Peyton Ackley - The Beginning of Change

Chapter 19 - Noah

London is a place where dreams can come true, no matter what you are studying - acting, music, business, science, medicine - legit anything. That's why I'm here, to make a difference, to fulfil a dream. Dreams wouldn't be dreams if there wasn't a challenge behind them. A dream without challenge is a thought, a task, not something that is going to require dedication. I can sit in my office however many days I like but until I confront the challenges in front of me I'm never going to achieve my dream, I'm never going to make a difference.

Work was beginning to bore me. It was the same repetitive testing every day, which, don't get me wrong, was good for my dissertation but not much else. I didn't know how I was going to help if all I was doing was testing and tracking and monitoring and strapping.

A knock at the door broke me out of my trance which involved staring at the wall behind my computer. I didn't know who I was expecting to be at the door, but I did know who I wanted to be at the door. Her face was quite stern when I first glanced over but when I gave her a small wave her mouth busted into a smile. Her grin radiated into the room sending a wash of warmth over my shoulders and into my soul.

"Hi Le," I said rather quietly while turning my attention back to my computer. "I'm rather busy, maybe come back later?" I said intending for it to be a joke.

"Oh, okay," she said as she stepped back towards the door.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," I said jumping up from my seat and bouncing across the room. She placed her arms over my shoulders while I took her in by the waist holding her tight against my chest. I could hear her faint breathing against my ear as she relaxed into my grip.

"You're mean," she replied as she pulled away from the hug, but her hands still sat intertwined behind my neck.

"What's up?" I asked.

"My strapping is meant to be coming off today," she reminded me.

"Shit."

Leah had been getting her ankle heavily strapped every couple of days to ensure her sprain was supported while recovering. I'd agreed that it would come off this week, two weeks after the injury, but I'd completely forgotten.

"You forgot, didn't you?" she asked breaking the silence between us. "That's okay, I can have a few more days in it," she continued as she broke away from me turning towards the door.

"No Leah, come here. I didn't forget, just got caught up with a lot of things. We can take it off right now like we planned."

I could tell Leah was extremely hesitant. Through all her injuries she has lost a lot of confidence in herself and her body, and for someone who treats their body like a temple, and expects it to support her in return, this wasn't looking good. Her ACL, then her hamstring injury post-ACL and now her ankle have been driving her confidence further and further into the ground. 

"I'm not ready to take the strapping off," she spat out.

"Leah, you're fine. It's been two weeks, just trust yourself."

"You told me to trust myself when you put me on the field against Tottenham and then I hurt my ankle. You told me to trust myself. I'm trusting myself but my body is saying it isn't ready," she yelled at me.

"Leah, you've experienced some awful things recently. You are completely lacking confidence and that is what is drawing you into this mindset. So, instead of trusting yourself, trust me."

Her face softened at my tone, I wasn't yelling, I wasn't shouting, I was barely even talking. If anything it was a faint whisper that was designed to calm her bustling mind and draw away the attention from her injuries.