This is new, and I hate it.
"Olive?"
I hear her voice, I do. But I’m too busy worrying about the numbness in my legs, trying to keep myself steady and upright, instead of responding to her.
Mentally, I’m okay. Physically, just a little bit weak.
Okay, a lot weak.
"Olive?" She calls again, but this time with a sense of urgency, as she rises to her feet, hands gripped firmly on my forearms.
"Sorry. I’m alright, I promise. Can we maybe get out of the sun, though? My body reacts to it sometimes, and it makes me a little tired." Just because I’m getting good at lying about this, doesn’t make it easy, doesn’t mean I like it.
I hate that there are only four people in this world—including my doctor and myself—who know about it.
And that’s nobody’s fault but my own.
I think it’s time to change that.
"Can I tell you something no one else really knows?" I whisper, as though there are people around us who can hear, while the two of us head back the way we came—basket and blanket now in hand.
"Anything."
***
Avery Jones
Are you busy?
I didn’t even have time to lock my phone after sending the text before his call came through. I stare at it blankly for longer than I intended to.
My mind is screaming at me to tap the green answer button for the FaceTime call, but it’s like there’s a delay in getting the message across to my fingers.
"Is everything okay?" Avery asks, his tone of voice frantic and rushed when I finally answer his call.
Protective and heavy—it calms me.
I am now.They’re the words I want to tell him, the words I want to shout so he hears loud and clear that he is the reason I feel better, but I don’t. He doesn’t need the added pressure of knowing that hearing his voice alone is enough to soothe me.
"All good here. Just wanted to check in with you and see how everything’s going." I’ve been keeping tabs on his roster and his stats. Going by our shared calendar, I knew he would probably be home today with an impending night game later.
"When?" He asks, and I pinch my eyebrows together in confusion. By the smirk on his face, I know he’s done what he intended to do.
"When what?" I bite.
"When did we start lying to each other?" He jokes, and I can’t help the laugh that rumbles through my chest.
Free.
"I promise. Everything is okay. I was just out in the sun for a little too long this afternoon with Akira, and my body decided to pay for it before we were done." It’s the honest truth this time, because lying to Avery Jones apparently is something I no longer want to do.
"That used to happen to Orlando, too. Or, it still does and he’s just become used to it," he tells me casually. "Have you missed any of your medication?"
I shake my head in response.
"And you’ve been getting enough rest?"
I nod, because I have been. I’ve made sure of it.
