A Modern Love Story

Chapter 24 - Recognizable

Criticism spot! :)

Jack's POV

The following morning I was able to persuade Crutchie to eat breakfast, and we relaxed in bed, even taking a long nap, and by the time the sun had set, Crutchie was ready to try walking. I handed him his crutch and he stood up very slowly, his entire body shaking. 

"Good, I've got you," I assured him, keeping myself close. "Go slow, alright?" 

"Let me try," he begged, and I caved right away. I backed up and let go of his arms, but keeping my hands out in case I needed to catch him. He took a deep breath and stepped forward with his left foot, taking a moment to prepare before trying his right. The moment he tried to move his crutch, he began shaking horribly, collapsing soon after. I swiftly caught him and held him up, my heart pounding from adrenaline. "Sorry," he mumbled, looking down.

"It's okay, take a second to breathe," I said, smiling at him. "Do you want to try any more?"

"Mhm," was all he answered with, seeming to be in pain.

"Okay, but I'm gonna hold onto you and help you," He nodded, calming himself a little.

It took quite a while, but he was eventually able to get a few more steps in, eventually losing the ability to hold himself up anymore. He let out a small cry of pain as he fell a bit, but of course I was there to make sure he didn't go down all the way.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, his voice shaking. 

"It's okay, you're okay," I jumped in, worried he'd beat himself up even more if I didn't. 

"I can't go anymore, I can't," I helped him to the floor as carefully as I could, making sure to not hit his leg at all. "I'm sorry, I didn't think I was that weak-"

"Baby, look at me," I asked of him, and after a moment, he did. "You've been in a wheelchair for a week now, with a leg that hurts you normally but that your Dad fucking burnt, and you didn't eat for two days. You're too hard on yourself." 

"I'm so tired," he mumbled, his voice shaking.

"I'm going to bring you back to bed, alright?" He nodded a little, unable to do anything else. I swiftly lifted him and set him down, and he closed his eyes and relaxed as much as he could. He began taking shallow breaths, only making me more worried. Purely out of instinct, I put the back of my hand to his forehead, my heart dropping. "Crutch, you're burning up," I pointed out, and he weakly opened his eyes to look at me. 

"Sorry," he spoke quietly, his breathing becoming more labored.

"You didn't do anything wrong," I said, trying to smile. "You pushed yourself too far, didn't you?" He nodded slowly, trying to catch his breath. He started to tear up while looking at me, breaking my heart even more. "Talk to me."

"It feels like..." He began, taking a moment so he wouldn't cry. "It feels like I'm starting over with my leg."

"I promise that you aren't, all that's happening is your Dad hurt it, so you're being extra careful so it heals. You'll be back to your crutch in no time, okay?" I started running my fingers through his hair, knowing how he loved it.

"Thank you," he mumbled, exhausted. I studied him for a little longer, wishing there was more I could do.

"I'm going to go make us dinner, just relax," as I began to walk away, he slowly took my hand, causing me to stop and turn around to look at him. 

"I'm sorry, but do you think you could bring two of my pills up too?" He asked sweetly, barely holding eye contact.

"Of course, I won't be long," with that, he let go of me, and I left the room.