The Seven Pieces of a Feuilleton

Chapter 21

Five to seven days; that was how long Finn had advised her to stay off of her foot.

She had hoped for two. Finn had popped in to check on her progress that morning, dashing her hopes of a quick recovery by announcing her sprain was second degree, should heal in four to six weeks and that her ankle should be rarely used for a total of five to seven days.

Even worse, he and Dylan had teamed up to ensure that Brenda would, in fact, allow her ankle to rest.

Brenda was not a stationary person. She disliked being waited on, she hated being told what to do and, at the moment, she especially loathed that the Brit and the American were getting on so well - mainly because whatever Finn advised, Dylan agreed and whatever Dylan said, Finn agreed.

She almost wished they would fight; not over her, just in general. It would certainly help with her growing boredom.

"I'm fine," Brenda insisted for the hundredth time when they had caught her rising to her feet.

"Brenda, you've got to let your ankle heal," Dylan scolded. "You heard Finn. It'll take longer to heal if you put weight on it. Back in bed, now. We can get whatever you need."

"It's just a sprain," she huffed before climbing back into the confining bed.

She couldn't walk down to the beach. She couldn't go dancing. She couldn't drive Dylan's bike. She was already going stir-crazy and it had only been two days.

The only good part about being stuck in bed was that for the time being, Brenda had been permitted a longer duration to make her decision between the men whilst she focused on healing her ankle.

She didn't know what had changed with Dylan. He had been convinced she had chosen Finn; yet, when they went back to Sherice's after the carnival, his defeated attitude had significantly shifted.

Brenda barely recalled the events that happened on the beach. She remembered bending to pick up a shell for Lena, running in to grab the girl when she strayed into the water, and then getting caught by a wave herself. She had been in unbearable pain once she had been pulled out; apparently by both Dylan and David, according to Finn. He and Dylan had exchanged a secretive glance, as Finn asked Brenda if she knew what had happened after she had been brought back to shore. She recalled holding someone's hands, though she was unsure whose. She remembered Donna's voice, Brandon's teasing and Robinson's answers, but most of the rest had faded in the haze of pain.

Both Dylan and Finn had been about to tell her whose hands she had held, until they had looked at Brandon's features displaying a warning and then told Brenda it was unimportant.

It would come to her later, she was sure, and once she knew that, then she would have a better idea of who her hands had chosen; for whomever her hands had chosen, her heart and mind surely had, as well.

Finn had rescheduled his planned New Mexico trip, but was unable to postpone his Newcastle interview. Sherice's train would arrive later that evening. Donna and Robinson had offered for Brenda to stay at theirs, which none of the men in Brenda's life had been overly fond of, since both Ashes worked outside the home and were unable to maintain an eye on Brenda to ensure she followed doctor's orders. They had compromised; Brenda would move back to Dylan's temporarily, only if Brandon moved in, as well. Brandon, who had begun to feel cramped at Andrea's due to the constant presence of her new boyfriend and was to remain in LA until the following week, agreed and so Brenda found herself back in the guest bed at Dylan's, with three men continuously checking in.

"Look, we got you a stack of books from the library and a bunch of DVD's from Blockbuster," Dylan said, holding up the books as Finn held up the films. "How often do you get to read these days, Bren? This could be a good thing."