In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

31

I popped the pills in my mouth, and took a swallow from my water bottle. "Let's do this," I said, moving to stand up. Kat didn't touch me, or grab my arm to help me. Instead, she let me struggle until I pushed myself upright on me. I looked at her gratefully, but she didn't acknowledge it. She acted like it was normal and that we should just get started on what we needed to do. So we did. My body screamed in pain, by the time I was finished with physical therapy. I had only snapped at Kat once, and Sam twice. They ignored it and went about helping me with my therapy. I didn't deserve any of my friends. They were such wonderful people, the entire group. I had always known that though. From experience with my original friends, then from videos of the rest and spending time with them the few times that I had before the accident. If I were being honest, I was excited to see Amber this weekend too. We had only hung out sober a couple of times, and that usually led to getting drunk or high together. I wanted to get to know her sober. Amber hadn't always been the best person, but neither had I, and she had been a friend to me the last few months that I had been at JJ's. I knew that she could be selfish, and I had seen her get very jealous of others when they had things that she wanted, including guys. She usually went after what she wanted, whether it was a man, jewelry, clothes, didn't matter. I had even watched her stuff her bag full of expensive clothing and jewelry when we had went to the mall together. I was scared shitless, because I knew that I would be an accessory if she were caught, but thankfully, she wasn't. I had to admit it was an adrenaline rush spending time with Amber. She was never boring, for sure. We had developed a bond when I had to save her from JJ one night. I had always thought JJ was a good guy, despite being a drug dealer. He and Amber started their fling up shortly after I moved it. I was in my room one night and heard a lot of yelling from them both, then I heard Amber screaming for him to stop, that he was hurting her. I came out of my room to find him holding her against him, but her arm was twisted behind her back, and he had it locked there with his hand. She had looked at me, her eyes full of fear. So I screamed at him to stop, and shoved him as hard as could. He stumbled and let her go in the process. She ran to me, tears streaming down her face, so I hugged her while I glared at JJ getting up off of the floor. "What the fuck T?!" he had asked, his voice angry. "What was the point of that JJ? What did she do that gave you the right to put your hands on her?" I asked, my own voice coated with venom. I had never seen him put his hands on a female. "She was going nuts T. Accusing me of cheating, hitting me, and slapping me in the face. I wasn't doing anything but stopping her," he answered, glaring at Amber. "You almost broke her arm J! I saw you! You could've stopped her without doing that. Maybe stop letting other girls act the way they do when they come over to pick up stuff. Are you cheating JJ?" I knew it wasn't right for a woman to start hitting on a man, and for him to just stand there, but I also knew that JJ did mess around with other women, when Amber wasn't around. I had tried to talk to her, but she had shut me down, so I left it alone. Wasn't my business. Plus, at that point, the drugs were all that mattered to me. "You were kissing her J! I saw you! T," she turned to me, her eyes red and puffy. "I walked in on him kissing Lisa Stanton, that whore from down the street!" "I didn't kiss her! She kissed me!" JJ yelled, running his hands through his hair in exasperation. "Why don't you guys just talk it out? No fighting! I'll be in my room," I said, turning to Amber. "Call me if you need me." She nodded, staring at JJ. From that day on, Amber was much nicer to me, and we became actual friends. At the time, I would've considered her my best friend, since I was no longer in contact with the others. She was always there for me when Levi and I would get in a fight, or when I was out of...well, she helped me not go through withdrawals. I tried to do the same for her. It was a weird friendship for sure, but it was still a friendship. I worked harder in my physical therapy, trying to keep my mouth shut, when the pain started to get bad. I pushed myself so much, that I had to use ice packs more often that I usually did. In the end, it was worth it. My body was tired, and sore, but I was able to walk completely by myself, without stumbling or leaning to one side. When I walked the hallway for the first time alone, I actually yelled, and did a little shimmy. "OW" I exclaimed, grabbing my hip after the shimmy. Sam laughed a little, and stepped closer to me, just in case. He and Jake were with me today, while everyone else was at work. Colby had a photoshoot, but said he would come by later. Knowing that he had a photoshoot, made me miss taking photos myself. I still couldn't believe that I lost my brand new job, because of this stupid accident. "You still have to go easy," Sam said, letting me lean on him for a few minutes. "Ugh, I know. I was just so excited. Did you see me? I walked the entire hallway, without a single problem!" I was honestly so excited about it, that I was speaking like a child, telling her parents about something that she thought was an amazing accomplishment. He chuckled again, and hugged me.