Saving The Robin [The Avis Venators: Book 1]

XVII

-Maddie P.O.V-
The light streamed in through the blinds and into my eyes, waking me up.
I fallen asleep with my tears. I was still in my hospital gown, and all I wanted now was to get out of it. I climbed out of bed and hopped over to the closet with my crutches, to see what there was to wear.
Nothing.
"Here, I picked these up this morning," Holly called out from the bedroom door. She threw me a pair of clothes before I even had the chance to turn around.
"Put them on, if you can manage over the cast. I'll make some breakfast."
"O-Okay," I muttered. I sat back into bed and did what I was told, making sure not to bump into my cast in the process. A few minutes later, Holly came upstairs with breakfast for me. There were eggs, bacon, and toast.
"You can cook..." I said, admiring the food.
"Of course I can cook! Can't you?" She replied, sitting down in a chair next to me. I shook my head, as I started cutting up the bacon.
"My mother would often cook for me, or sometimes she would hire someone."
"Wow, talk about class..." Holly muttered.
"Holly, why are you here?" I asked. She gave me a confused look, however it faded when she realised what I meant.
"You're asking why I care so much, aren't you?" She replied. I nodded briefly.
"It's because I knew...I knew there was something up with you. Ever since Riley got suspended, you were acting different. But I didn't do anything to help, and look how bad it's gotten..."
"It's not your fault," I said sweetly. She laughed, then gave me a bright smile.
"Just eat your damn breakfast," she said.

Holly aided me down the stairs, and sat me down in the living room.
"What do you want to do?" Holly asked me. I shrugged, not really in the mood for anything.
"Okay then..." She muttered, tapping her finger in the coffee table. "What are you good at doing?"
"I dance," I replied bluntly. My dancing was not really something to show off about.
"Yeah, well with that leg of yours I can't see you dancing anytime soon," she said. "There's a town a little north of here. How about we check it out?"
"Yeah. That's sound fun," I replied.

Once I was all set up in my wheelchair, we both set out together. Holly's a nice girl. She was kind to me.
But she wasn't Riley.
"We haven't got a car, so we'll have to walk. It's only a few minutes away though," Holly told me.

After a couple minutes of getting lost and having to rely on google maps, we managed to find the desolate town. It was old; almost ancient. There were rows of small shops along the sides, and at the end was a larger wall with the ocean beyond it.
"We're near the ocean?!" I said excitedly.
"Yeah, looks like it..." Holly replied, squinting to see further out.
"Take me there," I said quickly. "Please. I want to see the ocean."
"You like the ocean, Maddie?" Holly asked, as she began to wheel me down.
"It's...peaceful," I replied, not taking my eyes off the beautiful sight in front of me.

Beyond the wall was a beach. There was a barely any people; only a few small families were dotted along the coast. We managed to get down the stairs, and I stood up to get a better look.
"Careful, Maddie," Holly warned.
"I'll be okay," I replied. I used my crutches to get to the edge of the sea, and I stared into the clear water. At the stones that had washed up amongst the sand. Holly joined me a few seconds after.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" She said.
"I want to go away to sea, and never return," I muttered. Holly's eyes glinted, but she smiled anyway.
"We'll be okay here," she said. "Let's stay here for the day."

As the sun settled down within the low clouds, we both headed home. We had gotten lunch together, and talked about everything. It was the first day of a lifestyle I would just have to adjust to.

FIVE DAYS LATER
"Maddie!" Holly called out from downstairs, waking me up. "Michael's here!"
I heard her open the door, and greet Michael. After stretching my arms, I sat myself up. Then I waited, as I heard footsteps. A few moments after, they both came into the room.
"Hey Maddie," Michael said, smiling at me. He had a bouquet, with a rainbow of colours varied amount the flowers.
"Wow..." I muttered, gazing at them. "They're beautiful."
"I'm sorry for coming so late," he said. "I hope these serve as a good enough apology." He handed them to me and the petal of a lily brushed under my nose, making me sneeze. Michael started laughing, which caused me to glare at him.
"What so funny?" I asked.
"Nothing...its just, your sneeze is adorable," he replied. I went quiet, and tried to stop my face from blushing.
"I'll...go get lunch," Holly excused herself, backing out of the room.
"How are you feeling?" Michael asked.
"Better. A lot better," I replied. He nodded, approving of my answer.
"Yes, you seem to be responding a lot better. Holly been treating you well, then."
"Yeah, we've had lots of fun," I replied.
"Well, I guess that settles it. We won't be needing Riley, after all."
My expression darkened.
"Don't...please don't say her name," I muttered.
He raised his eyebrow, obviously noticing something.
"And why's that?"
"I just...please," I repeated, unable to find the words.
"It's okay, Maddie. It can be hard sometimes," Michael replied. "I'm gonna go see Holly. Call me if you need anything."

-Michael P.O.V-
I made my way downstairs, where I found Holly looking through the fridge.
"Hey," she said, as I joined her in the kitchen. "Is Maddie okay?"
"Yeah, she's doing fine. Although, about that Riley girl..."
"You said her name, didn't you?" Holly asked, closing the fridge.
"She just...'snapped'. What up with that?" I continued.
"Well, I'm no expert, but I think Maddie is trying to transform her sadness- loss, almost- into anger. Hate. Because Riley left her."
"And it's helping her forget about it...that must be pretty hard on her," I said.
"If it's helping, what can we do?" Holly replied. "Anyway, how have you been? What's going on back home?"
"Oh come on, like my life has any interest. Have you got any texts, or stuff like that?" I asked.
"Actually, that's the strange thing. Since we got here, we've had no texts. I think we might've shook him off, whoever he is."
"You think so? Did you ask Maddie everything she knows about him?" I added, trying to figure any clues out.
"I didn't want to keep bringing it up, but she said it felt like he was following her everywhere. Like, he would send her texts telling her how he knew where she was, or what she was doing," she explained.
"Jesus christ, that's fucked up," I said under my breath.
"I'm starting to get why Riley took such desperate measures. She seems to know what she was doing with this guy."
"She must've had a pretty rough past, to be able to evaluate a situation like that so carefully," I said.
"I always thought I'd get a look at the fucked part of the world at least once," Holly began. "But I never thought I'd be in it."

"So, will you be staying or visiting from now on?" holly asked.
"Visiting, unfortunately. There are still patients I have to see to back home," I replied.
"That's fine. Maddie missed you these past days, that's all," she added.
"S-She did? Did she tell you that?" I said.
"Dude, you are redder than a fucking tomato," Holly teased, laughing.
"Shut up!" I shouted back, annoyed. "It's just hot in here."
"Yeah, sure," Holly muttered. "So, when Maddie's leg is fixed, are you qualified to take the cast off?"
"Yeah, I should be able to do that," I replied. "I'll come visit when it's ready."

SIX WEEKS LATER
-Maddie P.O.V-
"Is he here yet?" I asked Holly, as I waited in my bed with my leg sprung across a table next to the mattress.
"Wait, I see his car!" Holly called out from staring though the front window downstairs. I heard her thrown open the door, then loud cried of excitement followed seconds after.
They both hurried upstairs and into my room, but Holly didn't stay long.
"I have to go to the shops to get some food, are you both okay here?" She asked. We both nodded back at her, then she gave us the thumbs up before dashing back downstairs and out the house.
"Are you ready?" Michael said, sitting down with his little medical toolbox.
"Just get this damn thing off!" I said, desperate to walk again. He laughed, then began cutting it open with a pair of medical scissors.

"There, it's off," Michael said, cleaning up bits of cracked cast.
"My leg...I can move my leg..." I muttered, bending my knee up and down.
"Careful. You're gonna need some physiotherapy," he explained. "But...why don't you try walking a little?"
He got out of his chair, and stood at the opposite side of the room. Then he held his arms out. "Walk over to me, Maddie."
I breathed deeply, then swung both my legs over the bed. Then I carefully placed both feet on the ground, and stood up.
"That's it. Nice and slowly," he advised. I took one step forward, and it felt amazing. It was like taking back something that rightfully belongs to you. I took another step forward, but I didn't feel so confident with this one. My leg gave in and I began falling. Michael jumped forwards and caught me, just before I hit the floor. I grabbed onto him tightly, a little shaken.
"It's okay, I got you," he said gently. "I've always got you."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.