danielle stopped walking, her eyes wide. “How … you remember that?”
“Sure. We let those morons run ahead as we took the slow, scenic route out. Kind of like now.”
Danielle dropped her hand from my arm and searched my gaze as if she was seeing me for the first time. “I remember how we were running and making jokes just like they were until I fell. I felt terrible that you stayed back with me.”
“It was okay,” I whispered. “But I didn’t want to leave you behind if you were hurt, or make you feel even worse. And in going slow, we didn’t miss the details they did. Remember that weird fish in the pond that looked like it had three eyes?” I laughed until I noticed the pain across her features.
“That meant a lot to me. Kyle offered to stay behind with me, but I was too embarrassed to tell him yes. When you asked me to walk with you …” She trailed off and sucked in a quick breath. “Amazing what you remember from a decade ago, right?” A sad but nervous laugh flew out of her mouth. “I don’t think I ever said thank you.” Her voice was so small, barely audible.
“You didn’t have to thank me. I had fun that day; I just felt bad because you were hurting. Now,” I jutted out my arm. “Take me on the rest of this tour.”
A bashful smile curved her lips before she slid her arm through mine.
“I knew you were ready to lose the crutch. As much of a relentless pain in the ass you are, sometimes you need a push.”
I wished I could wrap my arm around her, but I didn’t want to spook her or fall over. “I always do what you say.”
