By Sun and Candlelight / CAMREN

Chapter 12 - Ally and Ariana Help Camila

Camila woke up Monday only feeling slightly better than the day before. She knew there was no chance she'd make it to class so she grabbed her laptop and got to work. Her phone buzzed and she looked down at it.

Lauren: Missed you today. Hope everything is okay.

Camila looked at the phone and felt the tears building in her eyes. She was battling herself about what to do and how to respond. She eventually put the phone down and didn't respond at all and got back to work.

Tuesday she woke, still sore and even more despondent than the day before. Dinah walked into Camila's bedroom before leaving for work.

"How are you feeling?" Dinah asked.

"Still sore, crappy," Camila sighed out.

"I'm coming home at two to bring you to physical therapy," Dinah said.

"I might skip today, let my body rest," Camila said, turning over in her bed so that she was facing away from her sister.

"I'm coming home at two," Dinah said, clearly straining to keep her voice calm, "If you're not ready, I'll help you get ready."

Dinah turned and walked from the room without waiting for a response.

Sure enough, Dinah returned to the apartment at precisely 2:00. She was relieved to see Camila was dressed, sitting on the couch working on her laptop. Camila looked at her sullenly and tried to stand, wincing. Dinah walked to Camila's room and got her crutches and helped Camila up.

Camila grumpily followed Dinah to her car and they drove to physical therapy in silence. Dinah helped Camila to the waiting area and Ally came out a few minutes later. Ally looked at Dinah then at the crutches next to Camila. Her expression filled with concern.

"What happened?" Ally asked.

"The Harvest Festival," Camila answered, dejected, "I overdid it I guess, and now my whole body is failing me."

"Let's get you to a table and check you out," Ally said, "Dinah, are you staying?"

"No, I've gotta go back to work," Dinah said, "Be back in an hour."

"Okay," Ally said, helping Camila up. They went into a private area with an exam bed. Ally lowered the bed to the bottom setting and Camila gingerly laid down on her back.

"Let's see how your flexibility is," Ally said, beginning to lift her leg, "You know the drill, tell me when it starts hurting and tell me when to stop."

Ally lifted Camila's leg and Camila let her know both things.  Ally rubbed and poked at different areas and asked questions the whole time. She bent Camila's leg and asked her to push against her to test her strength. When she was done the exam, Camila already felt clammy with sweat. Ally marked everything in her chart. She glanced down at Camila, who looked completely miserable.

"I know this feels like a setback," Ally said, "But let me show you something."

She held out a piece of paper and showed Camila how she graded on flexibility and strength when she first started PT and where she was that moment.

"You've come a very long way, Mila," Ally said, "And I know it feels like a long time, but in the PT world you are way ahead of the curve. You were so strong and physically fit before the accident – it gave you a head start. I know you're frustrated, but you're doing really well."

"I don't feel like I'm doing very well, Ally," Camila said, the frustration clear in her voice, "All I did was walk around a festival for a day and now I can barely move."

"Mila, the fairgrounds are huge," Ally said, "It may not have felt like a lot of activity, but you probably walked miles over the course of the day."

"I hate these fucking crutches," Camila said, looking over at the metal sticks leaning on the wall. She could feel her emotions getting the better of her and the tears filling in her eyes. Ally quietly approached Camila and wrapped her arms around her. Camila surrendered to the hug and cried in Ally's arms for a few minutes. When she composed herself, Ally leaned back and looked at her.