Over Your Shoulder

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

05/05/2020 09:52 hours. Luke Alvez's Apartment, Virginia.

Spencer felt the drowsiness melt away as he peeled his eyes open. He was laid face down with his cheek pressed into the soft white pillows beneath his head and his arms underneath the pillows. His curls hung over his face, tickling the tip of his nose. Spencer smacked his lips and eased himself up onto his left elbow. He glanced around at the room. The walls were white and clinical looking, though there were no machines beeping or hissing around him. Morning sunlight streamed between the slats of the wooden blinds at the window above the bed. Spencer reached over to the glass tumbler of water on the bedside unit and sipped the contents. He grabbed his watch and checked the time. He had managed around four hours of sleep. He had vaguely heard Luke leaving the apartment. He slid his spectacles from the top of the unit and balanced them on the bridge of his nose.

Spencer swung his leg around and sat himself up on the side of the bed. He pressed his palm to his forehead to quell the wave of dizziness that overcame him. God, did he hate his medication regime. Once the room levelled out, Spencer dragged his wheelchair towards him and clicked on the brakes. He placed his left hand on the armrest of the wheelchair and pulled himself up. He shuffled on his foot, then dropped heavily into the chair with a sigh. He released the brakes and wheeled himself out of the room.

Luke’s apartment looked like a typical bachelor pad. There were the odd photographs dotted around of Luke and Roxy or of Luke in his military garb, but there was very little personalisation. Spencer glanced around. He knew too well the reality of being an FBI agent and spending weeks at a time in another state. There was rarely any downtime, so there was little scope for personal space. Roxy, Luke's Belgian Malinois, was sprawled across one of the sofas. Spencer continued through to the kitchen,  Roxy's snores echoing in the silent room. He pursed his lips in thought at the height of the kitchen counter. He had not anticipated that his first challenge as a disabled person would be making a cup of coffee.

Spencer applied the brakes on the wheelchair and grasped the edge of the counter. His arms trembled as he pulled himself up onto his foot. He held onto the counter to maintain his balance as he reached over to the wall cupboard for a mug and set it down on the black marble counter. He panted with the exertion of gathering a simple piece of crockery, his shoulders hunched to his ears. This was going to be much more difficult than he had anticipated. He glanced over at Roxy to see that she was watching him with one ear cocked in intrigue, having awoken at the sound of the cupboard door opening. He directed his attention back to the coffee machine. The jug was empty. Spencer looked around for the filter coffee to brew a new batch. Each cupboard he opened was devoid of his much needed caffeine fix.
“Shit.” As he lifted his head, another wave of dizziness washed over him. Black spots danced at the edge of his vision as the room swayed. Without a second leg, Spencer was unable to stumble to regain his balance. He grasped blindly for the counter. His fingers missed the edge, sending him tumbling sideways. His forehead thudded against the counter on his way down to the pristine tiled floor, his spectacles tumbling from his face. Spencer groaned and grasped his throbbing head.

Overcome with rage, Spencer let out an agonised scream and kicked out at his wheelchair, sending it skidding backwards across the kitchen floor. Roxy leapt off the sofa and padded towards him, ears pricked up in concern and poised, ready to work. Spencer clenched his fingers into a tight fist and pounded the end of his stump in frustration. Blood seeped through the bandages with each punch. Roxy lay down next to his leg and draped her front paws across his lap. Spencer released a cry and moved around her to get to his stump. Roxy clambered up and lay on his lap to hold him still. She licked at Spencer’s tear-stained face to soothe him.