Drawing Soldiers

Chapter Seven

Amanda: Will you be joining me this weekend?

Stacey: Yes, I'll be there in a couple of hours.

It has been another month, I have been visiting every weekend and while I visit I take a hike or a walk with Amanda, sometimes to the beach, sometimes in the small woods surrounding her property and sometine she takes me on some trails  every weekend starting Friday morning and ending Sunday evening we walk, run, jog or climb and exercise. She presented me with the idea of a work out the day I showed up she said it would helped clear up my head  and it has so I've keped up with it during the week I go to the gym and on week ends I join her and it has help a lot more than she realizes.

Amanda: Good, Jayden will be joining us this week.

That would be a first but a welcomed surprise. With him I usually play some games, or just sit and talk about nothing in particular just getting to know eachother.

Stacey: Sure. You have an idea of what we'll be doing?

Amanda: You'll see.

I haven't heard or asked about any of the guys but I planned on doing so at some point during the next 3 days. I have been working with my therapist and I'm at a point where she thinks I can start welcoming them back in my life so I'll start with Warren and move my way up towards my father. She doesn't want me to jump head first into that lake again but take it a step at a time and if I feel I'm about to be drowned I have to turn and stomp my way back out. It's all part of the process she said failure is a sign that you are trying, you will never move foward if you dont atleast try.  You know how they say there are certain people who can't take no for an answer, well that's my therapist. You'll never trully be ready but you have to do it at some point. And she was right I had to, not for them but for me, she also said it could go both ways.

I can learn to accept the love my friends and family chose to live or I can turn my back towards them and live my own. But then she said but if you do walk away, you'll always wonder how they are. Sure you'll live, move on, creat something new and maybe beautiful but at the back of your head they'll always be a voice asking how they are, if they're alive and wanting to see them.

So I put on my big girl pants and walk in the door ready to ask how everyone was and ready to start my journey back to them.

"Your early."

I turn to my right and am meet with Jayden shirtless in his wheelchair with a towel resting on his thighs.

"Yeah, I was free the whole day and decided to miss the mid day traffic."

"Well if you want to join me at the pool you should change. Amanda is out at the stables giving the guys a hand with cleaning she should be back by the time we are done." And he rolls away.

I've gotten to know Jayden alot more over the past couple of weekends. And in the getting to know him he mentioned not being able to re-enlist because of his injuries, he seemed sad about it but also shared his plan for when he was done with his therapy.

After changing into a bathing suite and grabbing a towel i headed towards the pool where Jayden was floating on a mat and a therapist worked on stretching his legs.

"They can do way more then what they let on." His head turned my way and I could see the worry in his eyes. He was expecting me to judge him but I had no reason to.

"The art work on them is captivating, and I'm sure they can do lots with all those muscles." He smiled at me and returned his attention to the therapy given to him while I lowered myself into the pool and swam my way towards them. "Can you feel that?" The therapist is massaging his muscles before she pushes his leg up pushing his knee to his chest and back down.

"In certain areas." He nods his head at me while keeping his eyes on the work being done.

"And thats a great sign. Try and push down towards me now Jay."

His eyebrows pull in together his mouth forms a small pout and his shoulders square up, I can see the determination in his eyes and I wished I had brought my sketchpad.

"Alright let's try and stand you for a bit, that was great." They had been working on stretching and warming up his muscles for about 15 minutes and apparently he was ready to start moving.

The therapist moved away from Jayden and grabbed some foam noodles and set them on his chest while she dragged him deeper into the pool. When the water was up to her chest she held his arm and pulled him off his mat. While the walk and exercised his leg I floated and occupied him with a conversation.

"I think I'm ready to talk to them, but I'm not sure they'll be nice."

"They've had time to think about why you needed space im sure they'll recive you with open arms, and if they don't then fuck them."

"Im scared of what Warren will say." He turned to look at me while following the orders he was given.

"What more could he say? He said what he thought about this the day you announced it, I doubt there's much worse he could say."

"Your dragging Jayden how about you try and lift." He nods his head at her but continues with our conversation.

  "Plus, isn't he your best friend? He should know better. Like I said they've had time to try and understand why you needed space im sure you'll be fine."

"How much longer till this is done?" I nod my head towards his PT and smile when she look up at me.

"We are almost done."

"Great, want to grab something to eat?" He nods his head at me question while maintaining most of his concentration on trying to lift his foot. "Ok cool, im gonna go ahead and get ready."

"Wear a skirt!" He yells out once im out of the pool and on my way towards the door.

"Of course, would you like it really short so you could get a peek from where you'll be sitting?" His laugh flows its way towards me and follows me inside where I can still see him working hard at getting back to his normal self.