The Paralyzed Dream (COMPLETED)

Chapter Twenty Seven

         "So what has been botherin' you recently, love?" Slade asked from where him and Lacey sat in the bed of his truck. He had laid out a couple blankets in the bed, so it would be comfortable for them to sit in. His left hand traced circles around on Lacey's shoulder, making goosebumps raise on her skin.

        Lacey took in a deep breath. "So, it's about my ex-boyfriend, Jeremy..." 

        "I figured as much. Go on, sweetheart." Slade said patiently, thankful she was ready to open up. 

         "We had known each other for years, but didn't start dating until the summer of my sophomore year of high school, and we were together until about a week after my accident." Lacey swallowed, closing her eyes for a second to ask God to help her to keep her patience, knowing that just the thought of Jeremy was enough to set her on a rage. "When I was a sophomore in high school, I was slightly heavier than I am now, weigh wise. I was never fat, but according to Jeremy I was. He convinced me of it, and I liked him enough that I wanted to change everything about myself just so he would stay with me, and that he would like me as much as I liked him. He began to dictate what I ate and when I ate. I was never allowed a 'cheat day.' I lost so much weight in such a short time that I began to get physically sick. I began making myself throw up after a meal because Jeremy made me feel so horrible about myself whenever I ate something he wouldn't 'allow' me to have. Eventually, it got bad enough that I had to see a counselor to help me. I got over the forcing myself to throw up, but I never got over the mental abuse." 

         Lacey felt Slade's hand on her shoulder slightly tighten, knowing he was getting upset that Jeremy would treat someone like Lacey so horrible. Resting her hand on his on her shoulder, Lacey pressed on, "Jeremy would tell me that he liked me better with makeup, so I would wake up extra early on school days and put on makeup, do my hair, and wear clothes that I would never wear, but Jeremy 'liked' it, and so I would do it for him. By my senior year of high school, Jeremy and I were fighting...a lot, and we would threaten to break up, but we would always make up, acting like the fight was nothing. Then, he began to pressure me into having sex with him. He used the excuse that it was okay because he had every intention of marrying me after high school, but I never felt it was right. I made a promise to myself, and to God, so there was no way I would break that, so we never slept together. Then, he started to cheat on me, getting his pleasures from other women because I wouldn't give him what he wanted. He cheated on me because I was never enough for him. He would always apologize and swear he would never do it again, and I would believe him, and we would make up again, but he would always go out and cheat. It was a repeating cycle." 

        Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Slade, seeing him giving her a compassionate look. Dropping her hand from his shoulder, she stared at it. "About halfway through our senior year, things were finally goin' really well with him and I again, and we even went to a jewelry store and picked out an engagement ring for me. We had plans to get engaged after graduation, and then get married that summer. I thought I loved him, but I didn't want to marry him, but he was a very manipulative person, so 'no' was never the right answer with him. So then, graduation came and went, and then..." Lacey paused...this was the hardest part of the story for her. "Then, a week after graduation, I competed in the championship barrel racing event. It was that night that Jeremy had every intention of proposing to me. Well...that was the night that my accident happened. Jeremy was there when it happened. He didn't see the accident because he was behind the chutes gettin' ready for his ride, but he saw the aftermath. He was faithful by my side as I underwent numerous tests and surgery and everything. He didn't leave my side until..." Slade grabbed Lacey's hand with his free one, giving her the strength she needed to continue. "He didn't leave my side until the doctor told me I would be paralyzed from the waist down, that even though it was an incomplete spinal cord fracture, there was a very small chance of me regaining full motility or feeling. The same day that I was given that news was also the same day that Jeremy broke up with me. He had said something about how he couldn't marry someone who couldn't walk down the aisle, fulfill him the way a wife should, and he said something about how it wasn't what he signed up for. That was the worst day of my life." Lacey looked up to Slade to see him giving her the most caring look ever. "And that is why I have been so torn up these past few days. Seeing him again just made every bad memory flood back and it really set me back. And when I saw him a few days ago, I found out that he is dating Paige, someone who used to be one of my best friends, and that broke my heart all over again because she knew what he put me through. When Jeremy broke up with me because I was paralyzed, I was convinced that no guy would ever love me for who I was again. But then I met you, and all of that changed." She forced a small smile at how good it felt to finally get it all off her chest by telling Slade.