Boundless Love

Graduation Weekend

Levi's POV...

Charlotte and I pick my parents up at the airport first. Their flight's arriving early afternoon, so we have time to pick them up and get them settled at their hotel before the lads arrive.

My parents have seen me walk on skype, but they have yet to see me walking in person. I'm sure my mum has been driving my dad crazy with the anticipation.

We park the car so we can surprise my parents inside the airport when they get off the plane. I'm just as excited to show them as they are I think.

"You're shaking! Are you alright?" Charlotte asks me while we're standing hand in hand in the baggage claim area.

I realize that my hand has been fidgeting in Charlottes, but I hadn't noticed my body shaking. One of the side effects of my injury, like my brain has a hard time sending signals to my nerves and they act up every time I'm anxious or overworking myself. I hope this isn't going to be a permanent problem.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit nervous, although I don't know why, and I'm excited too," I confess to her.

"You know your parents will be so happy when they see you! Your mum will probably start crying and throw her arms around you from being so happy!" Charlotte smirks.

"Probably," I shrug my shoulders.

"I mean, It's what I do when I see you walking and climbing the stairs, pretty much every other accomplishment as well," she smiles at me.

"For a mother to see her son, a walking miracle! She's going to fall apart, it's inevitable!" She playfully nudges her shoulder into me.

I squeeze her hand and give her a peck on the cheek. She removes her hand from mine and brings it to my back and slowly brushes her palm up and down the back of my shirt. Her gesture is comforting, and my body is now relaxed while we stand in the crowded baggage claim waiting for my parents.

Moments later we hear an older woman shrieking my name in a British accent and look over to see my mum barreling towards me, my dad trying to keep up behind her. Charlotte was right! Here comes my mum, arms already open towards me.

"Oh son! I cannot believe it!" My mum wraps her arms around my neck.

She releases me for a second but keeps a hold of my arms while she looks over me. "Look at you! I'm so happy son!" She's crying and hugging me again.

Charlotte winks and smiles at me and I can't help but chuckle.

"Hey son! You look great!" My dad finally catches up to us and offers me his hand to shake.

My dad grabs the bags from the luggage belt, and we all walk to where we parked the car. My mum locks her elbow with mine as I escort her to the parking lot. She keeps looking over at me while we walk, studying my every move like she still can't believe that I can walk again.

"You're limping?" She looks at me like she's worried.

"I'm alright mum, it's not from pain," I say while lifting my left leg pant enough to show her my brace.

"This is just how I walk with my brace, Charlotte's been helping me correct my gait as much as I can, but I might always have a slight limp," I try and reassure my mum.

"Oh," Is all she replies. Her face turns sad for me, it's probably how a mother feels when she thinks there's something wrong with her son.

Charlotte is the only person who doesn't look at me with pity, she doesn't see me as disabled like everyone else does. I mean, I do have a disability, I can't walk on my own without this brace, I can no longer run or jump without falling on my face either, but that doesn't stop Charlotte from making me try. That's one of the things I love about Charlotte, she doesn't treat me like a cripple, she treats me like a person who needs a little help to overcome a few obstacles. She sees my leg brace as something that helps me, not something that labels me as having a disability. I know the way Charlotte views me won't be the way others view me back home though, and that concerns me.