Lox's POV...

Friends hold hands, right?

Is it stupid of me to think we could be more than friends?

Besides Liam, she's the only other person I don't feel skittish around, especially when she holds my hand or touches my shoulder or my arm. Only in an alternate reality could I dream of her touching anywhere else.

So, holding hands it is. Unless that's weird. I don't see her holding Cohen or Declan or Fynn's hands. Maybe she's trying to be supportive and thinks it helps me walk better. It does, for sure. Less chance of me falling. Is that all it is though? I know she felt what I did yesterday as soon as our fingers connected, or maybe my injured brain's playing tricks on me again.

What if this is the beginning of something? I haven't thought of starting a relationship with anyone in the last 3 years. Because why would I ever think a girl would be interested in me this way? Especially someone as perfect as Greya.

I know no one's perfect but Greya's as close as perfect gets. And she's kind and she's shown me that she cares about me. The guy with half a working body, who can't speak. Somehow I haven't repulsed her. She's seen my arm rigid and distorted and instead of staring at it, she held my hand in hers and massaged my muscles to ease the discomfort.

Now she's dropping everything to bring me to 3 hours of therapy. That's more than what a friend would do, right?

I'm being ridiculous. Once she witnesses how disabled I really am, when the leg brace comes off and she realizes I can barely move my foot on my own, or lift more than a 5 lb weight with my arm on a good day, she'll forget about holding hands again.

"Bro, you alright? You're zoning out on me here."

That's right, I'm in class with Cohen. Snap out of it!

"Yeah, I'm fine," I write on a piece of paper. Maybe I should start using my voice more.

Cohen's been a nice friend to have. Because of Greya, I have a few friends now who don't pity me or treat me like I'm different. If I'm invited to Greya's cookout again this Sunday, I'll try using my voice and see what happens.

"Are we still on for the game tomorrow?" Cohen asks me.

Only the women's team has a game tomorrow so Cohen asked me to go with him to watch Greya play. I said yes, thinking it would be good to hang out and allow Liam to have some time off from me. Liam needs time with his friends too, he's already sacrificed too much taking care of me.

"Yeah, of course." I write.

"You sure you're alright? You haven't started today's assignment yet and you're usually done it in minutes."

I look at the blank worksheet in front of me and sigh.

"Greya is bringing me to my therapy appointments today." I feel like I'm in elementary school writing notes to my friends.

"Yes, she told me."

"Sh...she d...did?" Shit, I think more than Cohen just learned I have a voice.

Cohen's quiet for a second and then holds the piece of paper away from me.

"We're in the back of the room. No one's paying attention to us. Yes she told me and she's really happy that you're letting her take you."

"I...I'm n...nervous I...I d...don't want h...her t...to see m...me like th...that. I...I d...don't w...want to r...ruin anything."

He's looking at me like I have 2 heads. So I sigh again.

"I...I l...like h...her," I confess. This is what having guy friends are for.

Cohen smiles.

"That's great, bro. Greya likes you too."

My turn to look at him like he has multiple heads.

"Listen. You both seem to care about each other so give it a chance. "

"Sh...she w...won't l...like w...what she s...sees. All m...my h...handi...caps."

He hums to himself and shakes his head at me.

"Greya's had a tough life. That girl's seen and experienced things that no one should ever have to endure in a life time. These last few years have been the worst for her and she always surprises us all with her perseverance. She is the strongest girl with the biggest heart."

There's so much I don't know about her. Hearing Cohen talk about her makes me want to learn more of what that beautiful girl has gone through.

"W...why isn't sh...she w...with s...someone? W...why aren't y...you t...two t...together?"

I can't fathom her being alone, why any guy wouldn't want to be with her and why she likes me of all people.

Cohen shakes his head again and laughs. "Me and Grey? We're like siblings. She hasn't dated anyone in a while or even shown any interest until she met you. She's happy again. Now where are we meeting her so she can pick you up?"

Class has ended and Cohen begins packing up.

"L...lot A." I tell him.

As we approach the parking lot, Greya's waiting for me by her car. Thankfully I'm having a good day and I hardly need my cane. Hopefully therapy goes just as well.

"Hey guys!" Greya greets us and gives Cohen a quick hug. She turns to me and does the same.

I'm thrown off guard by her sudden hug that I don't have time to react in an embarrassing way. It was barely a hug, one second at best, so no need to freak out.

"Well you two have fun! I'll see you tomorrow for the game Loxley."

And now it's the two of us standing awkwardly by the car. She looks worried about something. She's probably changed her mind about bringing me.

Suddenly I feel her hand lightly graze my arm. "Breathe Lox, I'm sorry I startled you."

Wait! What? I didn't realize I was holding my breath from her hugging me. Look at me, already looking like an idiot before we even get to the therapy part.

I decide to release and take a few more breaths before forcing a smile.

"Are you ready to go?" She asks.

"Y...yeah, I...I'm g...good. Th...thanks again f...for t...taking me." I slide myself into her passenger seat.

Thirty minutes later and we're parking in front of the therapy building.

"I...if w...what y...you see i...is t...too m...much, y...you c...can l...leave and p...ick m...me up w...when I...I'm d...done."

I want her to know she has that option.

She walks over to my side of the car and hands me my cane as I get out.

"I'm not going anywhere, Lox."

I want more than anything to believe her but after only five therapy sessions, my mother never came to another one again.

We get inside and I introduce her to Brian my physical therapist who's delighted to meet her and shows her where we begin our sessions on the floor mat.

This is the easy part. I lay here while Brian digs his fingers into my muscles and stretches all my limbs. I'm wearing shorts and removed my AFO , socks and sneakers have also been removed and so far Greya isn't grossed out by the lack of muscle tone in my left leg or the way my foot dangles when not supported.

"Can you move your foot at all?" She asks. She's curious about everything and I'm not sure how to feel about it yet. My mother used to stand off to the side either crying or scowling while Liam was hands on with the therapists.

"That's actually what we work on next," Brian answers for me. I'm a nervous wreck at this point and my arm's reacting by my nerves.

I sit up with my back against the wall for this next exercise and I'm shocked when Greya sits down beside me while Brian goes to grab some equipment.

My arm is bent and tight against my side. This wasn't a good idea to have her come here.

I expect her to get up and leave when she sees my arm but instead, she slides her hand between my arm and ribs and uses her fingers to gently pry open my fisted hand. I'm too in shock to say anything so, I watch her use both her hands to gently rub my arm until it relaxes. Then she takes her time massaging and stretching my hand and fingers.

Neither of us notice Brian is back and watching us.

"Very good Greya!" Brian says. "There are many things that can trigger muscle contractures in his arms and legs and massage and stretching is the first thing we try to release the tension. Are you studying to be a physical therapist?"

"Um. No. I don't know, maybe. I'm still trying to figure that out," Greya says.

"Looks like you'd be good at it. Let me show you a few tricks though," he says and moves next to me.

Greya watches and learns as he shows her different ways of massaging and stretching my arm and hand.

I'll just sit here while they carry on their own conversation. Takes the focus off of me some.

Greya's once again by my side, holding my hand while she watches Brian attach an elastic band around my foot. He gives the other end of the band for me to hold with my right hand and he positions my leg and foot correctly so I can begin.

"Set of 15 toe points," Brian instructs. Here goes nothing. Literally!

There's virtually no resistance to the band, it's merely keeping my foot straight up so it doesn't drop on its own.

Greya gazes intently, probably hoping to watch my foot move up and down like a normal foot can do. I can get it to move about an inch tops. Brian using his hands to support my ankle position with each rep.

I don't want to know what Greya is thinking, so I refrain from looking at her. I feel her hand remain gripping mine though, so maybe that's a good sign. If anything, it feels nice having her hold my hand and care about what I'm doing here.

"You're doing great!" She leans over and whispers.

The butterflies, once dormant in my belly, have erupted into a frenzy.

I lose grip of the band and it falls off making my foot drop. What is she doing to me.

"Lox has come a long way. When he first came here, he wasn't able to move his left arm or leg at all. Now look what he can do."

Brian's talking way too much today.

"Amazing," Greya smiles and surprises me again.

I'm the one who can't handle this. Greya is doing just fine. All I want to do is pull her into me and kiss her. She squeezes my hand again and now I have goosebumps all over. I need some water.

"C...could y...you g...grab m...me some w...water?" I ask her. I need a second to breathe before I really embarrass myself.

"Dude, she's so sweet." Brian isn't helping.

"I...I kn...know."

"Are you going to ask her on a date?"

"N...not if y...you're g...going t...to keep tr....trying t...to ruin i...it for m...me."

He laughs, then I laugh, and suddenly Greya's back with a cup of water wondering what's so funny.

Laughing helps, I feel better. Brian is helping I guess.

Brian pushes a low padded table over to the side of my floor mat. The table is about three feet up from the ground, similar to the height of a couch or chair. I know what comes next will look totally awkward, but a I've come this far, may as well show Greya even more.

"H...he's g...going t...to make m...me g...get myself u...up there." I answer her silent question before Brian does.

I hate this exercise, but it's essential for me to work on in case I fall and need to get myself up off the ground. Without my AFO, my left foot offers no support and since my left arm and leg are weak to begin with, I'm essentially trying to get myself up onto the table using only one arm and leg. It's a struggle and I'm sure isn't pretty to watch.

Here goes...

I rotate my weight so that I can turn from a sitting position onto my knees, or one knee but if I'm lucky, I can sometimes get onto my left knee as well.

I place my right arm up onto the table and try to drag my body up onto my knee. My left arm is hanging by my side because trying to focus on my left arm and leg at the same time is difficult and I don't really need to use that arm for this anyway.

I'm up on my right knee with my body and right arm leaning onto the table. Now I need my left leg to bend so I'm up on both knees. This is always the hard part. I manage to drape my left arm up onto the table which helps a little and slowly drag my leg up next to my other one.

At this point, my upper body does most of the work while I pull myself up and get my right foot under me and lift up onto the table, and twist my weight around so I am sitting.

"That was good, quicker than last week!" Brian reveals.

Really?

"F...felt l...like i...it t...took an hour."

Greya looks like she has a million questions but only asks a few.

"Can you stand or walk at all without your brace? I noticed you didn't use your foot at all to help you get up there. What if you needed to get from one place to another and you didn't have the brace?"

"I...i c...can if s...someone h...helps m...me."

"What if you're alone?

I think of a few weeks ago when I had leg contractures and had to scoot across the floor on my butt. This is embarrassing for me to answer.

"I...I c...crawl or s...scoot," I avoid eye contact with her.

"Makes sense. Do you practice those things here too?"

I look up to find she's genuinely curious and I feel less ashamed. I nod to answer her question.

"Can you show me how to help you get around without your brace, you know, in case you're not wearing it and I'm around to help?"

Damn! I'm either about to cry or kiss her right here and now. Where has she been all these years? And why has this angel appeared into my life now?

That's what she is, an angel.